IrishCentral niall o'dowd - b5cc3275d518416eacb61d676e8d84d1

A blue Christmas made worse by Newtown massacre of the innocent -- Memories of my late nephew Rory Staunton amid sad scenes from Connecticut (IrishCentral)

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:16:01 PST

Rory Staunton taking his first flying lesson in 2011 Last Saturday I should have been at my sister and brother-in-law’s in Sunnyside, Queens, trimming their tree with my daughter Alana and wife DebbieTheir kids Rory and Kathleen should have been there Rory, as always, the more serious older one, watching the two other scamps as they dressed up and performed silly sketches READ MORE

Home news – Upcoming RTE radio documentary to focus on contribution of the Irish Voice – AUDIO (IrishCentral)

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 05:26:20 PST

By: JANE WALSH

A new RTE radio series will examine how Irish newspapers abroad are trying to keep Irish communities connected.

Ireland needs a Minister for the Diaspora to identify next generation of Irish American leaders - Impact of men like Don Keough and Chuck Feeney greater than generations of Irish leaders (IrishCentral)

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 04:17:06 PDT

Chuck FeeneyIrish Americans such as Chuck Feeney and Donald Keough have had a more positive transformative impact in Ireland than generations of politicians there That was the main point I made in my speech accepting the Tip O’Neill Donegal Diaspora award in Buncrana last night before 400 people I stated that I believed there are many other Don Keoughs and Chuck Feeneys out there in Irish America but the Irish government needs to get serious about identifying themIt is not enough to just hold occasional Farmleigh Diaspora type meetings, make fine speeches praising the Diaspora and then let it fade until the next meeting READ MORE

Irish pride and power spill over as Notre Dame triumph over Navy - What Irish and American dreams are made of in the Emerald Isle (IrishCentral)

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 04:31:57 PDT

Notre DameDublin: In years to come hardcore Notre Dame fans will ask “Were you there?” when this Dublin game against Navy is discussedI predict it will be right up there with many of the great moments of this storied collegeWhat a day to be both Irish and American If you were not proud of your heritage in Dublin on Saturday then you lack an emotional bone in your body READ MORE

The view from Ireland when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon - A moment of history like no other in that summer of 1969 or since (IrishCentral)

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 04:31:48 PDT

Neil ArmstrongI was sixteen years old in the summer of 1969, working my first summer job in an electrical plant about ten miles from my hometown of Drogheda on Ireland’s East CoastThe night and morning of the moon landing is impressioned on my brain forever Like 9/11 and the Kennedy assassination I can recall it as vividly as yesterdayMy family had gathered around our black and white television set to await the great moment READ MORE

Florida mother credits Rory Staunton case with saving her son’s life (IrishCentral)

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 03:40:48 PDT

By:

A Florida woman has written describing how the coverage of Rory Staunton and how he died from a bacterial infection heavily influenced her to demand for her son get prompt attention in an ER after her pediatrician had dismissed her concerns.

Vindication for Irish family as NYU Hospital admits errors in treatment of Rory Staunton (IrishCentral)

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 03:51:25 PDT

By: JAMES O'SHEA

In an unprecedented statement, New York University Hospital has announced that it will dramatically change its emergency room procedures after admitting that 12-year-old Rory Staunton, son of Irish immigrants Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, who died in their care, was a victim of poor treatment.

Sully Sullenberger’s latest mission is to make hospitals safe -- In wake of death of Rory Staunton, Sully seeks major changes (IrishCentral)

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 05:46:10 PDT

Sully SullenbergerThe voice on the other end of the phone was amazingly, that of Sully Sullenberger, the Hero on the Hudson, who had landed his stricken plane filled with 155 passengers in the icy waters off Manhattan in January 2009He is the last great American hero, an authentic one too, who grabbed responsibility for his plane and the lives of his passengers on that dreadful day when a flock of geese killed his engines and he had only seconds to react“Your nephew Rory was a remarkable young man,” he told me, “We should ensure that his death was not in vain and that some good can come out of it"These days, Sullenberger, Irish on his mother’s side and with daughters named Kate and Kelly, is seeking to change medical treatment as profoundly as he changed our perception that there were no more American heroes READ MORE

The Boy Who Wanted to Fly - Maureen Dowd on Rory Staunton (IrishCentral)

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:32:44 PDT

By:

Editor’s Note: This Sunday New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote about Rory Staunton, the son of Irish immigrants and nephew of IrishCentral founder Niall O’Dowd, who died in a New York hospital after a tragic misdiagnosis.

A New York Times investigative article into my 12-year-old nephew’s death -- Columnist Jim Dwyer discovers the truth of what happened to Rory Staunton (IrishCentral)

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:30:48 PDT

Rory Staunton taking his first flying lesson in 2011 As many of our readers are aware my beloved nephew Rory Staunton passed away in NYU hospital from Toxic Shock Syndrome on April 1stI have written extensively about Rory and what happened to him but neither me or his parents, Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, had any idea of just how a devastating series of events and mistakes cost him his lifeThey occurred both with his primary care physician and in the NYU emergency room and doomed Rory’s chances of survival which should have been 100 percent with proper treatment READ MORE

The top 25 who made a difference - celebrating the Irish Voice’s 25th Anniversary (IrishCentral)

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:12:05 PDT

By: NIALL O'DOWD

Irish Voice publisher NIALL O’DOWD looks at some of the notables who have done their part to ensure that the Irish American community thrives.

On reaching the ripe young age of 59 -- Who is that guy in the mirror I wonder (IrishCentral)

Sat, 19 May 2012 05:31:10 PDT

I woke up yesterday morning to discover an impostorI gazed in the mirror on my 59th birthday and realized I had been hijackedThe grey haired, balding guy in the mirror with too many wrinkles and a paunch had clearly been foisted on me overnightThe sleek, handsome as hell, gazelle like guy I went to sleep as had disappeared READ MORE

Could Ireland lead the world in ending hunger? Ireland, its Diaspora, and the fight against hunger (IrishCentral)

Fri, 18 May 2012 05:23:53 PDT

By: JANE WALSH

Tom Arnold, CEO of Concern Worldwide, and Niall O’Dowd, founder of IrishCentral, Irish America magazine, and Irish Voice, spoke at “The Fight Against Hunger: The History and Future of the Irish Role in Humanitarian Assistance”, the first annual symposium co-hosted by Fordham University’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs and The Clinton Institute of the University College Dublin, earlier this week.

The Month’s Mind -- A letter to Rory, remembering a laughing boy with us no more (IrishCentral)

Tue, 01 May 2012 04:45:17 PDT

Rory StauntonThe Irish religious ritual of a “month’s mind”, exactly a month after a departed has passed is a beautiful if sad occasion to remember a belovedSo this is for my nephew 12-year-old Rory Staunton, now in the arms of the angels after tragically dying from a toxic infection in a New York hospital on April 1stRory, we miss you so muchEvery morning I awake and wonder if the empty feeling will ever subside, if it all really happened that one so vibrant and beautiful should pass so unexpectedly leaving so many broken hearts READ MORE

Phew! A near disaster is averted on Bettystown Beach -- car set to float away on the tide until my relatives arrive (IrishCentral)

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:45:08 PDT

Bettystown Beach (Credit: Paul Power)So on Wednesday afternoon I took a walk on Bettystown beach in County Meath, a wondrous place from my childhood, just six miles from my hometown of DroghedaI invited one of my oldest friends, Eddie Holt along and he said he’d meet me thereThe sun was high, the Irish Sea was clear blue and all was better with the worldUntil Eddie decided to drive along the beach to meet me halfway and walk from there READ MORE

Rory Staunton would have loved Tom Gibney’s underdog’s win at Fairyhouse race course (IrishCentral)

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:30:12 PDT

Andrew Thornton with Lion na Bearnai after the Fairyhouse win on MondayIt rained for most of the day in County Meath on Monday, quite an appropriate scenario as a small parish church not far from Fairyhouse race course witnessed a tearful family’s farewell as Rory Staunton departed for brighter heavensYou may or may not know about young Rory You may or may not have heard of his untimely death at such a young age last weekIf you’re a regular on IrishCentral you will know of the pain and the torture his parents and his sister have shared with his uncles and aunts, cousins and friends these past few days since his tragic death in New York on April 1 READ MORE

God in a time of personal crisis –how does he measure up? What I learnt from a dark night of the soul amid pain and suffering (IrishCentral)

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:15:14 PDT

A man and woman prayingSo is there an all-loving all-seeing God or is it a convenient invention to salve the soul?I have had major reason to consider that question over the past few weeks as my 12-year-old nephew Rory Staunton cruelly lost his life to a toxic infection in a New York hospitalIn the intensive care unit I met two pastors, both doing their best to console a frightened and exhausted family desperately concerned for their little boy,With one I ended up discussing the philosophy of Spinoza, the Dutch philosopher who believed that if there was a God he was abstract and uncaringWhen you see all the war, the killing the famine and suffering it is easy for many to agree with SpinozaWe discussed the Sermon on the Mount, and the eight beatitudes, which are the most relevant part of the Christian theology in my experience READ MORE

The final farewell as my family say goodbye to Rory Staunton -- A sad leavetaking for grieving relatives amid sodden Irish skies (IrishCentral)

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:30:54 PDT

Rory StauntonOn a wet and grey Easter Monday amid slanting rain, my nephew Rory Staunton was finally committed to the Irish soil, buried beside his beloved grandmother in St Peter’s graveyard in Drogheda, 30 miles from DublinThe dull thwack of the soil against the coffin after it was lowered signaled the final farewell for me to the 12-year-old boy who only a few weeks earlier was the joy and hope of his parents, New York based Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, who is my sister He was also the beloved big brother of his sister Kathleen READ MORE

An Irish wake for Rory Staunton back home in Meath --- The families and friends gather for the timeless Irish ritual (IrishCentral)

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 04:30:08 PDT

The Irish wake for my nephew Rory Staunton began in the parlor of his Aunt Derval’s house among the rolling hills and farmland of County MeathRory, aged 12, died at New York University Hospital a week ago from a toxic infection suffered after an elbow cut received at a basketball gameThe parlor is the room in the Irish house that is kept spotless, has all the best furniture and finery but nobody ever visits it except for occasions of great joy or in this case griefDerval, a nurse, had waked my mother and her own husband Paddy Hogan, a farmer there over the past ten years READ MORE

Sailing With O’Dowd (IrishCentral)

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:05:16 PDT

By: WHILE opening The Irish Times on the Internet on Monday morning, June 20 and fully expecting to see a photo of Rory (what a story) McIlroy, there on the front page was none other than Niall O'Dowd, Irish Voice publisher, and the news that he might well throw his hat into the ring for the Irish presidency.