Thank Christ the murdered man was Catholic. No Catholic will say that on the record, but every northern Catholic knows what it means, and no Catholic has to amplify when it is said privately. It means that if Gerard Lawlor, aged 19, shot dead by loyalists last Sunday night [7.21.02] in north Belfast, had been a Protestant, there would have been political hell to pay, and an … [Read more...] about The Last Word: A Pall of Darkness Falls on Belfast
Photo Album: All in the Family
1972: The Noone Family, Brooklyn. Little did Luke Noone and Mary Ellen Doherty dream when they left Ireland that they would leave a legacy of five children, 20 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren – a total of 55 good-looking, God-fearing Narrowbacks (as Luke often referred to his family). Luke emigrated from Curramaeigh, Kilkerrin, Co. Galway in 1922 at 20 years of … [Read more...] about Photo Album: All in the Family
September 11, 2002
In an effort to show solidarity and support for the United States just a year after the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, all Irish businesses, schools and shops came to a close at 1:46pm on this day in 2002. This time marked the exact moment, in Irish time, that the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. A year earlier, on the day of 9/11, … [Read more...] about September 11, 2002
Bono’s African Journey
Bono wants a major rethink on U.S. foreign policy regarding Africa. The Dubliner and frontman for U2 feels that aid can work but only if the burden of debt is removed, and he took his argument to U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. When Bob Geldof roused the Western world out of indifference about starvation in Ethiopia, much was made of the fact that he was Irish. The … [Read more...] about Bono’s African Journey
Postcards From the Edge
Although she takes her husband's surname, Ali Hewson has always shied away from publicity generated by marriage to rock star Bono, the frontman of U2, and while he carries on his war against world debt, she concentrates on nuclear fallout closer to home. ℘℘℘ Anna Gabriel is excited. Having changed from her customary jeans and T-shirt into a velvet frock the nine-year-old is … [Read more...] about Postcards From the Edge