Maine Perspective Front Page
Commencement 1999
Chris Irish
On the eve of Commencement, Chris Irish will take the podium in Hutchins Concert Hall and address the School of Nursing Pinning Ceremony.
Ironically, the speech will be the first Irish has ever made. Despite having a father who is one of the most visible public figures in the world today - Secretary of Defense William Cohen - Irish has avoided the spotlight, to the point of changing his surname nearly six years ago. He decided to talk now about his life because "it simply feels OK to do so."
"When I was growing up, I was painfully shy," says Irish. "Cameras and microphones created somewhat of a phobia in me. I avoided them. Having a famous father made me even more of an introvert than I might have been otherwise."
Irish, who was born in Boston, lived in Bangor until age 7. "I always considered Maine my home," he says. "When my Dad ran for Congress in 1972, I didn't want him to win because I knew that if he did, we would have to move. I started a negative campaign around Stillwater Park telling my friends' parents not to vote for Bill Cohen."
Irish lived with his family in northern Virginia for 19 years. "I look back and consider it somewhat of a loss to have not had a normal childhood, while at the same time, appreciating it for its benefits. I was able to experience things that I otherwise wouldn't have had we stayed in Maine. It gave me much more of an appreciation for cultural diversity. While I did go to school with kids from all parts of the world, I knew that much of our country was still pretty homogeneous, with segregated pockets of diversity. But I always missed Maine. I came back at every opportunity.
"When I was at a place in my life where I could finally move, I did so and regretted not doing it earlier. You don't have to leave Maine to appreciate it, but it helps. While I do see some negative changes occurring in the state, it's still the best place to live."
Following high school graduation, Irish attended a local community college. He learned auto mechanics and auto body work, and made a career of it for a decade. "I have always loved to tinker and learn new skills. I liked going to the races," says Irish. "Even though Dad was an international guy, I sought out the normal, everyday lifestyle."
Irish returned to Maine in 1992. He and his wife, Kerry, met in Auburn. When they married in 1993, they changed their last name. "We chose the name for a few reasons. Kerry had a dream that it would be our name. We were both primarily of Irish heritage, and it was an added bonus to be incognito," says Irish.
"I am proud of who I am and who my father is, but being a Cohen in Maine is like being a Baldacci in Maine. The first thing people ask is whether I am related. Changing our name made it easier for people not to prejudge us or always ask. For that same reason, I didn't tell my peers (in the School of Nursing) until the end of the semester. It's not that I didn't want them to know, but more that I felt that it shouldn't even be an issue. This isn't Washington or LA where 'who you know' is that important. People judge you on the strength of your character and actions."
A week after they married, the pair headed to Georgia where Kerry attended graduate school at the University of Georgia and Chris worked as a mechanic in a car dealership.
"I loved cars but it had gotten to the point that I needed to learn something else," says Irish. "Nursing offered an opportunity to use both technical skills and the human touch, which is the combination that I was looking for."
In spring 1996, Irish enrolled in the School of Nursing. "My brother and my Dad went to Bowdoin, but I felt like I was not the private school type," he says. "The University of Maine has some great professors and I will be proud to call it my alma mater."
Irish was home, not only near the old neighborhood but close to some members of his extended family still living in the Bangor area. Now his 1-year-old son, Jacob William, is growing up in the community his father did.
Irish also realized he was in the "right place" through his nursing coursework. "Being in clinical situations, it's just you and the patient," says Irish, who has been in such clinical settings as St. Joseph Hospital, Eastern Maine Medical Center and Hospice of Eastern Maine. "You have that connection, knowing you're really helping somebody. A particularly wonderful experience was a wellness clinic for seniors in the Freese's Building Apartments. I had the autonomy to do what I wanted, from blood pressures to exercise programs and dealing with psychosocial issues. I got to know the people and what they're going through."
With his bachelor's degree in nursing, Irish will practice in Bangor's healthcare community. Eventually, he will continue his education to be a nurse practitioner or occupational therapist.
Irish is hoping that his father will be among family, friends and well-wishers in the Pinning Ceremony audience that evening, but he also appreciates the many different directions in which his father is pulled in this time of world conflict.
"I understand that he's made a lot of commitments to this country and the people in it. I also admire him for who he is, not necessarily what he is. When he comes to the Pinning Ceremony, he will be there as my father, friend and supporter, not the Secretary of Defense. He is a wonderful father and knows where his job stops and his private life begins. My father also loves and honors his family.
"(When I see him on the news), all I can think is that I hope he's getting enough sleep. I hope that someday he can slow down and have more time to himself. He thrives on working hard, but I don't want to see him end up too much like his father. He worked 20 hours a day until the night he died mixing dough for the next day's bread. I am trying to learn from their experiences by creating more of a balance between family and work."
As in his life, Irish's speech on the eve of Commencement will be his own. But for those familiar with the depth and humanity in the words of Secretary of Defense Cohen, there will be echoes.
"Since I've never given a speech before, it will be an interesting experience," says Irish, who was tapped to give the speech by a vote of his peers. "I will have fun with it, but I also want to give the speech as a gift to my classmates. It will be about holding the vision of the values and ideals of nursing. Hopefully, it will be something they can take with them.
"In the real world, I've seen what has happened to some nurses who appear to have lost some of the spirit of nursing. I want to remind them not to lose that vision of what brought them to nursing school in the first place."