An excerpt from "Lincoln and the Irish: The Untold Story of How the Irish Helped Abraham Lincoln Save the Union," by Irish America publisher, Niall O’Dowd. By 1856, the Whig party Lincoln belonged to had destroyed itself over slavery and the violence of the Know-Nothings, an extremist group of nativists with a deep hatred of immigrants and … [Read more...] about Lincoln’s New Party, Anti-Irish and Anti-Slavery
Politics Archives
To Live For Ireland
Mary Pat Kelly
IA Newsletter, August 18, 2020
IA Newsletter, August 18, 2020
Mary Pat Kelly writes about her friendship with politician and peacemaker, John Hume “Mr. Hume says Northern Ireland is too complicated to reduce to a Yes/No proposition,” Ted Smyth said to me. Fall 1976. I’m an Associate Producer at Good Morning America and Ted’s the Press Secretary for the Irish Embassy. We didn’t realize how young we were – Ted wasn’t 30; I was 31 and John … [Read more...] about To Live For Ireland
News: Sinn Féin Surge in Irish Election
The Irish people went to the polls on February 8 to elect a new government. Almost a month later, that government has yet to be formed. Why is this and what does it mean? In order to form a government in Ireland, a party or coalition of parties must have at least 80 seats. In the recent election, Fianna Fáil narrowly emerged as the largest party with 38 seats. Sinn Féin were … [Read more...] about News: Sinn Féin Surge in Irish Election
A Tale of Two Flags
Back in 1974, City Council President Paul O’Dwyer introduced a bill that would change the date on the New York’s flag and seal from 1664 to 1625. The move was an effort to set history straight and to recognize the city’s Dutch heritage on the 700th anniversary of the founding of the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Irish-born O’Dwyer noted that the only … [Read more...] about A Tale of Two Flags
Sláinte! The Irish & the Oval
In 2020 you can safely bet that the biggest topic of news and conversation is going to be the presidential election. And until midsummer, the hottest sub-topic will be “Who will the Democrats choose for their ticket?” I have a suggestion: select someone with Irish heritage. This is not a willy-nilly witticism. The numbers back me up. More than one-third of U.S. presidents … [Read more...] about Sláinte! The Irish & the Oval