Shock as US ends funding for Mitchell Scholarship program -- Attacks on Irish American community by Mitchell director Trina Vargo backfire
By: Niall O'Dowd | Published Thursday, June 21, 2012, 9:45 AM | Updated Thursday, June 21, 2012, 9:45 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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Read more: Chinese Irish player racially abused by opponents in football game Terrible weather, European Championship failure and ailing economy but 'You’ll Never Beat the Irish'---------------
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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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Bythebay | Jun 25, 2012, 02:06 PM EDT
Excellent decision, George Mitchell had no connection to Ireland and neither does the scholarship named after him. The Fulbright Scholarship is one supported by Ireland and has far more relevance to Ireland, is reciprocal with the US and is recognized world-wide. Well done US State Department.
WoundedKnee | Jun 24, 2012, 11:21 AM EDT
jacers: You're a liar. You're no more a native speaker of Irish than I am of Swahili. And you know even less of linguistics than you do of Irish. What's "a soft 'h' between the letters"? How do I know it's soft? What does a hard one feel like? And what's wrong with your misspelling "tAontas Eorpoch"? By the way, I am as Irish as you--more so, since unlike you I speak the ancient language of the Gael and have studied the country's history and literature. So cuir sin i do phíopa agus ding suas do thóin é.
jacersagain | Jun 23, 2012, 06:57 PM EDT
"poltroon"?? George, you obviously don't even know the meaning of that word. Saying I don't know the difference betwen Irish and English has nothing to do with being a poltroon. Go look it up in a dictionary. Oh, wait! You're too lazy to do that, so I'll tell you: a poltroon is a coward. As a native Irish speaker, I know how to pronounce the name of my country in Irish. It's certainly not 'Ayra'. An 'É' fada followed by an 'i' has, in the spoken language, a soft 'h' between the letters.
WoundedKnee | Jun 23, 2012, 09:06 AM EDT
jacers: "I am blessed with good sight and memory". But not good sense. You don't even know the difference between Irish and English. What a poltroon.
WoundedKnee | Jun 23, 2012, 09:02 AM EDT
...Well-funded cheerleaders for mass immigration are very loud. Unfortunately, there are few organisations calling for reasonable limits who can draw on similar levels of funds. It is interesting that the founder of Atlantic Philanthropies which has provided finance to several of the mass migrationist mouthpiece bodies in Ireland is Chuck Feeney (a US globalist capitalist). It seems somewhat ironic that Feeney, who is so proud of his link to Ireland, has been party to the funding of organisations that support migrants to Ireland so vociferously, despite the obvious social re-engineering of Irish society that mass migration brings." ---This is very well written, but I didn't write it. I read it today on an Irish web site.
jacersagain | Jun 22, 2012, 05:33 PM EDT
(…more) I’ve travelled a lot over many years. I am blessed with good sight and memory and remember the headings on the cover of my old, pre-European Union, Irish passport: the first word, my country of origin, is printed with gold lettering in my native language - ÉIRE, followed by IRELAND (English) followed by IRLANDE (French). My current passport is headed ‘An tAontas Eorpoch’ (Irish), followed by (in English) ‘European Union’, both in small lettering, followed - gloriously - by, in capital gold printed letters, ‘ÉIRE’, followed by ‘IRELAND’. French has been delightedly dumped and German doesn’t get a look in on my Irish Passport. I’m always proud to show my Irish passport wherever needed with the first word reading Éire. In foreign lands, when people ask me where I’m from, thinking I’m English since I speak English mostly, I say “I’m from Éire (pron: Ay-hir-eh), or Ireland, or Irlanda (not the French version!) as you local people might know it better”. As for Niall’s rubbish above and other recent articles by him, let’s forgive him… he’s been on the whiskey again.
jacersagain | Jun 22, 2012, 05:28 PM EDT
Wounded Knee today at 03.37AM EDT (Hiya George Dillon! - sean Cara and Fellow Defender of Catholicism, Fellow Defender of Ireland against unwelcome foreigners and Fellow Defender of all things Irish. ~waving~ How’s it goin’? How’s life treatin' ya these days? D’oul’ schizophrenia stuff hitting ya again? Not to worry, oul’ pal, you’ll be as right as Irish rain when you find your other selves again, and I’ll say a Catholic prayer fer ya on that) basically says that Irish people would find the term ‘Éire’ quite offensive, associated with British jingoism. Clearly, schiz sick WK is not an Irish citizen and does not hold an Irish passport or else s/he is blind. I am an Irish citizen, born, bred and raised in Dublin City, Éire. (More…)
nashvilleirish | Jun 22, 2012, 01:20 PM EDT
To WoundedKnee: Very well then, an apology: I am sorry you are a fault-finding troll whose colossal ego has convinced him that he is the guardian of Ireland's honor. What an absurd little person you are.
WoundedKnee | Jun 22, 2012, 12:27 PM EDT
nashvilleirish: Your "analogy" is complete nonsense, it shows you understand nothing of Ireland. You would do better to offer an apology, not an analogy
nashvilleirish | Jun 22, 2012, 09:34 AM EDT
Wow, WoundedKnee you are obsessed, aren't you? A single error and you build a universe from it? Perhaps you as an Irishman regard the Eire/Ireland as a crime against the nation, but it was just a slip. Perhaps the analogy is someone who resents the use of the word American or America by a citizen of the US. Questions of nationality and nationhood obsess many but I am not (though I cherish the time spent inIreland). But do you really think I would invent a biography or be so concerned with the Mitchell Scholarship if I had no connection to Ireland? I mean, really?
WoundedKnee | Jun 22, 2012, 03:37 AM EDT
nashvilleirish: I don't believe you've spent all that time in Ireland. If you had spent just a week or two, and talked to a few people, you'd know than most Irish people find the term "Eire" as used to describe their country in the English language to be quite offensive and associated with a certain type of British jingoism. No Irish person ever said "I'm a citizen of Eire". Shame on you.
butlerreport | Jun 21, 2012, 08:12 PM EDT
Trina Vargo is right and the truth hurts. Irish undocumented are the bottom of the barrel and not needed, nor welcome, in the US. They have known the consequences of coming to the US undocumented since 1988. Indeed educated Irish are not that much in demand as our level of education in technology and hi-tech is laughable when compared to US domestic levels. We have to take the criticism for what we know is true and not stomp our feet like found out children.
RedBranch | Jun 21, 2012, 05:14 PM EDT
I seem to recall Gerry Adams refusing to show up for arranged hearings before a foreign affairs committee. 'No case to answer', he said. Perhaps Trina Vargo is cut from the same cloth, although of course looking after the interests of her own country.
nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 04:27 PM EDT
The key word is SCHOLARSHIP. If you think "thousands" of American students are flocking to the universities of Ireland in the Great Recession... well, then you have not been near one lately. The quality of the competition for the Mitchell Scholarship means that some of the best and brightest students are coming to Ireland and establishing life-long relationships -- and taking back toe US a positive view of Ireland. How can that NOT help Ireland? Your statement is nonsense. The money is a trifle and will soon be raised from private sources. And you continue to spread misinformation. Most Mitchell Scholars who matriculate do so at universities in IRELAND. Go to the US-Ireland Alliance site and search the database. I have traveled extensively in Ireland and have taught study abroad courses for US college students in Dublin and Galway. Your *non sequitur* about illegal wars is a classic. Bereft of any arguments and animated by a foolish hatred of persons you don't know (Trina Vargo and me), you blame a private citizen (one of 310 million) for the wars of the world. I could come back and say why do you still harbor IRA gunmen and why did you do nothing to stop the deaths of 4000 persons during the Troubles? See how stupid it can get?
Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 04:15 PM EDT
nashvilleirish, your argument is moot. The program is finished. The vast majority of the WOW 12 students per year which cost an exhorbitant amount of money studied in Northern Ireland UK and had their final dinner in Belfast, Northern Ireland UK where most of them were. You've never been to Ireland and know nothing about Ireland. Step off your bar stool if you even can. The Mitchell Students did NOTHING for Ireland. The US is very smart ending this. If you want to make the world better stop starting illegal wars.
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.
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?
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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??
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.
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.
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?
nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 02:39 PM EDT
Ouch, I have been wounded by WoundedKnee. I'm deeply sorry for leaving off the accent. But this is the sort of thing that gives mindless pedantry a bad name.
pilib04 | Jun 21, 2012, 02:37 PM EDT
Vargo will land on her feet. People like her always do. I'm sure she has hobknobed with enough wealthy people she will get a job somewhere. Perhaps not as cushy as this one. No one should be surprised that the USA cut off funding after Mark Daly's beatdown of her "organization" in the Seanad Eireann. Let's face it, even if it did some good (and someone would have to quantify what that good was), this Mitchell Scholars program was pretty much a job creation for Ms.Vargo. It couldn't have happened to a nicer, more polite, sensitive person.
WoundedKnee | Jun 21, 2012, 02:30 PM EDT
nashvilleirish: Do us a favor. Learn the name of the country before you start writing about it. It's Ireland. Éire is an Irish language word (note written accent on intial /E/). As far as I could tell, you were not writing in Irish.
nashvilleirish | Jun 21, 2012, 02:07 PM EDT
I see the boors and know-nothings are out in support of their commander-in-chief, Niall O'Dowd. This sycophant actually expects us to believe that a bully like Mark Daly is "courageous" for baiting Trina Vargo? Read the letter on the US-Ireland Alliance page to learn the truth about the Daly-Vargo affair. And thus far almost everyone here has missed the point. Withdrawing funding from the Mitchell Scholarship does not punish Trina Vargo: it denies students the opportunity to live and study in Ireland. The Mitchell Scholarship helps Ireland; withdrawing finds will only injure the historical friendship between the United States and the people of Ireland (both in the UK and Eire). I have no doubt the funds will soon be restored or replaced and the Mitchell Scholarships will continue. (The money being lost is only $500,000.)
borefield | Jun 21, 2012, 12:43 PM EDT
Vargo, left a sour taste in my mouth a long time ago,, she is and always has been jealous of the Irish, their hard work ethics, their courage and success. Think back at all the times she has mocked the Irish and went against anything that might support them. Niall, you are a very complex person. I'm never sure who you are supporting and you patronize various programmes and ethnic groups that in reality you shouldn't. They don't have your back.
offalymike | Jun 21, 2012, 11:24 AM EDT
as you sow so also shall you reap.
CitizenWhy | Jun 21, 2012, 11:04 AM EDT
When will people managing a public service program realize that no one cares about their opinions, they just want them to do what they were hired for, to carry out the programs missio0n and get the resources the program needs to thrive. We are not all celebrities, or that important, except in how we serve. But the opinions of individuals, when expressed, will be associated with their work.
CitizenWhy | Jun 21, 2012, 10:55 AM EDT
Must be a slow news day for Irish central. Nothing much happening for Moneygauls favourite son, well except for executive orders, coverups, attorney general censure, perjury, and flexibility talks with Putin.
Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 10:55 AM EDT
The Mitchell Scholars were in Northern Ireland UK. Chuck Feeney, the Elizabeth, New Jersey native's philanthropies are of course, like many others, very vague.
firehawk | Jun 21, 2012, 10:43 AM EDT
Chuck Feeney should buy everyone a 1916 easter rising centenary commemorative coin from 1916uprising.ie (google it). I'd be very happy with that!
Bythebay | Jun 21, 2012, 10:34 AM EDT
George Mitchell had nothing to do with Ireland. His peace efforts were in Northern Ireland UK. Ireland certainly isn't naming anything after him. Belfast, Northern Ireland UK is the place where streets should be renamed or other Northern Ireland UK cities. Northern Ireland UK is what he's connected with.
Springfield9 | Jun 21, 2012, 10:34 AM EDT
Vargo should have spent more time with Teddy K - driving around. Personally, I have been sick of her opinions for some time. By the way, why is a "Vargo" running the show instead of a Reilly or a Kelly? You can bet that if it was an African scholarship Snoop Dog would be running it.
BrendanDunphy | Jun 21, 2012, 09:46 AM EDT
This is good news indeed. What an inexplicable way for her to market her product, i.e., harshly criticize the source of her funding as well as the intended benfactors of this so-called organization. With my continued respect to Sen. Mitchell, of course.
WoundedKnee | Jun 21, 2012, 09:39 AM EDT
This is good news. Why doesn't Billionaire Chuck Feeney fund some scholarships, instead of pumping money into liberal pressure groups in Ireland?
racallahan | Jun 21, 2012, 09:26 AM EDT
So, "Don't Bite the Hand that Feeds You" doesn't register..........
manhattan | Jun 21, 2012, 09:01 AM EDT
It's about time Irish Americans whose hearts are in the right place realize that Vargo and others are anti american and do not deserve a dime of Mitchell's money. Many in Ireland are like Vargo and bogsidebunny so, before any money goes check out who they really are.
Bailey2000 | Jun 21, 2012, 08:59 AM EDT
In truth I don't think anyone in Ireland is likely to forget Sen. Mitchell and his huge contribution to Peace. Personally I think re-naming Merrion Square to Mitchell Square is the way to go.
bogsidebunny | Jun 21, 2012, 08:12 AM EDT
I give the lady high marks for being honest in such a way that it forces the Irish hypocrites feign HORROR. Feigning horror in Ireland is akin to expressing deep hatred either for the message, the messenger or both.