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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Irish"horrified" by Irish Americans on St.Pat's claims Trina Vargo of US-Ireland Alliance -- Irish "laugh at the Yanks" she says as she seeks funds

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Irish"horrified" by Irish Americans on St.Pat's claims Trina Vargo of US-Ireland Alliance -- Irish "laugh at the Yanks" she says as she seeks funds

Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 08:15 AM

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Enda Kenny and Barack Obama

Irish leader Enda Kenny has been slammed for giving President Barack Obama a certificate of Irishness at the White House on Tuesday night by Trina Vargo, head of US Ireland Alliance.

The alliance is funded in large part by the Irish taxpayer, which sends 12 students a year to Ireland on Mitchell Scholarship programs.

“The shop in Shannon Airport must have been out of leprechaun dolls and chunks of the auld sod,” Vargo wrote.

Kenny serves on the honorary board of the organization.

She also stated Irish Americans "horrified" Irish people during the St.Patrick’s period and that Irish people were secretly laughing at them.

The organization is down to receive $20 million in matching funding from hard-pressed Irish taxpayers over the next few years and Vargo is currently circulating a congressional petition seeking to have the American taxpayer pay an additional $5 million in order to trigger more Irish taxpayer money.

Former senator George Mitchell is lobbying members on Capitol Hill strongly for the money.

Staffers for one leading Irish American politician on Capitol Hill has strongly criticized the manner in which Mitchell has gone about lobbying directly for the funds .

“George Mitchell is a hero of the peace process but he is damaging his reputation strong arming politicians on this” one irate staffer stated.

Kenny presented the certificate to Obama, who has Irish roots, as the center piece of his remarks at an event attended by 300 leading Irish Americans and praised the role of Irish Americans in helping Ireland over the generations.

Vargo however, stated that Irish Americans were a disgrace. “ During this week it is always people from Ireland and Northern Ireland who tell me how horrified they are by the shamrockery, and they’re right, it’s embarrassing. "
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"The Irish are just so grateful for the attention that they grit their teeth, take it, and then laugh at the Yanks at the end of the night. Ireland gives us what they think we want and clearly some still do.”

Questions have long been asked about the Mitchell Scholarship funding by Irish American groups give the director's strong antipathy to Irish American organizations..

In addition, there seems little evidence that any of the scholars contribute back to Ireland as was long the contention of the organization.

Vargo's salary funded by Irish and American taxpayers is $175,000 and she also hosts a glitzy Hollywood event her organization splashed out a total of $1.2 million on over five years.

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seagreen | Mar 23, 2012, 10:28 AM EDT

Which way is it ? Sending twelve Irish to the US, or 12 Americans to Ireland. Two people have it differently. In any case , it is totally unnecessary and a waste of money in every respect. Ireland is surrounded by water (cold water) Did all of the Poles Lithuanians, Nigerians dig a tunnel under the Irish sea, or sail small boats up on the Irish coast during the night,hide in tractor trailers crossing the desert to get there? Of course they did not! They flew into Dublin, and did not fly out.There are more Irish illegals in the northeastern US than in a small Irish city. More Irish Americans in eastern Massachusetts than in the entire Irish Republic. About 50%, not only do they not know about thatched roofs or donkey carts, they could not find Ireland on a world map. For those that do know where Ireland is, it might be best to stay off their case. Rather than telling them about the gridlock traffic in Dublin and ripoff hotel rates,and surging dislike of Americans, just enjoy a snicker or two, commend yourself on your superiority, be happy you are an Irish national.

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CorknDown | Mar 23, 2012, 10:25 AM EDT

It's always the few who take an occassion like a parade or a football match to exhibit bad behoavior and get the majority of attention. The vast majority of Irish-Americans celbrate their heritage with great pride and dignity with family and friends. But, at the end of the day, who gets the better end of the bargain between the Ireland-US alliance? The US is a huge Irish trading partner, provides many international jobs and sends countless tourists over each year with plenty of money to spend in the Irish economy. (I won't even go into the historical aspect of America providing a safe haven for millions of downtroden Irish immigrants with nowhere else to turn.)There will always be detractors for any subject under the sun, but the Irish should remember that the US will always be here for them just as we thank the Irish for the untold contributions they have made to our country and the blood that flows through so many of our veins.

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ancavker | Mar 23, 2012, 09:46 AM EDT

The Irish laugh at Irish-Americans and we have our share of fools, and guess what we laugh at you too, and you have your own share of fools. And the Irish can be horrified all they want, well guess what we are horrified too over the behavior of so many Irish in Ireland; and I am Irish born.Before you start pouting fingers at us over here, look at your own problems, and you can start with your out of control drink culture.

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pilib04 | Mar 23, 2012, 09:18 AM EDT

Email this article to Finegael@Finegael.com attention Enda Kenny.

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pilib04 | Mar 23, 2012, 09:15 AM EDT

I am sure Enda is going to look into this when he returns to Dublin. Why the Irish people pay to send privileged Americans to Ireland is beyond me. Aren't there enough things to spend Irish tax dollars on. This Trina Vargo is just another self-absorbed American who has no connection to Ireland except her $300,000 salary and benefit package that the government of Ireland and the United States pays for.

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pilib04 | Mar 23, 2012, 09:05 AM EDT

By the way, Tina Vargo "created" the U.S. Ireland Alliance in order to get a job! What a fraud.

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pilib04 | Mar 23, 2012, 09:02 AM EDT

Sounds like a good program. But like other good programs with rotten leaders, it's going to suffer. Vargo MUST GO! What utter nonsense. St. Patrick's day is celebrated almost identically on either side of the Atlantic, by the diaspora and by the native born. Vargo is making this up or has NEVER been to a St. Patrick's Day parade in Belfast or Dublin!!! What a liar. She should not be trusted with this amount of money. $175,000 a year so that 12 Irish kids can go on scholarship to America. How much administrative cost over her salary. What are her fringe benefits. The U.S. State Department is one of the four sponsors for this organization. Finally, is she even Irish or part Irish. I know she graduated from Pitt and attended McGill. But no other info available except for her 11 years working for Ted Kennedy. I don't think the woman has ever held a real job!

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himself13 | Mar 23, 2012, 07:32 AM EDT

READS LIKE AN APRIL FOOLS ARTICLE!

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BrianinKent | Mar 23, 2012, 06:37 AM EDT

There is nothing new about self-serving organisations biting the hand that feeds them.Its not just Irish Organisations, but political parties, Churches,Charities, et al whose only purpose is to fleece money to fund their salaries and life styles. What cannot be denied however, is that the Guinness Brewing Company has high-jacked St Patricks day for their own marketing ends.Irish culture, history and achievements in literature, poetry, drama and music have been elbowed aside to just promote the ubiquitous black pint...

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esatdigiwank | Mar 23, 2012, 06:14 AM EDT

George D. i am incredulous: "abandoning a country where there are lots of jobs available"? >>What jobs do you speak of? Do you forget that Ire cannot create its own indigenous jobs? Surely you don't refer to the 1000s of m u l t i -l i n g u a l hi-tech (read:hi-faluting) software programming, cloud computing jobs we are 'importing' from Stateside (not 'creating' as our industrial development crowd claim). Jobs that require foreign language skills that our blue collar out-of-work carpenters, plasterers, block-layers, shutterers, brickies, laborers, pipe-layers, roofers, scaffolders, steel-fixers patently don't have. >>Please stop sending these jobs that require skills in Swahili, Arabic, Hindi etc. Speakers of which must come to Ireland cos there are flip-all Irish to fill them!! Fuelling your influx of 3rd world immigration here. For crying out loud! (ha ha).

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LiamDavid | Mar 23, 2012, 05:07 AM EDT

Besides the ridicule and slander against the Irish diaspora, what in hell does this Trina Vargo do to earn her pay check? She seems to be some sort of party hostess for a series of upscale fundraisers. The Hollywood events mentioned here sounds like a gatherings where they invite lots of Irish Americans celebrities and other Irish diaspora to this event in hopes of picking their pockets for more money for their all Ireland Anger tour and to help pay Trina’s salary. And just what was it that the American Irish had done to be judged disgraceful? Niall, Trina, bogsidebunny, and VonLiebenitz, the four of you have worked hard today in order to aggravate all of us! Perhaps all of us disgraceful Irish Diaspora should pass this article around to members of Congress and other moneyed groups, letting them know clearly what their hottest thinks of them? This just pure slander and insults by this article. It’s uncalled for and is a possible spark for hatred and distrust between the Irish on both sides of the Atlantic! Lets see if Niall allows this to be posted? Slan

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GeorgeDillon | Mar 23, 2012, 04:00 AM EDT

shuvonn: "any Irish person who moved here in the 80's (and now) is an economic refugee". That's absolute nonsense. How the hell are the Irish "economic refugees" if they are abandoning a country where there are lots of jobs available?

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GeorgeDillon | Mar 23, 2012, 03:56 AM EDT

bogsidebunny--Your reference to the presence of so many " Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Romanians, Nigerians, Palistinians, etc" is well made, but you underestimate the number by a factor of five or six. There's well over a half million foreign settlers in Ireland, no one knows the exact figure. In fact we had a self-described Irish immigration "expert" on here a day or two back--a poster styling himself maceinri-- who couldn't even offer a ballpark figure.

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doyathink | Mar 23, 2012, 02:24 AM EDT

Gee, bogsidebunny, you are such an expert on Americans, perhaps Irish tourism should think about hiring you as a good will ambassador to America. Of course, the tourist dollars might dry up as soon as all the non-refundable travel packages were used. For the record, I'm an American, Irish American and belong to an Irish American club, and I know absolutely NO ONE in America who thinks Ireland is a land of Leprechauns, Rainbows and Pots of Gold. You might want to re-check your sources on that one - if you actually have any.

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bogsidebunny | Mar 23, 2012, 12:56 AM EDT

Greeting from the BB boots-on-the-auld-sod. The lady in this article speaks mostly the truth. Americans have a misconception of Ireland. They really think it's a land of Leprechauns, Rainbows and pots-o-Gold. In fact the citizens (indiginous ones anyway) That's deducting the 100,000 or so Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, Romanians, Nigerians, Palistinians, etc. The average "Paddy" really laughs at the imbicilic behaviour of the "Yanks" but heartly welcomes their DOLLARS. Dream on all ye who pait youselves green once a year and plan for that trip of a lifetime. They think you're FOOLS!

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