There is a youthfulness and innocent charm that belies Maureen O’Looney’s 88 years and grandmother status. Do know, however, that a freedom fighter’s spirit rests inside her Irish body. Calm and mild-mannered as she stands inside her retail store, Shamrock Imports on north Laramie Avenue, a collection of imported Irish food and ethnic gifts surrounding her, O’Looney exudes a warmth and spirit telling of her strong Catholic faith and inviting nature. “I can remember my First Communion,” O’Looney said. “My father told me that I was a special person and that if I did a small turn for someone each day that God would walk with me. To this day, I’ve tried to live that.” Those daily “turns” O’Looney has practiced have ranged from minute — a hot cup of tea and slice of soda bread, for instance — to nearly miraculous, including an unrelenting push to help those much like herself: Irish immigrants seeking opportunity in a new nation. Haven for Irish immigrants For the last four decades, O’Looney’s Shamrock Imports store in the Belmont- Cragin neighborhood has served as an early stop for many Irish immigrants landing in Chicago. To date, O’Looney has provided housing, job placement or general Chicago advice to more than 300 immigrants covering each of Ireland’s 32 counties. “It seems to me, there’s always something to do, always some way to help,” said O’Looney, who arrived in Chicago in 1953 as an unmarried 31-year-old content to spend three weeks with her aunt on the city’s South Side before returning to her native County Mayo. Decades later, O’Looney stands a vibrant part of Chicago’s Irish community and one of its chief leaders in the immigration movement. In 1998, O’Looney helped found the Chicago Irish Immigrant Support (CIIS), a nonprofit organization established by the Irish bishops and Cardinal George to aid Chicago’s incoming Irish population, which rose throughout the 1990s as unemployment in Ireland topped 20 percent. Reforming the system Today, the CIIS mission stands much as it did at its founding: to provide complementary and confidential immigration services for recent U.S. arrivals. The organization’s supportive work has allowed hundreds of Irish the opportunity to gain U.S. citizenship and thrive in their new country. Alongside the archdiocese’s immigration-reform efforts, the CIIS and O’Looney have stood at the forefront of promoting comprehensive immigration reform and the value of blanketing the debate with dignity and respect. “It’s hard for any immigrant in this country. You have the challenge of learning a new culture and the constant need to look over your shoulder,” said O’Looney, a parishioner at St. William Parish, 2558 N. Sayre Ave., since 1972. “There’s a better way and we’re hoping our leaders see that.” Presently, there are an estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish in the United States, including approximately 5,000 believed to reside in the Chicago area. As immigration intensifies as a political issue across the nation, O’Looney hopes that her work and that of CIIS supplies a hearty example of what well-conceived, well-executed immigration programs can accomplish. “God put us on this earth to help one another and the CIIS is an extension of that, a way to help Irish immigrants integrate into Chicago society,” O’Looney said, noting that other ethnic communities need the same assistance and deserve the same opportunity.