Pope Benedict letter a major disappointment in abuse scandal

The Pope's response to the Catholic Church scandals in Ireland has come up woefully short -- which should be no surprise.

To say he was "truly sorry" was the bare minimum. Saying bishops had erred "sometimes grievously" was a light slap on the wrists for the disgraceful behavior of so many. He did not call on those bishops who are guilty to step down.

Irish power alive and well in Washington

Barack Obama walked on to the podium in the East Room the White House on St.Patrick's night looking like a man without a care in the world. He knew he was among Irish friends.

Facing him on the floor were 500 Irish American Democrats, many former Hillary supporters. who had come to the White House on this Irish night of nights to celebrate their power and influence in America.

Hispanics pleased as Obama launches his immigration reform effort at Irish reception

As he made his way along the rope line at the White House Irish reception on St. Patrick's night President Obama encountered three separate queries about immigration reform.

Later, staffers expressed surprise to me that the Irish were so concerned about the issue.

President Obama's great Irish speech – the excerpts

As many of you know I was deeply impressed with Obama's speech at the White House reception for the Irish Prime Minister last night. Below is the relevant section I referred to in my earlier blog which I think captures the extraordinary impact of his words.

"And in the wake of a Great Hunger, that migration intensified. And the Irish carved out a place for themselves in our nation’s story -– America and Ireland, our brawn and our blood, side by side in the making and remaking of this nation; pulling it westward, pushing it skyward, moving it forward -– even if it was a nation that was not always as welcoming as it could be.

Barack and Michelle Obama win over the Irish crowd

Until you actually experience Barack and Michelle Obama close up you might wonder what all the fuss is about.

They came into office a year ago with expectations sky high. They may have not lived up to them but make no mistake, they are incredibly talented people who have brought class and distinction to this White House.

Last night I stood about ten feet away as Barack Obama delivered possibly the best speech about Irish and American ties that I have heard.

What famous Irish sayings really mean

No leprechauns need apply on St. Patrick's Day

Bill O'Reilly & Maureen Dowd party at Irish awards

What happens when the two biggest Irish names in the media business collide at a Saint Patrick's Party?

That is what occurred when Maureen Dowd and Bill O'Reilly met at the IrishCentral/Irish Voice Top Thirty media awards last night in Manhattan.

Maureen was there to accept the Irish Spirit award from Irish America magazine, Bill to be named to the top Media list. They arrived within moments of each other and were soon deep in conversation as the cameras snapped.

Sailor suspended for stamping shamrocks on Staten Island Ferry

An Irish American who stamped shamrocks on the Staten Island ferry to celebrate St. Patrick's Day was suspended for 16 days for the "infraction."

If this isn't bureaucracy gone mad, I don't know what is.

Jared Largo, a half-Irish Brooklynite, wanted to help spread some St. Patrick's Day goodwill and stamped the shamrocks all over the wheelhouse, fully intending to remove them after St. Patrick's Day. He is a mate on the ferry and often steers it.

America is an evildoer, says Irish artist in new U.S. exhibit

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day comes a new art exhibit from an Irish artist described by The New York Times today as 'Through Irish Eyes, America as Evildoer"

Tom "About 20 works made by Mr. The Times goes on to say: "There is a great deal of death imagery here, beginning with “Sweep” (2009), a pencil drawing based on a news photograph depicting an Iraqi family washing away blood from the roof of a house where United States soldiers shot and injured two Iraqis; the artist’s own dried blood drips from behind the frame. More gruesome imagery follows, with “Dead Texans” (2002), a loose grid of 50 small, delicate pencil drawings of mug shots of men executed in Texas while Mr. Bush was governor. Much like “Sweep,” the delicacy of the pencil drawing belies the horrific subject matter.

Gerry Adams makes right decision to speak at Boston all-male dinner

Gerry Adams will go where Massachusetts Gov. Patrick Deval refused to tread tonight when he appears at the Clover Club in Boston to address the 650 members.

Deval snubbed the all-male club when he refused to turn up at the last moment for their dinner in December. It looks like Adams is a much-bigger draw than Deval however, according to club members who say Deval had attracted only 500 or so members.

Adams was invited by Joe Leary, head of the Irish American Partnership, an organization that has done sterling work for peace in Northern Ireland. Rita O'Hare, head of Sinn Fein's outreach to America, said that Leary's work on behalf of peace in Northern Ireland made accepting the invitation a no-brainer.

Could Pope Benedict lose his job over German sex scandals?

Could this pope lose his job?

The Associated Press reports on Friday that 'Church Abuse Scandal Now Reaches Pope.'

The New York Times headline this Friday evening says that the church sex scandal on Germany is creeping ever closer to Benedict .

Saint Patrick's Day poems for that special person

• Special section / Saint Patrick's Day! Stories, music, videos, recipes, more! / Click here

Dear reader, we Irish are nothing if not poets, and here is a selection of the best St. Patrick's poems and songs I could find:

May the love of St.Patrick
find a place in your heart
A love of a country
a land set apart
A love of a people
so proud and so true
and lastly the love
that I feel now for you

Obama can't afford to fail on immigration reform

Barack Obama has to be careful he does not become a caricature, a president who continuously promises but never delivers.

Today he was at it again promising action on immigration reform and pledging to be a partner with Congress in ensuring that the current system will be changed.

We have been hearing a lot of promises from the Chief Executive of late but have yet to see one be delivered.

The devil at work in the Vatican, says chief exorcist

Lord save us, but the Vatican's chief exorcist has really unloaded on his own cardinals by claiming that "the Devil is at work inside the Vatican."

Father Gabriele Amorth, 85, who has been chief exorcist for 25 years, says there are "cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the Demon."

He added: "When one speaks of 'the smoke of Satan' [a phrase coined by Pope Paul VI in 1972] in the holy rooms, it is all true -- including these latest stories of violence and pedophilia."

Now al-Qaida is operating in Ireland

The seven people arrested in Waterford and Cork today in an The four men and three women were supposedly trying to carry out the terrorist organization's threat to murder Vilks. It even offered $100,000 to the person who killed him, as well as $50,000 if they slit his throat.

Al-Qaida was enraged after Vilks drew a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed depicted as a dog.

When the threats were made, Vilks was put into hiding by Danish authorities. But clearly, the al-Qaida killers were intent on finding him.

Surprise as George Bush intervenes in Northern Ireland peace process

George Bush has intervened in the Northern Irish peace process in his first active role in politics since leaving the White House.

He called Conservative party leader David Cameron on Friday and urged him to get Ulster Unionists to vote for a key package on policing and justice set to be decided today. The Guardian newspaper broke the news in a lead story on Tuesday morning

Bush made a direct plea to David Cameron because his party and the Ulster Unionist have agreed a pact in the British general election set for early summer.

New York Times' Paul Krugman blames Irish bank regulators for financial crisis

Paul Krugman,Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist. has laid the failure of the Irish economy in the past two years squarely at the feet of those whose job it was to regulate and oversee banks.

Krugman's Monday columnn is given over to an examination of the two crises in the U.S. and Ireland which he says were similar in impact but very different in how they came about.

In Ireland he says there were no exotic financial instruments such as derivatives which caused such grief over here.

Why 'Danny Boy' ban should be imposed on St. Patrick's Day

I'm sorry to see that 'Danny Boy' has been allowed back into the only Irish bar in the world where we were safe from hearing it sung by drunks.

Foley's Bar in Manhattan won worldwide headlines when they banned the song, calling it too maudlin. The reintroduction came when a new whisky called 'Danny Boy' launched at the venue on Manhattan's West Side.

Irish tenor Ronan Tynan quits New York for Boston after death threats

Ronan Tynan has decided to leave New York after death threats, boycotts and angry emails put him under pressure to move.

The Irish-born Tynan is quitting New York for Boston and has not ruled out singing ‘America the Beautiful’ at Red Sox games. Since 9/11 up to last year he had become a fixture doing the same at Yankees games.

President Obama must take the lead on immigration reform

It looks like President Obama is taking a shot at immigration reform after all. This week Obama met with Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Lindsay Graham who have been trying for months to create a bipartisan bill.

So far however, it appears Graham is the only Republican likely to sign on to such a bill but Obama is seeking to move something on the Senate floor that will satisfy his immigration supporters, especially the Latino lobby, who have backed him heavily.

Standoff between Israel and Ireland worsens

Israel is clearly making a major effort to repair relations with Ireland after the Dubai passport fiasco when Irish passports were used by Mossad agents.

Writing in The New York Times yesterday Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Zion Evrony was positively gushing as he paid tribute to the Northern Irish peace process and the lessons for Israel therein.

Genocide against Armenians in 1915 is finally recognized

The Irish are leaving Ireland again

It is an eerie feeling being in Ireland these days. The sense of deja vu for an emigrant is incredible.

The Irish are leaving again, not so much this time to America, but to Australia, Canada and other points, driven again by a poor economy and the inevitable impact.

I am launching a book here about my thirty years as an exile from Ireland called 'An Irish Voice' but the most surprising aspect of the launch is how relevant it has suddenly become again to talk about emigration.

Time to welcome gays to march in Saint Patrick's Day parades

Two are in San Francisco and Key West Florida - both cities with very large Gay communities .

Ironically, in Ireland, where attitudes to gays are far behind those in many American cities, gays are welcome in both the Dublin and Cork marches, the two largest.

There are many and complex reasons why gays are so excluded from American marches, the much larger role of the Catholic Church for instance in the New York parade is one, but isn't it high time we got rid of the excuses that prevent gays from marching from coast to coast?

Denny's apology falls far short on Irish Famine smear

What a mealy-mouthed apology Denny's just issued for their incredible behavior in mocking the victims of the Irish Famine. Here it is:

"Denny's has a history of using humor in its television advertising. It is certainly not the intention of the company to offend anyone or any group and we apologize if this spot has in any way. As a result of the feedback we have received from our customers the spot will no longer be on the air after Tuesday. We thank those who took the time to contact us."

Gee, thanks. Denny's will apologize "if" the ad offended? It offended all right, and it seems utterly incredible that this company does not see fit to issue a decent apology.

Young Joe Kennedy III won't run for Congress

Despite earlier reports that he was ready and set to go, Joseph P. Kennedy III will not seek election to Rep. William Delahunt’s seat, the Barnstable County, Massachusetts, assistant district attorney said.

"Where I’m at right now is I’ve got a job that I love and a place that I enjoy," he said.

Delahunt has said he is considering retiring from Congress when his term ends this year. Kennedy, 29, said he will not run no matter what Delahunt decides.

Chile earthquake begs question of what is happening to our Earth

Huge earthquake in Chile, Tsunami threatened, earthquake in Haiti, crazy cold weather in Ireland and the U.S. What is happening to our world?

In a word nothing, or at least nothing we can explain.

Of course the doomsayers say we are bound for perdition, the global warmers will say it is all a sign of impending future disasters, global coolers will point outside their windows and say see it is snowing,therefore no global climate change.

Father of Irish jihad warrior in Afghanistan speaks out

An Irishman who died fighting in Afghanistan while waging Jihad has finally had his story come to light as his family battle to have his remains brought back to Ireland

John Burke from Clonmel, County Tipperary changed his name to Muhammad Omar and died fighting there in 1989. The Irish Times has turned up his records.

Caroline Kennedy screw up finished Governor Paterson

Forgive Caroline Kennedy if she is feeling a little upbeat today. She knows revenge is a dish best eaten cold and David Paterson was just served up one very chilly desert. He will not run for governor again and will be very lucky to hold onto the job until November.

His failure to nominate Kennedy when she wanted the senate seat is the root of all his troubles.Why he failed to do so will go down as one of the most boneheaded decisions ever made by a New York politician. After that he was a dead man walking

He upset the entire political hierarchy and painted a target on his back for The New York Times who have now proceeded to finish his career in politics. Maybe it would have happened anyway but I can't see the Times pursuing a Paterson vendetta if he had chosen Caroline.

Muslims blame bomb on 'fanatical Roman Catholic terrorists'

It all depends on your point of view.

Below is the largest Muslim periodical in Ireland's take on the recent bomb outside a police station in Northern Ireland by IRA dissidents. MUPAC, the Muslim Public Affairs Committee newspaper, reported it thus. This is not ironically reported by the way.

"Fanatical, fundamentalist Roman Catholic terrorists were responsible for a car bomb outside a court house in Newry, Northern Ireland, in an apparent resurgence of 'Christianist' violence.

My green light for Obama's Saint Patrick's party

The invitation slipped softly through the mailbox this morning. The ornate handwriting and the address was a dead giveaway.

"The White House Washington D.C. The President and Mrs. Obama."

Phew! I'm still on the list.

Immigration reform is dead

Comprehensive immigration reform for 2010 and beyond is dead. There, I've said it. It is time to concentrate on alternative strategies.

As the founder of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, a movement that took thousands of Irish to Capitol Hill to lobby for reform, it gives me no pleasure whatsoever to say this.

I know first-hand of many Irish undocumented who live in fear that the knock on the door will come. They are very much in my thoughts as I write this.

New York Times' David Brooks talking through his 'fundament'

David Brooks in The New York Times is pining for the return of the male Protestant ascendancy class which ruled this country for generations.

He says despite the birth of diversity in fields as diverse as banking, journalism and government, the disaffection is greater now than ever before.

Which makes him yearn for the Good Old Days, it seems, though he denies that is his point.

Why I'm heading for Winter Olympics gold in curling in 2014

I want to become an Olympian so I'm thinking of taking up curling.

Yes, I know I'm, a bit old, mid fifties and all that, but after watching the curling on TV last night I think I can still hack it in four years time.

Irish defense minister resigns over brothel allegation

Irish defense minister Willie O'Dea has resigned after denying under oath he linked another politician to a brothel and later admitting that he had.

O'Dea gave the false information to a journalist last year about Limerick Sinn Fein councilor Maurice Quinlivan.

He told a journalist for the Limerick Leader: "I'd like to ask Mr Quinlivan, is the brothel still closed?"

Irish and Haitian stars will gather for Haiti relief

Huffington Post column agrees with printing anti-Irish jokes

Despite Internet, Irish reading more newspapers than ever

It appears there is a place on earth where people cannot get enough of reading newspapers. It is called Ireland.

Look at this quote from today's Irish Times "The survey, conducted by Millward Brown Lansdowne, showed that, overall, the number of people regularly reading a newspaper in the Republic increased during 2009 by 3,000, to 3.529 million."

Yes, increased. While the rest of the world is losing ground daily to the internet those pesky Irish are reading more newspapers than ever. Good for them!

Bill O'Reilly exposes Sarah Palin on Limbaugh 'retard' quote

Bill O'Reilly remains one of the few members of the media who asks hard-hitting questions regardless of the person he is interviewing.

On Tuesday night he confronted Sarah Palin with the harsh reality that she was trying to have it both ways with the use of the word "retard." Palin had slammed Rahm Emanuel,White House Chief of Staff, for using it but had said that when Rush Limbaugh used it he was using "satire."

Give me a break. The use of the word was just as offensive by Limbaugh as it was by Emanuel and Palin should have just said so. Instead she tried to have it both ways and got caught by O'Reilly.

Irish Catholic Church survival may depend on meeting with Pope

Twenty-four Irish bishops will spend the most-important two days of their lives meeting with the Pope and other high Vatican officials in Rome on Monday and Tuesday.

They know that nothing less than the long-term survival of the Irish Catholic Church is at stake because of their collective failure to address the cancer of child sex abuse by members of the clergy over the past decades.

If they fail to address this issue once and for all and come completely clean on the extent of it and the steps they are taking, they will find themselves in a tightening death spiral when they arrive back in Ireland.

Sarah Palin 'Palm Pilot ' criticism is grossly unfair

Sarah Palin's Palm Pilot moment is no big deal. The Democrats are looking foolish with their attacks on her because she just used an earlier form of technology.

Frank Rich in The New York Times makes it sound like its a treasonable offense. Lighten up folks -- there is nothing new in the world. The invention of the telegraph was once the Twitter of its day. It is all about how you communicate.

Whatis Barack Obama's TelePrompter, or Bill Clinton's well-practiced moment of reflection before answering a question? British Prime Minister Harold Wilson used to light his pipe before answering a particularly tough one. An Irish politician I knew used to start by thanking the questioner for the question in order to give himself a little more time to come up with an answer.

Susan Boyle doesn't need a man

It is Valentine's Day, and everyone seems to be determined to find Susan Boyle a man. The British tabloids have been full of profiles of eligible men, not to mention the US equivalents.

To which I say: If Susan Boyle was a man, would there be anything like this attention paid to her single status?

You know the answer to that -- of course not. There is a double standard. She is one of a kind, a true superstar who has made it without much need of help from man or beast to the very top.
Her fans embrace her true talent. They are not interested in who she is dating, or how her personal life is shaping up.

Irish man John Furlong helps open Winter Olympics

John Furlong has taken the lessons of playing fields in Tipperary and applied them to the management of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

His opening remarks at the Olympics represented the highlight of his life. It was the first time an Irish accent was heard at an opening ceremony since Lord Killanin, the former International Olympic Committee chairman in the 1970s.

He is CEO of VANOC, the organizing committee which has brought all the Games venues in on budget and a year in advance.

Patrick Kennedy wants to be a father, not a politician

I think it is safe to say that Patrick Kennedy never knew what he wanted until he saw his father on his deathbed.

Anyone who knew Ted Kennedy knew how devoted his family was to him. Whatever the public figure and foibles, in private Ted Kennedy was an absolutely adoring father, stepfather, uncle and grandfather.

Patrick watched this love unfold on his father's death watch, and reflected on his own life, at 42 and unmarried.

Bill O'Reilly and Fox News will definitely kill Lincoln

Bill O'Reilly will kill Lincoln all right. His upcoming book entitled 'Killing Lincoln' will allegedly be an insight into the death of our most famous president, as viewed through the eyes of a Fox News anchor.

This should make interesting reading. Will O'Reilly divine what ' the folks' at the time really felt about Lincoln? Will his talking points memo say that Lincoln moved to quick too soon on that pesky Negro emancipation stuff ?

The secret role of the women who saved Northern Ireland peace deal

The unsung hero of the peace deal reached in Northern Ireland last week was an unlikely figure.

Arlene Foster, who was temporarily appointed first minister after Peter Robinson stepped aside, played a key role in creating the deal, according to insiders.

Overworked Bill Clinton rushed to hospital for heart surgery

Bill Clinton has been rushed to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, the same hospital in which he underwent heart surgery a few years ago in New York.

The former President was suffering from chest pains in his Harlem office, and his staff brought him immediately to the hospital.

Hillary Clinton is believed to be on her way to her husband's side at the hospital.

Good news about Catholic Church you'll never hear

The Catholic Church is going through tough times with issues such as lack of vocations and abusive priests.

But it is time Catholic healthcare systems and the incredible work that Catholic hospitals do for the ill and needy in this country is recognized.

There facilities are present in all 50 states providing acute care, skilled nursing, and other services including hospice, home health, assisted living, and senior housing.

Chris Matthews calls Sean Hannity a 'hyena' on global warming

It is an Irish brawl sure to keep fans on the edge of their seat, Chris Matthews of NBC has denounced fellow Irish American Sean Matthews really got worked up and said to On his 'Hardball' TV program on After a break Matthews continued: "Next, hyena time. Here’s Sean "Here's Senator Jim "Quote, 'Where’s Al Gore now?' Well, here are the facts, gentlemen. The average global temperature last year was the second highest on record. The past decade was the warmest ever. Cold weather in one area over several days doesn't change the reality of what’s happening to this planet, the only one we've got, by the way."

No word of response from

Irish bachelors can rejoice this Valentine's Day

So much for the weaker sex! Irish women live five years longer than men on average, a larger gap than here in the U.S. or most of the rest of Europe.

The Central Statistics Office figures also show, not surprisingly, that there are far more older women in Ireland than men when you count in the earlier death rate.

Malcolm Gladwell says Irish are bad drunks

The Irish are bad drunks who can't handle their liquor, like Italians and an obscure Bolivian tribe says Malcolm Gladwell in the latest issue of New Yorker.

The world's most famous pop psychologist bases his evidence on studies of various ethnic groups in New Haven in the 1950s.

He says that Italians at the time drank every bit as much as Irish did, but that family rituals and practices meant that the drinking took place in a structured environment.

Tea Party serves piping hot cup of hate and bigotry

Anti-immigrant hatred was spewed at the Tea Party convention over the weekend, but you probably didn't know it, as it was barely reported.

Instead we had a lot of speculating about Sarah Palin and a 2012 White House run, and the Tea Party crowd came across as fairly decent folk, mad as hell, but civil.

Not so.

Pope lashes out at Irish Catholic Church child abusers

Pope Benedict XVI has warned that the dangers of pedophilia still exist in the Church.

He made the comments before he meets Irish bishops next week to discuss the scandals in Ireland that have resulted in four archbishops stepping down.

In a clear reference to the Irish situation, Benedict, speaking of the imperative to protect children at all costs, stated that "Jesus' harsh words in the Bible about those who harm children should commit everyone to never lowering the level of respect and love."

Phoebe Prince, bullied schoolgirl, did not die in vain

Phoebe Prince did not die in vain.

The reaction to her suicide after suffering unrelenting bullying means that such cases will be taken much more seriously in the future.

The 15-year-old native of Ireland, who had recently moved to the U.S., was bullied to death in her South Hadley, Massachusetts, school by a group of "mean girls" who taunted her to the point where she took her own life.

The truth about Hillary Clinton and the Northern Ireland breakthrough

Right on time for the latest peace settlement in Northern Ireland comes the tinny yapping of those who believe America should have nothing more to do with Northern Ireland.

Niall Stanage, a journalist based here, made an ass of himself last year for some incredibly stupid comments to the effect that Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration were no longer interested in Northern Ireland and Hillary herself would not personally intervene.

That was shortly before Hillary went to Northern Ireland herself and directly negotiated with the parties there after appointing a key Irish American advisor Declan Kelly as her point person on Northern Ireland.

100 years later: Original Scottish whisky found at South Pole hut of Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton failed in his bid to reach the South Pole but the Irish-born Antarctic explorer may have let the world a more significant gift.

Just discovered are three crates of whisky and two crates of brandy beneath the floorboards of hut used by Shackleton in 1908 during his quest to reach the South Pole.

The 102 year old Scotch whisky find is like finding the original recipe for distilling the hard stuff.

It's a deal in Northern Ireland as Sinn Fein and DUP agree on way forward

A deal reached in Northern Ireland as talks end?

The basis for a deal on saving Northern Ireland's power sharing government now exists, says

Bill O'Reilly wins easily in debate with Jon Stewart

Bill O'Reilly definitely won the face-off with Jon Stewart on the O'Reilly Factor last night but Stewart closed with some haymakers that kept the margin of victory down.

America's favorite left and right wing pundits produced surprisingly little fireworks. Both men were incredibly polite to one another.

One longed for a Michael Moore, or some other agent provocateur, to lose his cool and throw a tantrum.

Gordon Brown threatens snap election in Northern Ireland

Bill O'Reilly shows class by inviting Jon Stewart

You have to hand it to Bill O'Reilly.

On Wednesday, the Fox talk-show king will host none other than Jon Stewart, his mirror opposite in very possible way.

It's the Comedy Channel meets Fox in one of the great smack-downs of this television talk era.

John Murtha, last of the old Irish Democratic bosses, gravely ill

Congressman John

Groundhog day in Northern Ireland as talks sputter

It is no coincidence that today is Groundhog Day in Northern Ireland when the past returns as both present and future.

Irish and British leaders lose patience with Northern Ireland talks

Word has reached me that the Irish and British governments have put their foot down with the two parties engaged in the endless talks in Northern Ireland and said enough is enough.

What seemed like a deal earlier today, Monday, is now once again under pressure because the DUP has had a last second case of the wobblies as the deadline neared to go public.

After seven days what can be left to negotiate? Sinn Fein made it obvious earlier today that they were ready to accept whatever had been agreed. The DUP indicated the same thing.

Obama attacked as 'very weak' on immigration reform

President Barack Obama's comments on legalizing undocumented workers in his State of the Union address has drawn sharp criticism from immigration advocates.

Obama stated toward the end of his speech that "We should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system," Obama said ". . . and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation."

Rep Luis Gutierrez, (D-Ill.) who has authored a bill in the house that has 92 co-sponsors , told the Washington Post there there was "disillusionment" among immigration advocates across the country.

Major breakthrough in Northern Ireland crisis talks

It appears a major breakthrough has occurred at the talks in Northern Ireland between the Democratic Unionist Party and their government partners Sinn Fein.

The parties have been on the brink of ending their powersharing government unless agreement on two issues, policing and justice oversight, and how Orange parades are managed, are resolved.

British Secretary of State Shaun Woodward confirmed the new optimism. "We have made, across six very long days, I think, considerable progress," he stated. Talks are due to resume again on Monday.

Irish women should follow St. Brigid, not just St. Patrick

St. Brigid is the female equivalent of St. Patrick in Ireland, but there are no parades in her honor, and apart from the St. Brigid's Cross, her name is hardly known.

That really should change.

St. Brigid was a woman who was well ahead of her time. Born around 453, she was the daughter of a slave and a chieftain. Her feast day is celebrated on February 1.

Joe Kennedy regrets he didn't take on Scott Brown

Joe Kennedy is now regretting he did not run against Scott Brown for the Massachusetts senate seat held by his uncle Teddy Kennedy.

Kennedy was asked yesterday whether it was a mistake that he did not run
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Kennedy said. “Maybe that wasn’t the greatest decision I ever made.”

J.D. Salinger's Irish mother and mistress

The late author of "Catcher in the Rye," J.D. Salinger, had two great Irish influences in his life.

His mother, Miriam

Obama says 'yes we can' to immigration reform

Barack Obama came out fighting last night in his State of the Union and made it clear that issues such as immigration reform are still very much on his agenda.

It was great to see the Commander in Chief recapture some of the fire and fury that brought him to the White House in the first place. For too long he has seemed a prisoner of the office, tentative, not bold, afraid to shake up the cosy consensus that passes for policy these days.

On immigration reform he was clear that he will pursue what has become one of the most contentious issues of his presidency. For tens of thousands of undocumented Irish his message was good news

Peter Robinson fails test of leadership in Northern Ireland

Dublin : No matter how the two governments try and spin it the fact that Irish and British prime ministers Brian

New York firefighter tests: Political correctness run amok

It is fact universally acknowledged that the New York City Fire Department is a strongly Irish institution. Look up the Fire Department dead on 9/11, and over half are Irish names.

There are still neighborhoods in New York where the Irish kids grow up dreaming of joining the Fire or Police Departments. It is a noble tradition, lasting back to the first time the Irish flooded to these shores.

Now comes a federal judge, Nicholas G. Garaufis of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, who ruled last week that the city has intentionally discriminated against black and minority applicants in Fire Department tests.

Pernell Roberts my childhood hero on Bonanza

Pernell Roberts helped shape my boyhood in Ireland. He died today taking part of that boyhood with him.

'

Unionists playing the Orange card in north talks

Both the British and Irish Prime Ministers will spend today in Belfast in an attempt to keep the Northern Ireland Assembly alive.

Bill O'Reilly far outshines one trick Glenn Beck in live show

The sold out show featuring Bill O'Reilly and Glen Beck at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island on Saturday night proved one thing above all others.

Lucy Lawless exploits sex and violence -- shock!

Is there anything worse than an actress seeking a television audience by deliberately hyping the sex and violence in the show she is promoting?

This is exactly what Lucy Lawless -- who is really Lucy Ryan, an Irish New Zealand actress, is trying to do to try and revive her stalled career. She's essentially been nobody since she played Xena the warrior princes a decade or so ago.

I'm sure she is one of these actresses we will see condemning violence against women and preaching love and acceptance for all living things. Yet, she's not afraid to use blood and gore to try and further her stalled career

Rep. Patrick Murphy a disgrace to his Irish roots

Congressman Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania is a disgrace to his Irish roots. Yesterday he was one of just nine Democrats who voted to never allow 'amnesty' for undocumented persons in America.

Congressman Murphy should be ashamed of himself. He has joined the ranks of the anti immigrant lynch mob which seeks to ensure that immigrants are treated with hate and suspicion.

Back when Congressman Patrick Murphy's forefathers were trying to come to America there was an ignoramus group called the Know Nothings that, like Patrick Murphy now, wanted to seize the Irish and deport them in chains back to the old country. They hoisted signs like 'No Irish Need Apply' and portrayed us as apes and simians.

Tory leader Davd Cameron may destroy Irish peace process

News / Talks on verge of breakdown / Click here

Bill Maher slams Obama and draws gasps from crowd

If you want to see how bad things may be for President Obama, consider Bill I was present, and there were gasps and hisses when When Bill Like any good stand-up man, In a strange way,

Revisiting 9/11 and the Twin Towers

It's a quiet street early in the morning where old ghosts meet, a few blocks from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan . I happened to be there this morning, thinking back to the immensity of that awful day in September 2001.

How it changed us utterly , nothing will ever be the same again.It was when we first heard of Al Qaeda and Bin Laden and they have since never been far from our mental landscape.

Now

Was Ricky Gervais offensive with Colin Farrell drunkard jibe?

Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais is catching flak for his anti-Irish joke aimed at actor Colin Farrell as he prepared to make his entrance at Sunday night's ceremony. We had dozens of calls to our offices all this week complaining.

Gervais, sipping a beer on stage was certainly up for mischief."The great thing about the Golden Globes is that it crushes prejudice and stereotypes." he began. "A particular stereotype is that Irishmen are drunk, hairy hell raisers. Now please welcome Colin Farrell.

Farrell did not look too pleased with the mocking introduction but let's face it he has been called worse, the 'Lusty Leprechaun' among other names.

Is Scott Brown the new Barack Obama?

He was an unknown state senator when he decided to run for the U.S. Senate. He parlayed that run into national prominence, and later became President of the United States.

I'm talking about Barack Obama, but could I also be describing Scott Brown -- who came from obscurity to the greatest political upset in memory yesterday in Massachusetts?

The parallels are eerie. Both are charismatic good-looking men, both are lawyers, both started as outsiders in the party.

Kennedy seat loss a disaster for Democrats - and me

This is the column wherein I eat my hat. I promised to do this if Martha Coakley was beaten, given that I thought no Democratic contender in a million years could ever lose Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts.

Hell, I thought the Boston Strangler could have won his seat if he ran as a Democrat.

Coakley may still eke out a victory say pollwatchers

The high turnout in Boston is encouraging Democratic

Brown defeats Coakley in Mass. Senate race, says betting company

Scott Brown looks like a winner in the Massachusetts senate race if the Intrade.com projections are anything to go by.

Intrade, the financial betting exchange coincidentally based in Dublin, reckons he has an 85 per cent chance of winning, up seven points just today.

That may well be an indicator from insiders working the exit polling that the race is trending heavily in his direction today and they are getting their money on.

Why Bill Clinton is the greatest ex-president

Bill Clinton is the best ex-president of the United States. Whatever you thought of him as president, you have to accept he has become one of the greatest humanitarians on earth.

Some may say Jimmy Carter, who won the Nobel Prize, is the greatest ex-prez, but I think Clinton wins it. He is simply a more inspirational figure.

Yesterday, as UN special envoy, Clinton met with the injured in Haiti and promised massive support. The sight of him helping the earthquake victims was at once compelling and uplifting. Here was American soft power at its best, along with the troops President Obama has sent and the joint work that former presidents George Bush and Clinton will undertake together for Haiti.

Could Ireland need a U.S. bailout? The N.Y. Times thinks so

Does Ireland need U.S. help to overcome their current economic crisis? The New York Times lead editorial on Monday January 18 seems to think so.

Ireland was identified along with Greece as "teetering on the brink" of economic collapse by The Times editorial board. "unless the world's richest nations come to the rescue of weakened states, the global financial crisis might sprout another leg and stop the nascent recovery in its tracks."
The editorial points to what happened in Dubai, where the once rich Arab state was bailed out by neighbor Abu Dhabi to the tune of $10 billion dollars.

"Greece and Ireland are suffering from a hard landing from a decade of debt-fueled profligacy." The Times wrote.."Ireland's economy is expected to contract 7.5 per cent in 2009."
The Times suggests that "To begin with the more powerful countries of the European Union --like Germany-- must come to the rescue of their weaker neighbors, But other countries, including the United States and China must stand by to provide help."
That is pretty tough stuff for Ireland, to be included in the list of countries that will need international help.

Susan Boyle and what really happened at the airport

After writing about the Heathrow Airport incident involving Susan Boyle yesterday, I have been inundated with requests from fans to tell the real truth about the incident.

Well, here it is from a devoted Susan Boyle fan, who has been able to get a report from an actual passenger who witnessed it all.

She writes; "Niall, we received this comment from a BA passenger who was present during the "incident" at the airport: Here is what actually happened...

Ted Kennedy death may cost Obama the White House

How ironic that Ted Kennedy, the man who played a huge role in delivering Barack Obama to the White House, may be about to take a possible second term away from him.

There is no doubt that if Democrats lose the Kennedy seat in Massachusetts in the special election on Tuesday, that Barack Obama's road to re-election suddenly looks like Hamburger Hill. He will be fighting for his political life for the rest of his term.

Ted Kennedy's death seemed little cause for concern at the time, and a Democratic successor seemed a certainty. Now, it may be the hinge of history that unhinges a second Obama term.

Yes, folks, Rush Limbaugh is a bigot

I'm always wary when people tell me to consider the context of inflammatory remarks when they are trying to defend someone. I got lots of those comments yesterday after my blog on Rush Limbaugh's opinions about why relief money shouldn't be sent to Haiti, and how I didn't understand the context, and Rush wasn't really a racist.

Oh, I understand the context, all right. This is the guy who referred to our president as the "magic Negro," who questioned black quarterback Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles as a "media creation" and had to resign from ESPN as a result, who recently referred to "Negroes" serving drinks to Senator Edward Kennedy, and who said about Haiti "You can't even pick up a prostitute down there without genuine fear of AIDS."

He's also the guy the NFL decided was too racist to hold team ownership in the NFL. Now there are

Jimmy Fallon the big winner in Conan O'Brien/Jay Leno fight

The big winner in the Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien stand off is the Irish guy at NBC.

No, not Conan, Jimmy Fallon.

Polls are wrong; Coakley will easily win Kennedy seat in Mass.

The pundits are trying to say that Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will lose the race against Republican Scott Brown on Tuesday.

I'll eat my hat if she does.

Rush Limbaugh can't sink any lower than Haiti hate speech

The heartrending scenes from Haiti, where up to 100,000 may be dead, have failed to move the flinty heart of right wing radio host Rush Limbaugh.

He told his listeners today not to donate to Haiti because the crisis was being used by President Obama.

Does Iris Robinson affair prove women no different than men?

What is striking about the Iris Robinson affair is how sordid it is.

We are used to powerful males -- such as Bill Clinton and Silvio Berlusconi and John Edwards, to name a few -- who become embroiled in nasty little flings which end up in grief and bawdy headlines.

Perhaps with a woman as the aggressor -- and the title "Celtic Cougar" describes Mrs. Robinson to a T -- things would be different?

Irish connections run very deep to Haiti

Connections between Ireland and Haiti are incredibly strong. Many of the Irish relief agencies such as Concern and Goal provide the bulk of the humanitarian services to the country and they have a long and honorable record of helping the poverty stricken Caribbean country.

Many Irish American supporters of Concern and Goal have spent considerable time working in Haiti and their prayers will be with the people now and any Irish volunteers who have been caught up in the horrific aftermath.

Irish billionaire businessman Denis O'Brien has invested more in Haiti through Digicell, his mobile phone company, than anywhere else in the world. In addition to creating the phone network singlehandedly, he has also donated massive amounts to the country to fight the incredible poverty there.

Six of 10 richest people in Ireland are bankrupt

"THE PROPERTY developer Bernard McNamara, believed up to recently to be one of the wealthiest people in the State, is 'no longer a person of significant net worth,' the High Court was told yesterday."

It reinforced what a leading financial figure in Ireland had told me recently: 'Six of the 10 richest men in Ireland are completely broke," he said. McNamara was obviously one of them.

McNamara was in the property business in the same way Coca Cola are in the soft drinks business. You could not go anywhere in Ireland without running into a McNamara building site sign. He was the local Trump without the ego.

Robinson resigns 'temporarily' but he is unlikely to come back

Blink and you will miss the latest astonishing revelations in Northern Ireland's politics. Today, it was First Minister Peter Robinson announcing his temporary resignation for six weeks allowing his environment minister Arlene Foster to take over.
All that is legal under the existing laws of the Northern Ireland Assembly but the DUP have cleverly kicked the can down the road on the vital subject of the placing of police and justice powers under the framework of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In six weeks time we will be six weeks closer to the British general election in June which is the real goal here for the DUP. They want to make it to that election and not to allow the TUV, the Traditional Unionist Voice party ,eat away at their vote share.The TUV led by DUP dissident Jim Allister is seeking to end the power sharing government .
The latest move puts Sinn Fein in a tough bind. They were close to quitting because Robinson would not move on the devolution of policing .This latest crisis makes it almost impossible for them to quit now and they will have to see it out.
Meanwhile I doubt Robinson will be back. The political damage within his notoriously conservative party of his wife's racy revelations seems far too much. I expect his deputy Nigel Dodds to take over .

You know you're in trouble when ...the Iris Robinson, Bill Clinton and Harry Reid edition

You know you're in trouble when..

You are quoted attacking Hillary Clinton for allowing her marriage to continue after the Monica Lewinsky affair and your name is Iris Robinson....

You are the Irish Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and your country is falling apart in the 2010 ice age and you are quoted in the Sunday Independent speaking from the airport in Malta, temperature 90 degrees,where you have spent the last week on vacation. And you are saying that you were always in control of the situation.....

Can women really propose on Leap Year in Ireland?

Mrs. Robinson is a hall of fame hypocrite

Here's to you Mrs Robinson. In the annals of political hypocrisy Iris Robinson should be in the Hall of Fame. The wife of Northern Ireland's First Minster is an elected MP herself. The news on Thursday that she had an affair with a 19-year-old and concealed her relationship when getting him business grants has hit like a thunderbolt

Robinson deserves all the odium she will get. She has harangued homosexuals on the ills of their ways and adopted a high moral tone that always resonated with her bible thumping supporters. Yet, there are persistent reports that one of her own close relatives is gay.

Not for nothing was she known as the Wicked Witch of the North and received brickbats from human rights groups her anti-gay comments

Boston Globe shows its Northern Ireland bias with attack on Gerry Adams

The Boston Globe was notorious during The Troubles for getting the Northern Ireland story wrong. For years they were influenced by British diplomats and local Irish American 'experts' such as Padraig O'Malley, who wrote a book proclaiming the conflict unsolvable and essentially blaming the IRA.

James Joyce, the dinner, The Dead

I spent last night back in Ireland on January 4th 1904 to be exact. We were in a nice Georgian house on Dublins' south side and we had lots of company and intrigue to keep us happy.

Actually I was at the annual "The Dead" dinner  hosted by Irish Consul General Niall Burgess at his magnificent apartment in New York.Other guests included actors Gabriel Byrne and Jim Norton and writer Colum McCann who recently won the National Book Award .

"The Dead" is among  the greatest of all short stories written by James Joyce.It recounts the events on that night in 1904 at a post Christmas party in the home of elderly relatives of the main character Gabriel Conroy, who many believe  was based on Joyce himself. Some say it is Joyce as he might have been if he stayed in Ireland, a slightly fussy schoolteacher with writing aspirations.

Let's draft Susan Boyle to perform at the 2010 Grammys!

Every day it seems another high-profile name is added to the list of stars performing at the Grammys on Jan. 31.

Just look at the names already: The Dave Matthews Band, Green Day, Lady Gaga, P!nk, the Zac Brown Band, Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Antebellum, Maxwell, and Taylor Swift.

Who's missing? Who do you think?

Senator Chris Dodd will be sorely missed by the Irish

The retirement of Senator Chris Dodd comes as a major shock. He was one of the best friends the Irish ever had in the Senate and he will be sorely missed. I knew he was facing an uphill battle in Connecticut but last time we spoke he was in fighting form.

Chris is that rare bird,a politician who keeps his feet on the ground. Recently I was flying back to Ireland and was surprised to discover Chris sitting back in coach with us , contentedly reading a book, clearly relishing his anonymity. So many other politicians would have demanded first class and all the perks but that was not Chris's way.

He loved Ireland,especially his house in Connemara and he loved to go there in the winter season when he could read his books and take long walks. Ironically the house was one of the reasons he was making negative headlines recently because of allegations he did not pay market price .

What a stupid move to ban Kathy Griffin from CNN

By Niall O'Dowd
Banning Kathy Griffin from CNN because of her potty mouth is an insane exercise in censorship.
At a time when TV movies and crime series are ever more violent Griffin is being blanked because she dared to drop the f- bomb on air during a New Year's special.
I have news for America. if you go to Britain or Ireland don't turn on your TV screen because the F-word is uttered quite frequently -- though the cop shows tend to be far less violent.
Which is better for our kids? Some swearing that could easily have been bleeped out by time delay or rape, mayhem, murder on our TV screen nightly?
We had Kathy Griffin at one of our events in Irish America Magazine a few years back.She was hilarious --and profane. Nobody objected. As it turns out her mother's family are from the same town in Ireland my family grew up in. She has been to Ireland and loves it there.
I know she won't have been surprised if she turned her TV on over there. We need to grow up over here too. Bad language is not violent, mayhem on our TV screens alas, most definitely is.

Smith Bagley, Washington Irish philanthropist dies

Smith Bagley, 74, a very prominent member of the American Ireland Fund has died. He was heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune and married to Elizabeth Frawley Bagley who is very active in Irish American circles and was President Clinton's ambassador to Portugal.
The Washington Post reported that he died Jan. 2 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda of complications from a stroke he suffered Christmas Eve while vacationing in St. Simons Island.
He and his wife, Elizabeth Bagley were fixtures at Irish social events in Washington D.C. and both strongly supported the American Ireland Fund.
Elizabeth Bagley had previously worked for Senator Edward Kennedy and handled the Irish issue for him. The couple were particularly close to John Hume, former leader of the SDLP party in Northern Ireland and Nobel Peace Prize winner
"He was much more than a fundraiser," Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee told the Washington Post . "Smith had more ideas than anyone else in the party. He always had a positive attitude and was great on strategic advice." "He was so generous, always in good humor and full of positive energy."

Survivors include his wife of 26 years, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley of Washington; a son from his first marriage, Walker Bagley of Lexington, Ky.; three children from his second marriage, Nancy Reynolds Bagley and Nicole Ladmer Bagley, both of Washington, and Brett Dylan Bagley of New York; two children from his third marriage, Vaughan Elizabeth Bagley and Conor Reynolds Bagley, both of Washington; a sister, Susan Bagley Bloom of Vancouver, Canada; and five grandchildren.

Van Morrison and a magical day in belfast

Whether or not Van Morrison has fathered a baby with Gigi Lee his reputation is still stellar.

I met him once. I was in a Belfast hotel near where critical talks on the Northern Irish peace process were going on in 2002 . I saw a man sitting in the restaurant as I was being seated and thought he looked an awful lot like Van Morrison. Of course it was him and it took me back to a magical day in 1995 when President Clinton visited Belfast.

Van the Man was there to blast out his magical anthem 'There'll be Days Like This' when Clinton stepped onto the stage at the Belfast City Hall in what he later described as one of the greatest days of his presidency.

Susan Boyle: The record-breaker

The meteoric rise to stardom enjoyed by Susan Boyle has been as impressive as it has been unbelievable, but one of our eagle-eyed Subo watchers, Suzanne Plourde, sent me in the following list of achievements that left me breathless.

With kudos to Suzanne for compiling such a list, I have decided to share her Susan record breakers with you all:

-"Britain's Got Talent" runner-up Susan Boyle made history by releasing the best-selling debut album - since records began.

John F. Kennedy announced for president fifty years ago today

Exactly 50 years ago today John. F. Kennedy announced he was running for president of the United States. He did it with little fanfare from the Senate Caucus Room, unlike today's announcements which usually take place in the candidate's home states amid hoopla and media hype.

JFK cited his military service and a desire to defend America against all enemies.He was not considered the favorite to win,

Fellow senator Hubert Humphrey was thought to be the more likely candidate because of Kennedy's Irish Catholic religion and background, his youth and his inexperience.

One inch of snow paralyzes Ireland

Just back from Ireland where one inch, yes one inch of snow, paralyzed the country on New Year's Day.

My flight back to New York was delayed several hours and there were many stories of people stranded in their homes because no one had bothered to clear the roadways or the sidewalks.

By contrast, a few weeks back New York was hit with the highest snowfall in decades. Both JFK Airport and La Guardia kept functioning.

Ian Paisley an inspiration in Irish Catholic Church sex scandals

The most compassionate words I have heard in Ireland on the Catholic Church child sex abuse scandal came from the Rev. Ian Paisley.

That may sound utterly absurd, given Paisley's history of anti-Catholic fulminating, but while in Ireland I listened to an interview he gave on Newstalk radio last night, and it left me with an entirely new opinion of the man.

In Ireland, the Church abuse scandal has been reduced to legalistic maneuvers and predictable moral outrage comments. The children who were most affected seem strangely absent from the debate.

Dublin Archbishop announces two more Irish bishops will resign

In a dramatic move at midnight mass in Dublin on Christmas Eve, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has announced that two more bishops, Ray Field and Eamon Walsh, will resign their positions because of the spreading pedophile scandal in the Irish church.

Both Field and Walsh were named in the recent Murphy Commission report on pedophile priests and the cover up of their activities in the Dublin archdiocese.

Their resignations mean that four Bishops have now been removed who had worked in the Dublin archdiocese in the 1980s and 1990s when the abuse occurred. Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick and James Moriarty of Kildare have already stepped aside. A fifth, Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway, is still insistent that he will not resign.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams stays strong

As long as I have known Gerry Adams I have known him as a private, deeply family orientated man.

When I spoke to him on Monday I could sense that strength in family was still very much at the heart of his latest response to the news that both his father and brother have been named as child sex offenders.

It cannot be easy for a moment to deal with such realities, but Adams can draw on great personal support from within his family.

Top 10 Susan Boyle moments of 2009

We all have our Susan Boyle favorite moments from 2009, the year she streaked like a comet across our skies. Love to hear from you about yours. Here are mine:

1. The very first time… when she appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and the amazed reactions of everyone when she began to sing.

2. Her appearance at Rockefeller Center when her album debuted and she went to join her fans afterwards at the nearby restaurant. Her adoring fans could not get enough.

IRA man should not be extradited from U.S. in Nairac murder

Pat Maguire was living quietly in New Jersey when his past caught up with him on Monday .

He was one of nine men said to be responsible for the death of British undercover soldier Robert Nairac in South Armagh 32 years ago.

Robert Nairac was educated at Oxford and joined the British undercover services after college. He attempted to infiltrate the IRA but was instead rumbled by them. He met his death in a lonely country wood just over the border from South Armagh. His body has never been found.

Whew! -- Guinness says production not damaged by fire

Good news on the Guinness front. The brewery is now reassuring their customers that production of Guinness was not hampered by the fire in Dublin today at their headquarters --whew!

Interesting that is the second line on their press release after they stated how the fire happened. It shows you the priority of how people are thinking I guess.

My goodness - no Guinness--now that would be a catastrophe.

Fears for Guinness Supply after Fire

The Guinness brewery fire will raise fears about a shortage of the Black Stuff as Guinness is known locally,over the Christmas period. Clearly it was a major fire with 11 fire brigades at one point being called

The country is flooded with returned emigrants over the Holiday period and the first order of business is usually toasting friends and good fellowship with a pint of the black stuff.

A Guinness shortage would rank right up there with a national emergency. Fortunately, it is likely that supplies have been ordered well in advance for the Christmas season

Britanny Murphy's Irish roots

Before Berlusconi, an Irishwoman who tried to kill Mussolini

Housekeeper stole $3 million from U2's Adam Clayton

What a shock! U2 member Adam Clayton may have had as much as $3 million stolen from him by his housekeeper a Dublin court has been told.

Adam Clayton has secured a high court order freezing the assets of his former housekeeper Carol Hawkins after alleging she may have stolen $3 million from him.

The evidence suggests that Mrs Hawkins bought an apartment in New York, had shares in several horses and used Clayton's debit and credit cards for the private use of her and her family.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly's political views are irrelevant

Is there anything more ridiculous than the 'controversy' over Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly's alleged views on abortion?

Some Notre Dame blog sites are trying to stir trouble by claiming that Kelly supports abortion rights and that his wife does too. This they claim, should disqualify him from coaching the Fighting Irish

What this has to do with football is beyond me. After all Lou Holtz was in deep water when he made a favorable comment about Adolf Hitler on ESPN a while back. It was dumb as a post but did it reflect on the fact that he was a great football coach? No

Israel bash Mary Robinson on human rights? How dare they?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 8/5/2009 8:08 AM EDT

The statements criticizing President Obama for honoring former Irish president Mary Robinson by the Israeli lobby in America are outrageous.

Obama announced that Robinson would be among the recipients of the American Medal of Freedom, the highest honor this country can bestow on a foreign-born person. Previous recipients have included Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu.This year's recipients also include Senator Edward Kennedy and the late Congressman Jack Kemp.

The Broadway Miracle

Trying to stroll down Broadway in New York on a lovely summer evening used to be a nightmare.

There was traffic everywhere and huge crowds spilling over the pavement onto the streets.

"The crossroads of the world" felt exactly like that, with every language under the sun being used to curse and swear. Everyone jostled to try and stay on the pavement or to cross the street while the light was green.

Teddy Kennedy the Comeback Kid

Ted Kennedy's remarkable career continues and not even brain cancer can stop the juggernaut it seems.

The announcement today that Kennedy is coming back to the senate after Memorial Day and that his cancer is in remission is just the latest in a career full of extraordinary comebacks.

His near fatal plane crash in 1964 did not deter him from a life of public service. The awful tragedy of Chappaquiddick certainly could have derailed his career, but somehow he outlasted it.

Secret meeting of world's richest people held in New York

Posted by Joe at 5/18/2009 4:24 PM EDT

A top-secret meeting of the world’s richest people to discuss the global financial crisis was held in New York on May 5, IrishCentral.comhas learned exclusively.

The mysterious, media-blackout meeting was called by Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire-Hathaway; Bill Gates, co founder of Microsoft; and David Rockefeller Jr., chairman of Rockefeller Financial Services.

Political correctness runs amok as Mass. governor snubs men-only club

Susan Boyle and Andrea Bocelli battle for top spot in album charts

12/04/2009 10:31 AM

Who would ever have thought it? The Scottish 'plain Jane' born with learning difficulties and the blind tenor from Italy will compete for most popular album in the world over the next few weeks.

Billboard magazine has just reported that Susan Boyle and Andre Bocelli are in a close battle for the hearts and minds of Americans and people everywhere for the top selling Christmas release this year.

Susan Boyle's 'Dream' coming true as album smashes sales records

11/30/2009 09:09 AM

I predict Susan Boyle will break one million sales for her debut album in America — making it the best-ever debut album in American history and beating rapper Eminem's first CD.

Results will be known Tuesday, but given her phenomenal success in Britain, it is a bet I would love to have.

A 'rogue' with the truth? Sarah Palin's Irish controversy

11/22/2009 11:45 AM

Sarah Palin, in her new book 'Going Rogue,' talks about her Irish Catholic mother and the fact that she was raised in that faith before leaving it for more-conservative denominations. Palin's mother was Sarah Sheeran, whose grandparents came from Roscommon in Ireland.

But the biggest Irish controversy for Palin surrounds her claim on the campaign with John McCain that Ireland was one of the countries she visited overseas.

Susan Boyle: The first review of 'I Dreamed a Dream'

11/21/2009 07:36 PM

Folks, she hits it out of the park, slams it into the bleachers, belts it onto the Beltway, hammers it into the night sky.

This is the "Big Lebowski," the big kahuna, the big enchilada, the big deal.

Cheating soccer 'star' Thierry Henry will be French toast if he comes to New York

11/19/2009 10:09 PM

They say Thierry Henry will be playing with the New York Red Bulls in the near future that he will do a David Beckham and make some money in America.

After yesterday the Red Bulls may not want him –not if Irish fans have their say.

IRA lessons for Guantanamo prisoner trials

11/17/2009 04:35 PM

I worked in England for a year during my student days to pay college tuition.

It was the height of the Troubles, around 1974/75 at a time when IRA bombs appeared to be going off every few days or so.

Sinn Fein's Adams & McGuinness were right (and I was wrong) says longtime IRA foe

11/14/2009 09:46 PM

Sometimes the man does bite the dog and something extraordinary happens in journalism. It just has in Ireland.

"....the achievement of the Sinn Fein-IRA leaders, in both wooing their movement away from violence, and then largely disarming it (is) not merely astounding, but unprecedented in its counter-historical originality.

Anti-immigration CNN warlock Lou Dobbs needs a psychiatrist

11/12/2009 02:45 PM

Lou Dobbs doesn't need a new platform. He needs psychiatric help.

Dobbs suffers from Superior White Man Syndrome (SWMS).

Anita Dunn's exit a big win for Fox, O'Reilly and Beck

11/10/2009 09:56 AM

The resignation of Anita Dunn as communications czar in the White House is a victory for Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Fox News.

Dunn resigned soon after she made this infamous statement about Fox. "The reality of it is that Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party," she said.

A man in full: University of Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins gets his Irish up

11/06/2009 08:56 AM

As speeches go, it was one of the finest ever delivered at the American Irish Historical Society annual banquet, now over 100 years old and thriving. It was held Thursday night at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

Fr. John Jenkins stood up as gold medalist and delivered a speech that reclaimed the Irish roots of Notre Dame in a way no other president of Notre Dame has.

Jewish group forgives tenor Tynan ... How about the Yankees?

10/28/2009 04:56 PM

I am delighted to see that the Anti-Defamation League has decided that Ronan Tynan is not the devil incarnate after his ill-considered joke a few weeks ago about not wanting Jewish tenants in his apartment building.

Now, it remains to be seen if the Yankees get the message and allow Tynan to sing at their stadium again.

Celtic fan Susan B(h)oyle goes her own way

10/24/2009 09:34 PM

Susan Boyle going to a Celtic soccer match makes a very large statement.

I'm sure her advisers were not too keen when she stated she was going, but being Susan, I'm sure she swept away any naysayers.

Bill O'Reilly wants to work for Obama

10/23/2009 09:47 PM

Bill O'Reilly wants to work for Barack Obama. No I'm not kidding.

That is what O’Reilly reveals in his column in The New York Post this week.

Donal Og Cusack a true hero for the rebel county Cork

10/20/2009 08:14 PM

Donal Og Cusack's decision to state openly that he was gay is an extraordinary moment for Ireland.

He is the first sportsman in a sports-crazy society to ever take that decision. One that will expose him to much hatred and comment I am sure.

The surprising Susan Boyle

10/16/2009 01:50 PM

Susan Boyle likes to box. Who would have thought it?

Susan Boyle likes the Rolling Stones. Who would have thought it?

Roman Polanski no different than Irish pedophile priests

10/05/2009 08:45 PM

What is the difference between Roman Polanski and a Catholic priest child abuser? A Roman collar and an extraordinary media bias, I'd say.

Polanksi raped a 13-year-old child in 1976 and fled to France. Many priests in the U.S., mainly Irish Americans, sadly, around that time were doing the same thing.

Galway girl from America makes trip worthwhile

10/03/2009 09:55 PM

"I feel like I'm one of you, my ancestors came from Galway bay."

So said the middle-aged American woman on the 10.45 train from Galway to Dublin.

Chicago, Obama and Pat Ryan wuz robbed

10/02/2009 09:55 PM

I feel sorry for Chicago and the Irish-American team that put together their Olympic bid.

Pat Ryan of AON, helped by Mayor Daley and businessman Andy McKenna, used every trick in the book to try and win the games for the Windy City, including bringing in the president.

Bravo Senator Graham for blasting Glenn Beck and far right

10/02/2009 08:34 PM

Senator Lindsay Graham has always been my favorite conservative. I got to know him during the campaign to legalize the Irish undocumented when I headed up the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.

Graham has Irish roots, and despite the fact that he represents South Carolina, one of the most conservative states in the union, he has that Irish gift of telling it like it is even to his own side.

Peter Mandelson: The most obnoxious pol ever

09/27/2009 08:55 PM

I'm glad that former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern tells the truth about Peter Mandelson in his upcoming biography.

Ahern says Mandelson held up the peace process when he was Northern Secretary and was essentially a waste of space.

Why hate-filled Glenn Beck is no Bill O'Reilly

09/26/2009 09:55 PM

Glenn Beck and his merry musings are fooling no one.

The hysterical denunciations of the other side are taken straight from the play book of the "Know Nothings" the racist group that tried to drive the Irish out of the U.S. after they landed here during the Great Famine.

Bill Clinton works his magic at Northern Irish Forum

09/24/2009 11:58 PM

Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland's First Minister could hardly keep the smile off his face.
The usually dour Democratic Unionist Party leader was positively lighthearted as he surveyed the 600 Irish Americans in the audience Wednesday at the Clinton Global Initiative session on Northern Ireland at the Sheraton Hotel in New York.

Call it the Bill Clinton effect.

Is Susan Boyle a fake?

09/23/2009 06:30 PM

Ann Powers is the music critic of the Los Angeles Times, and is the first major newspaper critic to write about Susan Boyle seriously.

However, I disagree strongly with her following quote:

Intellectual firepower in Dublin for global Irish conference

09/18/2009 09:55 PM

There is an incredible amount of intellectual fire power gathered at the Global Irish Forum in Dublin this weekend.

On the first night about 50 of us were packed into a bus and brought to the residence of the U.S. Ambassador Dan Rooney. What followed was a wonderful warm welcome by an inspiring host who, of course, knows all about celebration from his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Susan Boyle set for fairytale Christmas

09/18/2009 09:34 PM

Susan Boyle is looking at a fairytale end to a fairytale year.

She is being tipped to top the charts in Britain and America this Christmas.

Craig Barrett shows Intel-ligence Ireland sorely needs at global forum

09/18/2009 08:45 PM

One man stood out on day one of the Global Irish Forum in Dublin today. That was Craig Barrett, the man who brought Intel and 4,000 jobs to Ireland and is now retired chairman.

The discussion on what the Irish economy needed was off the record, but suffice to say Barrett called it as he saw it — and he certainly has the knowledge, experience and juice to make the comments he did. No one else came close.

I told you so! Standing ovation as Susan Boyle stuns Tinseltown

09/17/2009 11:49 PM

Far be it from me to say 'I told you so!'

Far far from me to remind the nay-sayers and the gloaters who said she was "fragile" and "ill" that Susan Boyle blew them all away with her performance last night on "America's Got Talent."

Gerry Adams visa was a very close call - Ted Kennedy

09/15/2009 02:25 PM

Senator Edward Kennedy says that the Gerry Adams visaa awarded by the US government in 1994 was granted despite the best efforts of " powerful institutions" including the State Department and the British government.

In his memoir "True Compass," which was released after Kennedy's death on August 27, the senator reveals how close the effort came to collapsing.

Mary Robinson and Gerry Adams - her finest hour

09/04/2009 09:55 PM

I had the privilege of interviewing Mary Robinson on Thursday for the IN NYC group of young Irish professionals at the Irish consulate in New York.

The former Irish president and U.N Commissioner on Human Rights spoke for over an hour on topics as diverse as Afghanistan, her native county Mayo an the issue of climate change that she is deeply involved in.

Ted Kennedy's big mistake over Ireland

09/04/2009 05:56 PM

Ted Kennedy made one major mistake in his career which has cost generations of Irish-born access to America.

As the author of the 1965 Immigration Act, he saw to it that the long-standing laws that gave a huge advantage to European immigrants was removed.

Maura O’Connell’s special link with Ted Kennedy

09/03/2009 08:55 PM

Once again the world’s fascination with the Kennedy family and its legacy captivated all of us last week after the death of Senator Edward Kennedy at the age of 77.

Because of the importance of the Kennedys in Irish American history, perhaps the impact seemed larger to us especially as we watched along with the world the final ceremonies including the Irish Wake at the JFK Library in South Boston.

How his Irish Catholic faith brought Teddy Kennedy home

09/03/2009 04:55 PM

"It was my faith that brought me home," Teddy Kennedy writes at the end of his memoir "True Compass" which will be published on September 14.

His extraordinary account of his battle with cancer in the final pages of that memoir will serve as an inspiration for all who face the same terrible fight. His closing line is an eloquent and wonderful epitaph for an Irish Catholic who battled demons in life.

Kennedy a Name That Inspired Millions

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 9/3/2009 12:59 PM EDT
Once there were nine siblings, and now justJean Kennedy Smith is left from the children of Joe and Rose FitzGerald Kennedy, who went on to become the most powerful political family inAmerica.

We forgot what the Kennedys accomplished for Irish Americans. They grew up in an era when “No Irish Need Apply” signs were still up in someNew England neighborhoods.

The family’s summer house was in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts only because theNewport, Rhode Island snobs would not have Irish Catholic neighbors.

A new Kennedy star is born

08/29/2009 10:55 PM

A new Kennedy star was born today.

Teddy Kennedy Junior, looking for all the world like his departed father gave a eulogy that far surpassed the boiler plate of President Obama who was unable to rise to the occasion.

Limbaugh a National Disgrace

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 8/28/2009 4:42 AM EDT

So Rush Limbaugh is gleefully patting himself on the back because Ted Kennedy died as he predicted before healthcare legislation will be passed. Now he is predicting that Kennedy's death will be used to pass healthcare reform.

Maybe he needs another Vicodin — or ten — to calm down.

A great Irish chieftain has passed

08/26/2009 09:30 PM

Teddy, they hardly knew you.

To call you the greatest of all the Kennedys might strike some as lofty rhetoric. But it isn't. You gave your life to your country, as surely as those patriots of old gave theirs for the United States and your beloved Ireland.

Obama A One Termer?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 8/25/2009 3:09 PM EDT

Will Barack Obama be a one term president after all?

I committed sacrilege on an Irish radio program by discussing that possibility in the midst of the Obama love in about 100 days into his presidency.

The Clintons: Bill more popular than Hill?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 8/13/2009 6:47 AM EDT

He's gone and done it now!. According to Rasmussen Reports, two recent polls now show Bill Clinton is more popular than at any time since he left the presidency, with 58 percent approving of him.

In an earlier poll last week by the same group, Hillary had a 53 percent approval rating - not bad, but she's now back in a familiar position.

Tiger Woods makes a believer of me

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 8/11/2009 9:35 AM EDT

I'm not the biggest fan of Tiger Woods, but after his sportsmanship last Sunday I am certainly a believer in his decency.

I often find him too pouty, slamming his clubs, and insisting on playing shots when other players are still looking for their ball as he did in a recent tournament.

Irish need all the heroes they can get as greedy developers get away with crash cash

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 8/1/2009 9:31 AM EDT

There's a T-shirt you see a lot in Ireland this summer. It says "Is feidir linn," Gaelic for "Yes we can," the Barack Obama theme during his election campaign.

One of the more-stupid ideas: picketing Leonard Cohen

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/26/2009 9:05 AM EDT

I see a pro-Palestinian outfit intends picketing Leonard Cohen at his concert in Belfast on Sunday evening in an effort to prevent him from playing Tel Aviv later this year.

Put this down as one of the more-stupid ideas you will ever come across.

Should Gerry Adams Step Down?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/24/2009 2:25 PM EDT

Should Gerry Adams Step Down?

Mick Fealty, publisher of ‘Slugger O’Toole, an excellent blog forum on Northern Ireland affairs, and Fionnula O’Connor a respected columnist with the Irish Times have both remarked this week that Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has lost effectiveness.

Hillary Will Make a Difference in Ireland

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/23/2009 8:31 AM EDT

The news that Hillary Clinton will be the special envoy to Northern Ireland in the Obama administration is very good news for Ireland.

Anytime the most powerful foreign policy official in the United States decides that a small country like Ireland will be one of her priorities it is a great development.

Paul McCartney as God at Citifield

Posted by Kelly Fincham at 7/19/2009 1:05 PM EDT

The 40,000 of us on hand on Saturday night in the New York Mets York's Citifield had the time of our lives.

Cell phones a brain cancer risk, says top doc

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/7/2009 9:52 PM EDT

Dr. Keith Black is America's top neurosurgeon and interestingly, one of his most extraordinary cases involved a young Dublin man named Gerald Kelly who had been given up for dead in Ireland and who came to him in Los Angeles for a final chance at life.

He talks about Gerald and his brother Thomas who was with him every step of the way as two of the bravest people he ever encountered in his new book "Brain Surgeon."

Larry the Chef, the IRA, and the Setup

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/5/2009 10:41 PM EDT

Kafka would not get a look in with the ordeal that American Larry Zaitschek has undergone these past seven years.

The case against Larry collapsed dramatically in Belfast this weekend allowing the American to finally stay in his home land and not be extradited to Ireland on trumped up charges.

Discovering America on My First July 4th

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/2/2009 5:34 PM EDT

It was July 4th 1976, my first ever summer in America.I had no idea,other than the usual fireworks notion,of what July 4th meant to Americans.

This was a special year, the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Republic.I was living in Chicago then,my first summer away as a student and very much wondering what the day itself would bring.

The fat lady sings and everyone wins --Go SuBo!

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 7/1/2009 5:20 AM EDT

Susan Boyle made it to Dublin yesterday to rapturous applause for a 10-minute gig that left everyone happy and content.

After a "will she? won't she?" drama that lasted for days the fat and frumpy lady sang.

The men behind the final Loyalist ceasefire

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/27/2009 5:54 PM EDT

NEWS/VIDEO: LOYALISTS LAY DOWN ARMS CLICK HERE

If Ireland needs a great president to replace the current occupant, Mary McAleese, when her term ends in a few years, they should look no further than to the man at her side.

Michael Jackson a child abuse victim

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/26/2009 1:46 AM EDT

Michael Jackson never had a chance. As surely as Irish child abuse victims were tormented and had their lives destroyed, Michael Jackson, too, never had a chance at a normal life.

His father Joe destroyed his life putting him on stage at just six years of age and never allowing him to live the normal life every kid is entitled to.

The Irish Voice endorses Bloomberg for New York Mayor

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/23/2009 10:46 PM EDT

Michael Bloomberg is seeking a third term as Mayor of New York at a very trying time in the city and country’s economy.

We think he should be re-elected, especially at this time of great economic difficulty. The need for a steady hand on the tiller in New York City has never been greater. In addition, he has been a great friend of the Irish American community.

Memories of my father

Posted at 6/21/2009 1:22 AM EDT

"Every old man I see reminds me of my father
when he had fallen in love with death
One day when leaves were gathered"

Irish Famine's awful impact is now crystal clear

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/18/2009 11:30 AM EDT

The new statistics from the Irish Census about post-Famine Ireland are an extraordinary treasure trove.

A game plan for a united Ireland

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/13/2009 8:19 PM EDT

The cause of a united Ireland is alive and well if the eight hundred people gathered in the Hilton Ballroom in midtown Manhattan on Saturday for a conference on a United Ireland is any barometer.

While there was lots of the old time rhetoric and rallying cries, there was also some very serious and lively debate on what a united Ireland means nowadays and whether it is achievable. Sinn Fein did the Irish American community a service by hosting this event and laying out the pitfalls as well as the promise.

Lou Dobbs falls down! Hurray!

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/10/2009 9:30 PM EDT

The news for CNN anchor Lou Dobbs is grim. The racist anti-immigrant CNN host is plunging in the ratings.- and he has just been fired from his 9 P.M repeat show slot on Headline News replaced by Joy Behar.

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy!

Justice at last for Omagh Real IRA victims

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/8/2009 8:53 AM EDT

Welcome to O.J. Simpson justice Irish style. Remember O.J. was never convicted in a court of the murder of wife Nicole and her lover but a subsequent civil case found him guilty and bankrupted him.

In Defense of Celibacy

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/7/2009 8:47 PM EDT

I met a remarkable priest this weekend. The topic turned quickly to the horrific events in Ireland in the recent past, and my clear belief that if priests could marry then there would be far less room for pedophiles and abnormal deviants.

He disagreed politely with me. He let me know that while he debated celibacy often in his mind, especially the loneliness it brings him, he, on balance, still favored it.

Sensation as Sinn Fein now North's largest party

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/6/2009 5:40 AM EDT

Though the counting of the European Parliament elections will not begin until Monday in Northern Ireland the sensational result is already evident.

Irish Church needs more than Pope's blessing

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/5/2009 11:36 AM EDT

The Irish Bishops have met the pope in Rome today to discuss the horrific child abuse scandal in Ireland. I wouldn't hold my breath that much will change.

This pope has his own issues on the topic, notably allowing Cardinal Bernard Law who oversaw rampant abuse in Boston to come to the Vatican and take up an exalted position there.

Still no sign of Northern Ireland envoy

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/4/2009 11:32 AM EDT

There is still no sign of who the next peace envoy to Northern Ireland will be, even as many other diplomatic posts are being filled.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will make the appointment. It is clear that the envoy is still needed.

Neeson named Co-Chair of major Irish group

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/4/2009 12:05 AM EDT

Actor Liam Neeson has been named Co-Chairman of the American Irish Historical Society (AIHS) in New York, one of America's oldest Irish organizations.

The society is dedicated to furthering Irish-American culture and traditions and preserving historical records of Irish America .

The Queen, Obama, The Nazis , the French

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 6/2/2009 1:48 PM EDT

We learn with regret that the Queen is deeply upset at her non-invitation to the 65th Anniversary of the Normandy invasion set for June 6th in France.

French leader Nicolas Sarkozy essentially snubbed her highness because, newspapers report, he wanted to hog all the time available with President Obama, the new superhero on the block. Sarky didn't want to be bothered by a dowdy old dowager when he had the shiny new pal called Obama to hang out with.

Who is Afraid of Sinn Fein --and Why?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/31/2009 1:43 PM EDT

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny's quick move to disavow any chance of Sinn Fein working in government with Fine Gael after the next election is a major mistake.
Kenny made his comments after party election chief Frank Flannery refused to rule out a Fine Gael/Sinn Fein coalition in a newspaper interview
It smacks of hypocrisy ---there are members of the Labor Party who he would certainly enter into government who have IRA pasts -- step forward Prionsias De Rossa, favorite to win a seat in the European parliament and a former senior member of the Official IRA.
In Northern Ireland no less a political figure than Ian Paisley decided to trust in Sinn Fein and went into government with them.
If it is good enough for Ian Paisley it is surely good enough for Enda Kenny.
Sinn Fein have long since come in from the cold and the idea that they cannot be trusted in government is false in the extreme. It is an opinion peddled by the remnants of the anti-peace process crowd who were only happy when Sinn Fein was being demonized and mischaracterized.
Those people belong on the ash heap of history and Enda Kenny might join them if he persists in the face of the lessons of Irish history.
The Irish state is dominated by figures like Eamon De Valera and Sean Lemass who were militant IRA supporters in their early lives and later turned to politics.
Present-day Sinn Fein is no exception. The party has absolutely no interest in going back to violence and have played a huge role in securing the peace that Ireland now enjoys.
It is passing strange to see Fianna Fail jump on Fine Gael after the statement was made by Flannery. They above all, are a party utterly devoid of principle when it comes to gaining power -- which is the way successful parties thrive.
They went into coalition with Dessie O'Malley's Progressive Democrats party despite the fact that O'Malley had almost split Fianna Fail apart after forging ahead with his own party and deserting Fianna Fail.
Fine Gael need to develop the same ruthless streak. There are no strange bedfellows in Irish politics any more, just coalition partners you have never met. Fine Gael need to learn that message.

It was Ireland's Holocaust

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/30/2009 7:19 AM EDT

The Irish Times has a great suggestion in their editorial today (Saturday). The Catholic church in Ireland should pay half of the $1.2 billion in compensation owed to the victims of the industrial school holocaust which saw thousands of kids beaten raped and sodomized by nuns and priests and brothers.
The other half should be borne by the Irish government which I think is fair too -- their decision over decades to turn a blind eye to what was happening to the nation's most vulnerable children was a disgrace in itself.
Any of you who watched the incredible video on this site of an elderly victim of that abuse could not but be moved by his extraordinary account of what happened to him and his family.
Seven children, his one month old sister included, were taken away and separated in various homes across the country. He was raped and sodomized on his second day in one institution -- by the man who the next day gave him Holy Communion.
The man speaking, Michael O'Brien, is a former Mayor of Clonmel, a large town in Ireland and his impassioned plea to the Irish government minister he is addressing wold melt a heart of stone
John Banville was right when he wrote in The New York Times that there was a massive conspiracy of silence, across many sections of society about what was happening in Ireland at the time.
Father Flanagan from Boys Town was the one man who spoke up on a visit to his native country but the establishment ridiculed him.
The whole episode is nothing less than Ireland's holocaust,in the sense that we can be as ashamed of our forefathers who did this as the Germans are about their Nazi forbears. The wholesale brutalization and mass rape and sodomy of generations of the most helpless children in society was carried out with sanction form the highest levels.
It was a disgraceful era.

Good news for Ireland from Accenture

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/27/2009 12:56 PM EDT

Good news at last for Ireland. The decision of Accenture, the global management consulting company to move their corporate headquarters from Bermuda to Ireland may well be the first in a series of similar moves by major corporations. It could not come at a better time for the beleaguered Irish economy.

Accenture is moving in large part because of continued questions about US companies located in Bermuda and using the island as a tax haven. Ireland has been accused also of being a tax haven, but clearly, the major US companies do not regard it as such. The Irish government in a strongly worded letter, disputed the Obama administration's depiction of the country as being one which provided tax shelters. Clearly, corporate America agrees.

IRA Dissidents Still Dangerous

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/23/2009 11:04 PM EDT

I see that dissidents in West Belfast this weekend attempted to destroy the car of Bobby Storey,a leading Republican figure, who played a key role in getting the Republican movement to take part in the peace process.

It is just the latest in a slew of attempts by dissidents to pressure leading Republicans. A similar attempt to intimidate senior Sinn Fein figure Mitchell McLoughlin recently took place and Martin McGuinness has been warned that his safety is at risk because of the dissident threat.

Ultra Catholic Bill Donohoe Should Wise Up

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/22/2009 4:32 PM EDT

William Donohoe has finally lost it. The great defender of every imaginable slur against Catholics has performed a useful role in pointing out the coverage of Catholicsm is often very biased. However, his latest effort, carried in a letter to the New York Times, attempting to justify some of the horrific abuse in the church in ireland is beyond the pale.

Donohoe, head of the Catholic League, tries to separate certain of the perverted activities of the clergy who abused from each other. Kissing and fondling for instance of young kids was not rape he said.Perhaps not, but it was still an incredibly cruel and inhuman thing to do to a young child against their will.

Austin Delaney: He was Mayo's Finest

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/19/2009 5:05 AM EDT

Austin Delaney died on Friday May 15 in New York and the world is a much poorer place.
He was a great Irishman, a proud son of Mayo, who was one of Manhattan's most successful Irish businessmen. He co-founded Rosie O'Gradys and Harbor Lights, to name but two incredibly successful ventures.

He was so widely known for his business acumen that when he sold out his business in Ireland a few summers back we all instinctively knew the Celtic Tiger was over before the doctors of economics did. Austin could sense the prevailing trends better than the federal reserve.

Defending Maureen Dowd

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/19/2009 3:35 AM EDT

I count Maureen Dowd as a friend. Here's a recent interview I did with her.

Chuck Feeney, Ireland's Secret Hero

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/16/2009 10:54 AM EDT

I'm just back from Dublin where I met with Chuck Feeney, the American billionaire who has given all his money away, much of it to Ireland.

I also had the chance to view the wonderful RTE program about his life and his incredible role in Ireland. It is called 'Secret Billionaire' and it contains extraordinary footage of Feeney from his childhood years, right up to the present.

Celtic Woman ---Girls Gone Wild?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/9/2009 11:29 PM EDT

I'm all for Irish music, the more sentimental the better and it doesn't come much more schmaltzy than with Celtic Woman the gorgeous gals who have swept America since their successful PBS launch.

The formula is simple and higlhy successful. great looking girls, good musicians,classic Irish songs -- bingo.

A UNITED IRELAND -- A VISION TOO FAR?

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/5/2009 9:52 PM EDT

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams will shortly be in America to hear from Irish Americans about how a united Ireland can be achieved.

The party is convening forums in New York and San Francisco and inviting Irish American leaders to attend.

The truth about the Bishops and Notre Dame

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 5/4/2009 4:11 PM EDT

South Bend, Indiana. It is hard to find a spot more idyllic in Spring time than the campus of Notre Dame. But all is not well on the hallowed turf which has become a battleground over the May 17 commencement speech by President Barack Obama and the honorary degree the college is awarding to him.

Kentucky Derby's Irish Dream Come True

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 4/29/2009 6:38 AM EDT

Imagine a 75-year-old retired schoolteacher purchasing a major league baseball club for $20,000 and bringing them to the World Series.
Or imagine a 75-year-old retired schoolteacher buying the New York Giants for the same amount of money and watching from the owner’s box as they trot on to the field for the Superbowl.
Dream on you might say. Now imagine Tom McCarthy achieving all that – and possibly more.

The former teacher did that last year when he purchased General Quarters, a starter in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, for $20,000 dollars.
The horse was running in a minor claiming race in Florida, but Tom, who doesn’t have much money put aside, liked something about the breeding and the background and bought him with a big chunk of his life savings.
So on Saturday, when General Quarters, who recently won the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland trots out on the track and millions worldwide watch the greatest two minutes in sport Tom will be there.
He will belong right alongside the Maktoum brothers from Dubai who have spent $200 million so far trying to get a Kentucky Derby winner to no avail.

Founder/Publisher Says Thanks!

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 4/17/2009 6:04 PM EDT

One month on the road and a million and a half page views later Irishcentral.com has truly arrived.

The reaction from you, the online Irish community has been so positive that we have no doubt that the dream of creating and expanding the Irish family online has had a successful takeoff.

Huffington Post's new 'sexpert' on Irish economy

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 4/14/2009 10:06 AM EDT

“Ireland’s economy in free fall collapse” blared The Huffington Post on Monday. Coming from a columnist on perhaps the most influential political site on the web, it set off alarm bells.

According to columnist Sheldon Filger, who is described as founder of GlobalEconomicCrisis.com, "The economic catastrophe facing Ireland will cause sorrows that cannot be suppressed by a pint of Guinness. Nothing less than national insolvency threatens this once robust economy.

An Irish Passover story

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 4/8/2009 1:55 PM EDT

Back in 1897 in New York on Passover, there occurred the kind of standoff that could only happen in this great city of ours.

It was a faceoff between an Irish policeman named Foley and two Orthodox rabbis called Klein and Weschler.

Easter 1916 and Good Friday 1998

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 4/7/2009 9:18 PM EDT

The New Departure was a term coined in 1878 by the old New York Fenian John Devoy who first saw the potential of joining together the physical and political forces of his time in the cause of Ireland.
It almost resulted in Irish Home Rule as Parnell, the Land League, the Fenians and Irish America all made a powerful quartet which, but for Parnell's downfall over Kitty O'Shea, would surely have resulted in achieving the Holy Grail.
Over a century later in 1998 many of the same elements in a new New Departure helped bring about a peace settlement on Good Friday in Northern Ireland which has essentially endured since.
Sinn Fein, Irish America which activated President Bill Clinton, John Hume, the Parnell of his day, and the Irish government helped forge a nationalist consensus which allowed a united front in the negotiations with the British government and the Ulster Unionists.
Devoy's dream had been realized.
When Senator George Mitchell stepped outside the negotiation room on Good Friday 1998 and announced a settlement the immensity of the successful creation of that nationalist coalition became apparent.
It was Irish America who had first approached then candidate Bill Clinton, and had created the conditions along with Hume and the Irish government which allowed Republicans to commit to politics rather than guns. Simply put without Senator Mitchell and President Clinton the peace deal would never have happened. Without Irish America neither man would ever have become involved.
Similarly Easter 1916 had a critical American component not least of which was Devoy's financial and political support for the insurgents.
Despite the almost fifty years since the failed Fenian uprising Devoy and others had never given up the ideal of an armed insurrection against the British. In Ireland sentiment had shifted sharply towards John Redmond and the fight for Home Rule, but the grassroots American Irish public opinion, fueled by memories of famine , forced emigration of their father's generation and coffin ships was still far more radically inclined.
Right after the rising broad American shifted sharply in the rebel's favor and Eamon De Valera' decision to spend 1919 and 1920 in the United States was eloquent testimony to how important the rebellion's leaders thought the American connection was.
Thus in two of Ireland's landmark moments in history Irish America was a critical and vital component. It is a proud tradition to remember this Easter season.

Ireland-bashing in style

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 4/3/2009 7:53 AM EDT

The U.S. media have been slamming Ireland for months now.Is there any relief in sight?

Lordy, but Ireland is getting it hot and heavy these days in the American media.

Lords of the Dance

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 4/1/2009 12:08 PM EDT

This weekend will see an incredible crowd of about 6,000 Irish dancers from all over the world descend on Philadelphia for the Irish World Dance Championships.

There will also be about 12,000 spectators present, making it the largest Irish gathering in the U.S. outside the summer festivals and concerts.

Indians and Irish at White House Pow Wow

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 3/24/2009 4:01 PM EDT

Who is Jonathan Windy Boy and why was he invited to the White House on St.Patrick’s night when a large numbers of leaders in the Irish American community were not?

The week that was in it

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 3/22/2009 9:38 AM EDT

Sunday: We’ve launched! At the American Irish Historical Society in New York Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen doing the honors. Also present Roma Downey, her husband Mark Burnett, founder of ‘Survivor, ’ Northern Ireland’s First Minister Martin McGuinness, Irish Foreign Minster Micheal Martin “The Billionaire who gave it all away” Chuck Feeney, Maureen Dowd from The New York Times and her sister Peggy.
Also there Vanessa Redgrave, mother of Natasha Richardson. Who could have imagined that within a week she would be back at this location for the wake of her beautiful daughter?

Monday: Lead-up to hard launch of Irishcentral for St. Patrick’s Day. That night we get a tip from an Irish source in Montreal that is almost unbelievable. Natasha Richardson, Vanessa’s daughter, is near death after a skiing accident. We go live early and break the story to the world. First a publicist denies it. All hell breaks loose. Are we sure, are we certain, are we definite the story is right? Yes we are.

Barack set to make history at Notre Dame

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 3/21/2009 10:30 AM EDT

Barack Obama’s decision to speak at the Notre Dame commencement on May 17 is a powerful boost for the college and for him personally.

It is an acknowledgment too that South Bend and the surrounding district provided the margin of victory for Obama in the state of Indiana which he carried in 2008—the first Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to do so. The area is overwhelmingly populated by Notre Dame staff and students.

The time I met Charles Manson

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 3/20/2009 9:00 AM EDT

IrishCentral.com founder Niall O'Dowd recalls his interview with serial killer Charles Manson.

The latest photos now on the Internet of Charlie Manson, America's most notorious killer, 74 and balding,swastika carved into his forehead, reminds me of my encounter with the man. Back in 1982 when i owned a small Irish newspaper in San Francisco I was doing a feature on Irish Catholic prison chaplains in California which took me to the three most notorious prisons San Quentin, Folsom and Vacaville profiling three brave padres who often put their lives in danger to help inmates.

Homer Simpson for Irish President

Posted by Niall O'Dowd at 3/19/2009 4:24 PM EDT

So, more than 500,000 Irish people tuned in to see the Irish episode of "The Simpsons" on St.Patrick’s Day.

Called "In the Name of the Grandfather," it portrays Homer and company heading back to the Emerald Isle while searching for their roots.

Why Ted Kennedy picked Obama

01/30/2008 09:56 PM

Irish leaders were among those contacted by the Clinton campaign as it became obvious that the late Senator Edward Kennedy was considering backing Senator Barack Obama over Senator Hillary Clinton.

The feeling was that Irish Americans close to Kennedy might make the difference in persuading the Massachusetts senator to stay neutral rather than throw his support behind Obama.

Wasted Talent

Posted by blogger1 at 3/2/2009 5:03 PM EST

One of the things that puzzles me these days is -- How the Hell are we ever going to get out of this recession?

Every day it seems, I get an email or a phone call or a Facebook/LinkedIn message from some incredibly smart, talented person from my past who has experienced the gut-wrenching sound of being told "We're sorry, but your job has been eliminated". It seemed like in the past, economic downturns were used by companies to rid themselves of the deadwood. This time around, it feels like they're cutting their best and brightest, while keeping around the people who won't complain about no raises, no bonuses, and no interesting work, while the company goes into a bunker and waits for the smoke to clear.