Meet the Board
Introducing the team
Here are our board members...
Barney Gallagher
President | Newsletter | Website
Barney has been a member of the Dane County Shamrock Club since 2021. He has an interest in all things Irish (history, music, culture, sports, craic, etc.) since having the good fortune of spending a study abroad semester there some decades ago and completing a master’s degree largely focused on modern Irish History. He’s traveled to Ireland a couple of times since and presented "Traveling to Ireland: 7 Types of Trips" in October 2021 with UW-Platteville Continuing Ed. He lives in Madison with his wife and sometimes their one or both of their young adult kids are at home, too.
Pat McCarthy
Vice President
Pat has been a member of the Dane County Shamrock Club since 2000 and has held several board positions over the years and is currently the Membership Chair. She also served on the State Shamrock Club Board and held the positions of Co-Secretary/Treasurer along with her late husband Harry for several years. During this time, they had the opportunity to meet many Irish members of the Shamrock Clubs throughout the state. Pat’s father was born in Switzerland and her mother was half Swiss. Harry was working on Pat’s ancestry and that is when she found out that her maternal grandfather, who died a young man, had ancestors that came from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Harry and Pat traveled to Switzerland with her dad to visit relatives and she and Harry have traveled to Ireland four times.
No matter where in Ireland you travel, it leads to a new adventure of history, beauty, and meeting the Irish people, but her favorite place is the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim! One of the rooms in their house is called the Irish Room which is filled with numerous treasures that came from their travels to Ireland! Pat has been retired from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue since 2007. She enjoys golfing, gardening, traveling, visiting with family and friends and she volunteers at SSM St Mary’s Hospital Madison and the Henry Vilas Zoo.
Larry Lowden
Membership Coordinator
Larry has been the treasurer of the Shamrock Club since 2013. He is a retired IT employee with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. He was born in Chicago but escaped at age 10 to live in Wichita, Kansas City, Tulsa, Baltimore, and finally Menomonee Falls by age 15. He attended UW Madison for undergrad and UI Champaign-Urbana for grad. Larry is married and has a daughter, a son and two granddaughters. He loves Celtic music and looks forward to Milwaukee Irish Fest every year.
His ancestry is American, that is to say, a “mutt”; he is fifty percent Scottish, with Irish, Norwegian and some English mixed together. A picture of Larry's Irish great grandfather in his blue civil war uniform hangs on his wall, after his parents emigrated sometime in the early 1800s from the North of Ireland.
DeeAnn Martin
Facebook Admin | Trustee
Upon moving to the Madison area in 2015, Dee immediately joined the Dane County Shamrock Club and what a warm welcome it was! Previously, Dee lived and worked in La Crosse for 20 years, and was an active member of the La Crosse Shamrock Club for over 10 years. Dee works as a professional American Sign Language / English interpreter for Purple Communications in Madison, providing interpreting services both over video and out in the community. She grew up in rural west-central Wisconsin and attended college in St. Paul and La Crosse. Dee has visited Ireland 3 times, and her favorite places are the Cliffs of Moher, Bantry in Co. Cork, and anywhere the locals are! Dee's ancestors hail from Derry and around Ulster Province.
Steve Cattapan
Treasurer
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs and graduating from Notre Dame, Steve absorbed some elements of Irish culture. He joined the club in 2023 and has been a regular participant in book clubs, picnics, and outings. His appreciation for all things Irish has risen in recent years and he is a most welcome addition to the club!
Aside from Irish interests, Steve is a father of three, a medical doctor (pulmonologist), and a long-suffering Cubs and Bears fan.
Stephanie Lowden
Sunshine Chair
Write something about this member of your team to introduce them to your visitors.
Joan Bernstein
Secretary
Write something about this member of your team to introduce them to your visitors.
Linda Keegan
Trustee
Linda Keegan had a lucky moment when she spotted a brochure for the Dane County Shamrock Club (DCSC) while attending the first Madison Irish Fest some years ago. Traditional Irish music was the draw, opening a
portal to meeting kindred spirits who cherish their Irish heritage as much as she does, and soon afterward she joined the club.
Connecting with club members has been a way to create kinship that reminds Linda of growing up with an extended family in the Northern Chicago suburbs. She was shaped by the stories of her Celtic and Germanic ancestors and immediate family members, with the Irish immigrating from County Roscommon in the mid-1800s. They eventually settled on farms in Dane County, Wisconsin, and other parts of the Midwest. Her German immigrants arrived around the turn of the 20th Century, as well as after World War II. DCSC reaffirms the power of understanding and embracing your roots, as well as appreciating the strength and resilience of our immigrant families.
Linda has an adult son, and she is a retired social worker/counselor. She has traveled to Germany and surrounding European countries, as well as parts of Canada (including where a Celtic imprint can be found, such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island). Ireland is at the top of her list of next places to visit.