In pre-Christian Ireland, the spring celebration on May 1 was called Bealtaine. Household fires were extinguished several days before the feast and people were forbidden to rekindle them until Druid priests lit a ceremonial bonfire on the Hill of Tara, stronghold of the High King. When Christianity supplanted pagan customs a new spring celebration was introduced: Easter, … [Read more...] about Lent and Easter: The Fast and the Feast
1995
George Mitchell’s Mandate
President Clinton's Economic Advisor to IrelandWhen Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell announced he would not seek re-election it came as a surprise to many, not least his Maine constituents who had given him 80 percent of the votes in the 1988 election. When the 61-year-old senator then turned down a Supreme Court nomination to the great disappointment of the President, … [Read more...] about George Mitchell’s Mandate
The New “Special Relationship”
President Clinton's Commitment to IrelandThe White House economic conference on Ireland on May 24-26, 1995 will be the latest in a series of Irish initiatives by President Clinton. Niall O'Dowd reports on the making of a new "special relationship."On May 24 President Bill Clinton will become the first U.S. president ever to deliver a major speech on Irish issues when he … [Read more...] about The New “Special Relationship”