In a seemingly simple gesture that would have been unthinkable not too long ago, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness and Queen Elizabeth II shook hands for the first time, on June 27 in Belfast. During the Queen’s two-day visit to Northern Ireland (part of her Diamond Jubilee celebration), in a private room at the Lyric Theatre, they shook hands as … [Read more...] about Martin McGuinness Meets the British Queen
Issues
Bloody Sunday Investigation Launched
Police in Northern Ireland are launching a murder investigation into the infamous Bloody Sunday shootings, which occurred on January 30, 1972, in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, and left 14 unarmed Catholic-civil-rights protesters dead at the hands of British soldiers. PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott told the Irish Times, “It’s a lengthy investigation. This has … [Read more...] about Bloody Sunday Investigation Launched
Keep ‘er Lit: The Olympic Torch in Ireland
The Olympic torch relay, a throwback to ancient Greece, became a contemporary Olympic tradition at the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin. The 2012 summer games will open on July 27, in London, after the torch has completed a 70-day tour of 8,000 miles, carried by 8,000 torch bearers. As the Olympic torch traveled its 5-day relay through Northern Ireland and Dublin June 3 through … [Read more...] about Keep ‘er Lit: The Olympic Torch in Ireland
Irish and Irish-American Olympians to Watch
As the Olympic Games get in gear, Irish Americans with loyalties on both sides of the Atlantic will find themselves with an abundance of stellar athletes to root for. With 525 athletes, Team U.S.A. is a force to be reckoned with. The Irish-American competitors receiving the most media buzz include 16-year-old gymnast McKayla Maroney; distance runner Shalane Flanagan, who set a … [Read more...] about Irish and Irish-American Olympians to Watch
A Bridge for Ireland’s Nobel Physicist
A number of Irishmen have been recognized as Nobel Prize winners: Yeats, Shaw, Beckett and Heaney for Literature, Sean MacBride and John Hume for Peace. But only one Irishman has ever received the Nobel Prize for Physics. In 1951, Irish physicist Ernest Walton and partner John Cockcroft won the Nobel Prize for their invention of the first particle accelerator to split the atom. … [Read more...] about A Bridge for Ireland’s Nobel Physicist