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Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Shock as US ends funding for Mitchell Scholarship program -- Attacks on Irish American community by Mitchell director Trina Vargo backfire

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Shock as US ends funding for Mitchell Scholarship program -- Attacks on Irish American community by Mitchell director Trina Vargo backfire

Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 08:05 AM

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Trina Vargo

The decision by the US State Department to end funding for the Mitchell Scholarships comes as a great surprise. The scholarship, named after former Senator George Mitchell sends 12 US students a year to Ireland and was modeled on the Rhodes scholars, but has become embroiled in continuing controversy.

The controversial statements of the Alliance president Trina Vargo hardly helped. She left Irish community leaders incensed on issues such as the Irish undocumented, comparing them to putting lipstick on pigs if they were legalised.

Her continued attacks on funding for the International Fund for Ireland, while she tried to grab their funding for herself, also deeply upset many.

She also ran into turbulence in Ireland where Senator Mark Daly had courageously called her to account for her outrageous statements aimed at the Irish American community and had arranged hearings before their foreign affairs committee that she inexplicably and arrogantly refused to attend.

Then there was her sneering attack on Irish leader Enda Kenny for presenting a certificate of Irish heritage to President Obama during the St.Patrick’s Day period, and attack which was completely without class or context given the occasion.

Now that the State Department have taken a very significant step there will be precious few defenders of the Alliance in the community that she seemed so determined to offend and denigrate and where she is now seeking help and writing frantic letters.
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The list of names supporting Vargo in the Irish community at present would be short indeed. There is not a significant organization in any state that supports her. Indeed, she has insulted the Irish government, including Kenny, at every opportunity it seems.

That is a shame in many ways because the idea behind the scholarships is a good one and the good name of George Mitchell deserves rescuing, even if he never seemed to question what Ms Vargo was actually up to and let her run riot.

The State Department however, clearly saw the lack of support for the direction of the Mitchell Scholarships and acted accordingly.

It is obvious that The Mitchell Scholars program needs new leadership and direction and that the Irish American community should certainly get behind the scholarship program with new leadership.

The downfall of the Mitchell Scholar program is an example of hubris where its president clearly felt there was no downside to slamming and denigrating every other Irish American organization in the US.

She is learning a tough lesson that that is just not the case.

So save the scholars, revamp the program, and hire someone that can add to the legend of George Mitchell, not subtract from it as Ms Vargo has been doing.

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Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 04:06 PM EDT

boydshield, this scholarship does not in any way, shape or form punish Ireland. It never helped Ireland, it only helped US students. US students can still of course come to universities in Ireland and are encouraged to do so (I'm not referring to Northern Ireland UK) to study and many thousands do. This Mitchell Scholarship in no way provides what might be the only contact Irish students in Ireland would have with those in the US in your narrow framework of knowledge. Students in Ireland meet students from all over the world who study here and visit here. 12 students a year makes no difference whatsoever except for Ms. Vargo's exhorbitant salary and the exhorbitant cost of the program.

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nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 04:04 PM EDT

Bythebay, not one penny of the money contributed by the government has been spent except to defray the costs of an annual audit required by the Oireachtas. Why are you so bitter regarding a program you know nothing about?

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nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 03:58 PM EDT

How would you know what Mitchell Scholars do? You didn't even know they attended universities in Ireland and now you are an expert on the program?? Mitchell Scholars are engaged in research that preventing the spread of HIV-AIDS, are working to end poverty in the Third World, worked for Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang camp in Ireland, provided relief to victims of the tsunami, are helping to develop smart grid technology, provide free medical care to the indigent and are engaged in many other efforts that are transforming the world for the better. All you seem able to do is spread misinformation and lies. Climb off your bar stool and join the human race. There are openings in Ireland (and beyond)

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Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 03:57 PM EDT

nashvilleirish, the so-called endowment fund was funded by the Irish taxpayer beginning in 1998 for 2.7 million, most certainly worthless to the people of Ireland. The students primarily attend universities in Northern Ireland UK, they produce nothing for Ireland. It is an expense well over for Ireland and the Irish taxpayer.

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WoundedKnee | Jun 21, 2012, 03:55 PM EDT

It's weird that nashvilleirish has so much detail about who got Mitchell scholarships, but s/he doesn't even know the name of the country the students went to! Nuts. But s/he is right on one thing--I don't care about the Mitchell scholarships. I say let Chuck Feeney endow some scholarships, instead of sticking his nose into Irish affairs by giving unlimited funding to pressure groups for causes he likes.

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boydshield | Jun 21, 2012, 03:52 PM EDT

NashvilleIrish is correct. This punishes both countries, not Vargo. The students from the US that would study in Ireland and those that would meet them (that might have been the only real contact with Americans). True that Niall has lambasted Vargo for years, I do not believe any of us know the entire story. And, the scholarships were for study in Ireland or Northern Ireland.

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Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 03:45 PM EDT

nashvilleirish, the vast majority of them attend Northern Ireland universities and colleges, not those in ireland. They do nothing at all for Ireland and contribute nothing for Ireland. You are corrected.

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nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 03:38 PM EDT

Uh, your are wrong, Bythebay. Mitchell Schoars attend universities in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. Since 2001 12 students have attended University College Cork, 13 have attended Dublin City University, 25 have attended Trinity College Dublin, 7 attended National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 19 have attended National University of Ireland, Galway and many have matriculated at other schools in Ireland. You were corrected on this point earlier.

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nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 03:35 PM EDT

Uh, you are wrong, Bythebay. Mitchell Schoars attend universities in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. Since 2001 12 students have attended University College Cork, 13 have attended Dublin City University, 25 have attended Trinity College Dublin, 7 attended National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 19 have attended National University of Ireland, Galway and many have matriculated at other schools in Ireland. (You were corrected on this point earlier in the thread.)

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Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 03:23 PM EDT

nashvilleirish, the Mitchell Scholarships sent students to Northern Ireland UK, not Ireland. Ireland benefits little from these US perks for Northern Ireland UK. Different country, different government.

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nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 03:19 PM EDT

It is obvious that WoundedKnee has nothing to contribute to this thread except abuse. Do you even know what the Mitchell Scholarships are? It is apparent you do not care.

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Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 03:18 PM EDT

pilib04, that was the Dail that got thrown out of office appropriately. The Mitchelll Scholarships went to Northern Ireland and should not be funded by Ireland's taxpayers. Got the message now??

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nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 02:56 PM EDT

Actually, no Irish government funds have been spent on the Mitchell Scholarship program for the last nine years. An endowment is being raised to meet the expenses of the program.

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WoundedKnee | Jun 21, 2012, 02:52 PM EDT

nashvilleirish: It's nothing to do with the accent. Your error--which is quite offensive to a lot of Irish people-- is to call the country Eire. It isn't Eire, you dope, it's IRELAND. Just like Spain is SPAIN in English, not España. Pointing out such things is not pedantry, it's filling you in on details that you are apparently ignorant of. Someone smart would say, "OK, I wasn't aware of the fact that the name of the country was Ireland, not Eire" and accept the correction. But you prefer ignorance.

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pilib04 | Jun 21, 2012, 02:42 PM EDT

Bythebay, if you were even remotely familiar with Ireland you would know that the Dail helped finance (in partnership with the USA) the Mitchell Scholars. Now do you understand the connection?

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