Soldier from Federal Way dies in Iraq | People

As a member of the Irish Heritage Club, John Keane is always fully prepared to offer-up Seattle's Irish history.

“Well,” he says with a laugh.  “How long do you have?”

Keane is one of the club’s elder statesmen, and as such, is very aware of Ireland’s impact on this Emerald City.

“The Denny’s left Ireland in the 1700’s, and their grandson, John Denny, drove the wagon train west on the Oregon Trail,” Keane’s history lesson begins.  “And it was his (John’s) son who came north to become the first non-native settler in Seattle.”
 
And there's Irish mayor John Collins...

“And we still have the Collins building down on 2nd Avenue beside the Smith Tower,” Keane continues.

“The entire city and the parishes throughout the city were peppered with Irish names,” recalls Heather Murphy, whose family moved here in the 1940’s.  “An awful lot of them were in my neighborhood in Wallingford.  There were Riley’s and Sullivans and Daughertys…”

So Heather, what does it mean to be Irish in Seattle in 2010?

“Quite frankly,” she begins taking a more melancholy tone, “It means everything.  I lost my father when I was 12.  And in every story, every song, every interaction with my father, was absolutely full of his ‘Irish-ness.’”
 
Same question, Mister Keane.

“To me, being Irish means you have a love of life and you’re not afraid of anything in many ways,” Keane tells KOMO.

Do you mind if the rest of us wear green and become Irish for a day?

“I’m delighted to see so many people share my heritage,” says Keane.

“Absolutely,” echoes Mike McQuaid, also a member of the Irish HFamily and friends are mourning the loss of a Lewis-McChord soldier killed in Iraq.

26-year-old Private Erin McLyman was killed in an enemy mortar attack on her base.

It's not hard to figure out why Erin touched so many people, just ask anyone who knew her.

"She was somebody that I wanted my daughter to look up to," said Dee Dee Johnson.

Dee Dee met Erin a year ago in Federal Way, and they clicked right off the bat.

"(She was) kind hearted, gentle, but feisty," Johnson said.

Then Erin told Dee Dee about her past and the two bonded for life.

Erin was featured in 2001 on our sister station KVAL-TV in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon as a story of inspiration.  In that story, she said, "I drank, and I smoked a lot of weed -- marijuana, used crack and cocaine"

Back then, she was still in high school and hooked on drugs and alcohol.

"My grades were dropping and I wasn't going to class," Erin said.

The station followed her as and watched her endure rehab and kick her habit.

Erin's dad was proud.

"They're all you got," Bob McLyman said in 2001. "You brought them into this world - but don't give up on them."

But she had more to prove that she could make it. When Erin graduated, she joined the Air Force, then got out, married the love of her life and joined the Army.

She volunteered to go to Iraq and shipped-out last August.

That was the last time Erin's friends saw her.

"Sad she's not here anymore," said Thomas Evans. "Kind of totally still in shock about... you know."

Erin's husband Brian says she was killed by an enemy mortar attack inside her base. Her body is on the way home to Eugene.

But her memories still inspire.

"I would go home with her little stories of her background in life and I would talk to my daughter about it," Johnson said. "I wish I had another chance to say goodbye."

Erin was awarded the National Defense service medal and the Global War on Terror service medal. She served with the 3rd Stryker Brigade.

eritage Club.  “I mean, this is about sharing.  At the end of the day, were all Americans, but our roots are from Ireland.”

So, wear that green shirt, and display that shamrock proudly on Saint Patrick’s Day.

“And I think it also punctuates the strength and endurance of the Irish Spirit,” Murphy says.  “As it says in the ‘Wearing of the Green,’ you can take the shamrock from your hat and cast it to the sod, but it will take root and flourish still though underfoot ‘tis trod.  That wearing of the green and that Irish Spirit, and the endurance is our hallmark.”

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Photos: AP/Steve Ruark