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Austin's Celtic Cowboys mark 20

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Austin's Celtic Cowboys mark 20


The Celtic Cowboys of Austin, Texas, recently celebrated their 20th anniversary. Members and friends of the sport and social club met on the rooftop of the Texas Bankers Association building in downtown Austin to commemorate the occasion with a gala.

The Celtic Cowboys were founded by Limerick man Pat Doab in 2004 and they sponsor teams in golf, soccer, hurling, and Gaelic football. The past two decades of the club’s existence have seen a number of accolades on the field, with the GAA sides being particularly strong. The men’s Gaelic football and hurling teams won their first national titles in their divisions in 2008 and 2011, and the ladies’ Gaelic football side won their first in 2018. The Cowboys also served as host to the GAA Hurling All-Stars showcase in 2015 and the LGFA Ladies’ Football All-Star showcase in 2023. The numerous soccer sides have won local, state, and national tournaments throughout the years as well, making athletic excellence a through-line of the club’s ongoing history.

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Conor Ryan leads members of the Celtic Cowboys in “The Fields of Athenry.”

However, according to club founder Doab, the club’s reach goes beyond the playing field. “The organization was and continues to be around connection and community, where sport is the cornerstone of that community,” he told me. “It doesn’t require members to actively participate in the sports, but to feel part of a supportive group.”

The Texas and Austin Roses of Tralee at the 20th Anniversary Gala with the Texas State Capitol in the background.

The Celtic Cowboys host numerous networking and social events throughout the year, and provide a “soft-landing program for anyone that moves to the Austin area.” Indeed, hundreds of members from Ireland, the U.S. and elsewhere have passed through the ranks of the club in the last two decades. It is clear that the Celtic Cowboys are at the center of Austin’s burgeoning Irish community. 

Sound check on the roof. Texas’ famous Hill Country in the distance.

“Congratulations to the club on 20 years,” said Robert Hull, the Consul General of Ireland based in Austin, at the gala.  He had particular praise for Pat Doab, whose “drive led to the creation of the club.” Hull also noted Doab’s work on the Austin Limerick Sister City Initiative, which has led to the recognition of an official Friendship City status between the two.

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When asked to reflect on what has kept the club going for so long, Doab said, “Being part of an organization that’s volunteer driven is a wonderful experience. It takes a village to maintain a community for any length of time and this is something everyone associated with the club should be proud of.”

He also acknowledged the contributions of deceased members. “It’s important that we remember the loved ones that have passed away in these 20 short years, an integral part of our community. Family and wonderful friends to us, we will always remember them.”

With 20 years’ history already, the future looks bright for the Celtic Cowboys of Austin, Texas.



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Austin, TX

Austin, TX venue Emo’s on the move again, AEG to take over the building

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Austin, TX venue Emo’s on the move again, AEG to take over the building


Emo’s in Austin is on the move again. 

After more than a decade at 2015 E. Riverside Drive (following the original Red River-era venue closing in 2011), Emo’s current Riverside space will be taken over by AEG Presents when the lease ends later this year. The Los Angeles, CA-based company will assume operations in January 2027 and plans to reopen the building under a new name in early 2027 following upgrades, renovations and a full rebrand.

AEG are also opening a new 4,000-cap venue nearby next spring as part of the River Park mixed-use development in southeast Austin.

C3 Presents, who reopened Emo’s at the Riverside location, say this isn’t the end of Emo’s — they’re working on a new home and plan to move the venue back to downtown Austin, with more updates to come.

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AEG Presents Vice President Robin Phillips shared the following:

There’s like no weirdness or any bad blood or anything. It just, you know, new lease and they’ll [Emo’s] go do something great. They have been important to the Austin music scene, so I have a lot of respect for them.

But I don’t think the Austin music scene or legacy is limited to one name. I know people will remember the original Emo’s and this Emo’s as, you know, both great venues… And I don’t think Austin’s music scene is just a name, it’s the artists, in my opinion.

 

A C3 spokesperson added:

Emo’s has a long history in Austin and we’ve been working behind the scenes for some time on a new home for this venue. After we wrap up at this venue in December, we will focus our efforts on our new location.

 

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Emo’s gave the following statement to Austin local news KXAN:

We’re grateful for all of the fans and artists who’ve shaped Emo’s to what it is today: a community of like-minded people who love live music. We have a vision for our future and will be moving into a new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue. We’ll continue to share updates on the next chapter for Emo’s on social media.





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Austin, TX

Highly pathogenic virus found in herd of Texas dairy cows

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Highly pathogenic virus found in herd of Texas dairy cows


State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.

What we know:

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Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.

This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.

What they’re saying:

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“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.

A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026.

A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

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Dig deeper:

H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.

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The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.

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Austin, TX

New Texas law tightens rules for autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo

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New Texas law tightens rules for autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo


Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.

Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.

The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.

Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.

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“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.

ALSO| Waymo files voluntary software recall over flooded-lane risks on high-speed roads

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One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.

Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.

“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.

The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.

Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.

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“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”

Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”

The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.

The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.

Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.

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