The pendulum continued to swing between optimism and pessimism in Northern Ireland at the time of going to press, with the main political parties still in talks and Senator George Mitchell poised to release his long-awaited report on the state of the peace process. Mitchell, hailed by commentators of all the persuasions for his role in securing the Good Friday Agreement, flew … [Read more...] about Quiet Optimism Over NI Talks – Mitchell Report Anxiously Awaited
Bill Clinton
New Files Reveal Secret British Battle to Defeat Irish America
Documents reveal the British thinking in relation to the IRA ceasefire, the Adams visa, the MacBride Principles, and appointment of Mitchell as special envoy. By Niall O'Dowd, Publisher Newly released files in Northern Ireland show the underground war the British waged to stop the Gerry Adams U.S. visa in 1994 and prevent a special U.S. envoy to the North, the job … [Read more...] about New Files Reveal Secret British Battle to Defeat Irish America
Clinton’s Irish
TRIUMPH
On November 30, 1995, US President Bill Clinton made a historic visit to Northern Ireland.
By Brian Rohan
No American president could have dreamed it better: a clear, crisp night after seven days of rain: 100,000 Catholics and Protestants gathered outside Belfast City Hall, not for an angry protest but rather a peaceful celebration; warm-up act by Belfast's native … [Read more...] about Clinton’s Irish
TRIUMPH
Irish Power, U.S. Politics U.S. Rep. Richie Neal Talks to Niall O’Dowd
Richie Neal’s extraordinary journey from a working-class neighborhood in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C., and one of the most powerful jobs in American politics as the chairman of the Ways & Means Committee. On November 7, 1960, Mary Garvey Neal, who had roots in Ventry, County Kerry, took her son to the Springfield, Massachusetts, town hall. It was very … [Read more...] about Irish Power, U.S. Politics U.S. Rep. Richie Neal Talks to Niall O’Dowd
Bill Clinton’s 2016 Hall of Fame Speech
Thank you very much. I’m delighted to be here. I thank you for the award. Ambassador Anderson, thank you for your kind remarks and for taking us all down memory lane a little bit. I want to congratulate the other honorees. General Martin Dempsey, I thank you for your outstanding service to our nation. Edward Kenney, thank you. Eileen Collins, thank you. I was actually … [Read more...] about Bill Clinton’s 2016 Hall of Fame Speech