A recent fundraising trip by Kerry GAA officials in New York has managed to raise $210,000, (€158,538) for a Centre of Excellence at Currans.

Irish Country singer Derek Ryan has released a new single called ‘Welcome Home’ to encourage Irish emigrants to return to Ireland and join the festivities of The Gathering 2013.

Boston College: Enda Kenny, Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister), will give the Commencement Address to Boston College’s 4,400 graduates at Alumni Stadium this morning.
 
In the three years since coming to power, Kenny has looked to build a “Republic of laws,” a Republic that many Irish expatriates in the US—myself included—identify with because it closely mirrors the society in which we now live, a society where the letter of the law rather than the unspoken assumption of a doctrinaire moral code determines social policy.
 
Savita Halappanavar is a victim of that moral code and social policy. Mrs. Halappanavar died of sepsis, an infection brought on by the miscarriage of her seventeen-week pregnancy, in a Galway hospital on 28th October 2012. Her grieving husband described the medical treatment meted out to his wife as “horrendous, barbaric and inhumane.” To read the “Timeline” of his wife’s eight-day ordeal, based on evidence presented at the week-long official inquest, induces shame and anger. A young healthy woman fell victim to a lack of political will.
 
Enda Kenny outlined his vision for a very different Ireland during a Dáil Éireann speech in July 2011 when responding to the publication of the Cloyne Report. Like earlier reports—Murphy, Ryan, and Ferns—Cloyne echoed the well established narrative of clerical child sex abuse and confirmed the Catholic hierarchy’s failure to report such abuse to the civic authorities. The Bishop in question observed the dictates of the Vatican rather than the law of the land.
 
But Cloyne was of a different order too. It detailed how the Vatican deliberately organized to frustrate an Irish State-commissioned inquiry into clerical child sex abuse as recently as 2009. In an unprecedented move, Mr. Kenny, a devout Catholic, entered the Dáil chamber, the seat of political power in Ireland, and called the Vatican to account. And, he declared the primacy of the State’s standards, not those of the Catholic Church, in all matters related to the protection of Ireland’s children.
 
The “Cloyne speech” represents a watershed moment because it encapsulates a new vision for the nation:

The European strand of the Global Diaspora Forum took place in Killiney, Dublin, on the 14th and 15th of May this year and was attended by 200 delegates from around the world. The two-day programme included seven themed workshops with contributions from a wide range of leaders on diaspora matters.

Ireland has an opportunity to become an example of best practice in diaspora engagement and policy.  That’s according to the organisers of the European strand of the Global Diaspora Forum, which is taking place in Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel in Killiney over the next two days (14th and 15th May).
 
The Global Diaspora Forum is a celebration of diaspora communities, and has been held annually in Washington DC since 2011.  The forum is coordinated by the International Global Diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA), the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development.
 
The European strand was organised by the Irish International Diaspora Centre (IIDC) Trust, which is working to deliver a world-class diaspora centre in Dublin.  The Trust operates under the auspices of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company.
 
Opening the conference, Gerry Dunne, CEO of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, said: “Despite its size, Ireland punches far above its weight when it comes to diaspora issues.  This makes us so well-placed to be the first partner, outside of the US, to collaborate in the delivery of the Global Diaspora Forum.
 
“Ireland’s diaspora – estimated to be in the realm of 70 million – have permeated every corner of the globe and most professions, ranging from medical to political to culture and the arts.  This Irish diaspora experience is an enormous untapped resource, which we are only awakening to.  By reaching out to our diaspora, we can create communities centring on business, technology and the creative industries.  We can share ideas and collaborate to bid for business and implement initiatives for the common good.
 
“However, diaspora engagement needs to be facilitated by governments,” said Mr Dunne.  “Given the scale and good reputation of Ireland’s diaspora, we are ideally placed to become a best-practice model in terms of how we engage with our diaspora communities and how we implement policies and structures to maximise benefits.
 
“Issues such as voting rights for diaspora; structures for creating business linkages; and ways to help generations of diaspora connect with their roots are some of the areas that can be explored as measures to maximise the benefits of connecting with our diaspora.  Of course, diaspora communities who have established themselves in Ireland in recent decades present another area from which we can garner new insights and connections.
 
“This Global Diaspora Forum is about exploring diaspora engagement and its benefits.  Given plans by the Irish international Diaspora Trust to create a world-class diaspora centre at Dún Laoghaire Harbour, we are delighted to be in a position to host this historic event.  We hope that it will be the precursor to much more proactive diaspora engagement in Ireland and at an EU level,” added Mr Dunne.
 
Speaking ahead of his input to the forum, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore said: “I look forward to addressing and meeting the international and Irish experts who will gather inDún Laoghaire. Ireland is extremely fortunate to possess a diaspora that makes an enormous contribution to our country.  The forum allows us to share our experience and to learn from others.

A unique Monaghan-focused family history initiative is being organized as part of The Gathering 2013. It will provide two four-day training courses within the county for tourists tracing their Monaghan ancestors.
 
The project is entitled ‘County Monaghan Genealogy – home to the little hills.’ It will give participants information on the genealogical sources available, the cultural history of County Monaghan and the diversity of origin of its people. The courses will take place in North Monaghan from Monday to Thursday, 14-17 October, and in Carrickmacross from Monday to Thursday, 21-24 October. The courses are designed for individuals and groups with Monaghan ancestry living overseas and members of Irish societies and social clubs abroad.
 
This project is organized by Clogher Historical Society/Cumann Seanchais Chlochair, Monaghan County Library and the County Monaghan Heritage Gathering Committee. The project is also being supported by the County Monaghan Fund and Monaghan Genealogy. The project will be delivered by Ancestor Network Ltd, a professional genealogy company.
 
Substantial funding for the project has resulted in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for overseas visitors to come to Monaghan to trace their roots, experience the warmth of a Monaghan welcome and explore its rich culture and history.
 
If you are a native of Monaghan or know someone who might be interested, contact: John Hamrock, info@ancestor.ie, Tel: +353 87 0505296, Twitter: @ancestornetwork, or on Facebook.
 
About the Training Courses

They say you can never go home. Even so, while Ireland’s Minister for Tourism tries to lure the secretive Irish out of their silence, we diaspora hope against all odds to be found, to be brought into the fold, home.

A new on the ground wedding service for the Irish Diaspora getting married in Ireland has been launched by business woman Olivia Buckley and her special guest Simon T. Bailey.

“Finally,” I remember thinking when I first heard of The Gathering Ireland.

Ireland’s Transport and Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar is backing proposals to allow the Diaspora to vote in Presidential and parliamentary elections.

A Baroness and member of the House of Lords has urged people of Irish descent to support the development of a diaspora centre at Dún Laoghaire Harbour in Co. Dublin.