It”™s that time of year ”“ the weeks leading up to St. Patrick”™s Day ”“ when talk turns to counties ”“ the Irish are sticklers for them.
For New York City attorney and White Plains resident Dan Gaven, the pertinent counties are Waterford, where his father”™s family lived, and Louth, where his mother”™s family ”“ the Dolans ”“ lived.
“Neither family was here in the 1870 census, but both families were here in the 1880 census,” Gaven said. He thought his father”™s family had arrived in 1873 and his mother”™s forebears disembarked in 1875 or 1876.
Joyce Simpson Gaven, his wife, traces her family back to the Mayflower, leaving any connections to Ireland ”“ at least in the 1600s ”“ in doubt.
Gaven has never been to Ireland, but like many Irish who also have not trod the land of their ancestors, the Emerald Isle maintained enough of a hold on him that he said yes when, 17 years ago, he got a call from M.G. Power, wife of White Plains Councilman Dennis Power, asking him to help out with a St. Patrick”™s Day fundraiser to benefit the Special Olympics of Westchester and Putnam counties. One of the Gavens”™ daughters, Christine, has developmental disabilities, which gave further impetus for him to help.
“St. Pat”™s is the Powers”™ big holiday,” Gaven said. “They had an Elks gathering, passed the hat, got a few bucks to hand out. I came in about the third year.”
This year”™s Friendly Gathering will be March 14 in the Kearney Gym at Our Lady of Good Counsel in White Plains. The party has grown, with 450-500 people expected this year. When the hat is passed, now via the likes of an auctioned golf outing for four at Westchester Country Club and other thrills, the take should be $15,000 to $20,000, with the Sisters of the Divine Compassion”™s RDC Center for Counseling and Human Development in White Plains the main beneficiary. “The proceeds go primarily to the RDC, but we also will give ”“ say $500 ”“ to a food pantry or to juvenile diabetes research.” Past beneficiaries have included Meals-on-Wheels, Centro Hispano and homeless assistance.
Gaven oversees decorations and setup for the corned beef (and cabbage, potato and soda bread) dinner. As for the fundraising successes of years past, “We usually hit our number. This year, we just don”™t know given the state of the economy.” Tickets are $40, $35 for seniors; the number for reservations, which will be accepted until the event kicks off, is 798-1106.
Gaven was raised in New Jersey and did his undergraduate work at Providence College. He graduated from Fordham Law School in 1971, which was followed by six months of active duty at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana.
He cut his teeth professionally working for a pair of lawyers he described as “a couple of hard-drinking Irishmen whose idea of lunch was three dry Rob Roys and half a pack of cigarettes. They did everything wrong and it caught up with them.”
But someone at the firm was doing something right and his name was John Palmeri. “We had a few drinks one night. After the first drink it was, Can we do this? After the second it was, I think we can do this. And after the third it was, We CAN do this! We violated all the rules of finance and we”™re still here ”“ off to the races ever since.” Â
Palmeri & Gaven was founded in 1982. Gaven described it as a “general counsel firm,” working, for example, litigation, legal work for small corporations, doing real estate work and tax work. The downtown Manhattan firm employs four attorneys, including Palmeri and Gaven, and a support staff of five.
Eager not to fall into the trap that ensnared the Rob Roy-fueled lawyers with whom Gaven first worked, he jogs three times per week. He said he is the emcee for the Friendly Gathering, “because I have a big mouth,” an admission not unique to Irish history, where loquaciousness, when properly handled, is a prized commodity.
The Gavens”™ younger daughter is Denise, who is studying for her MBA at Pace University while working for the Westchester County Office of Tourism dayside. He enjoys golfing on the county”™s public courses. When he curls up with a novel, it is likely to be by another lawyer; he likes both John Grisham and Scott Turow.Â
