"With liberty and justice for all."
–Pledge of Allegiance
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This may be the most difficult editorial that I have written since the creation of the magazine 16 years ago. It is difficult not because I have nothing to say or because there is an absence of current events deserving comment. To the contrary -- it has been a time of great emotion -- a time when there may be too … [Read more...] about The First Word:
God Bless America
First Word
The First Word:
The First Word: Something to Remember
"Irish people didn't get me out of jail. It was English people who got me out of jail." – Paul Hill I don't remember Bloody Sunday. I don't remember seeing footage on TV or being shocked by the carnage that left thirteen people dead and a fourteenth who would die later from wounds. How do I explain this? The Ireland I grew up in largely ignored the North. It … [Read more...] about The First Word: Something to Remember
The First Word:
Now and in Time to Be
"I knew that we were Irish and I knew that Irish was the best thing to be."
– Novelist Alice McDermott
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When I immigrated to this country I had no idea of the history of the Irish in America – indeed, I had the idea that only someone born and raised in Ireland could call themselves Irish.
A Greyhound bus ticket at a cheap student rate that lasted three months and … [Read more...] about The First Word:
Now and in Time to Be
The First Word: Celebrate With Concern
"Every human being has an obligation to help those less fortunate." – George Mitchell ℘℘℘ Father Finucane has a warm and friendly face, and a welcoming Irish smile. And he's not at all the type of person to guilt you. But every time I see him, I get a stab of conscience. It isn't anything that he says; indeed he's a most … [Read more...] about The First Word: Celebrate With Concern
The First Word: Pilgrimages For Peace
Nowhere in the world are Americans more welcome at the moment than in Northern Ireland. For the people there realize the importance of the American role in bringing about the present climate of peace. Not least of all has been the role of our President Bill Clinton. In the words of George Mitchell, the president's economic advisor on Ireland: "When you go over to Ireland … [Read more...] about The First Word: Pilgrimages For Peace