The British general election, set for April 9, could be the most crucial contest in the modern era, one which could redefine terms such as "Britain" and the "United Kingdom." At stake is the future of Scotland as an integral part of the British mainland. Devastated in the Thatcher era by huge unemployment, the rising tide of Scottish nationalism threatens to force a withdrawal … [Read more...] about First Word: Break-up of an Empire?
Niall O'Dowd
First Word: Another Year, Another Scandal
DUBLIN: Now comes Sean Doherty, former Minister for Justice in the Irish government, the point man in a major scandal in the early 1980s involving the illegal tapping of phones of leading journalists. Doherty recently declared that he tapped the phones with the full knowledge of party leader Charles Haughcy, and that he personally handed over transcripts of the tapes to … [Read more...] about First Word: Another Year, Another Scandal
First Word: All in the Family
The 1993 Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans also carries a section on "Great Family Fortunes." Unlike a similar list of the European great family fortunes, which would be top heavy with royalty and titled nobility, the American experience shows the true strength of a "bottoms up" society where, in the first instance, wealth was earned rather than bestowed. Put … [Read more...] about First Word: All in the Family
The Vision of Mary Robinson
On her recent visit to the United States President Mary Robinson (49) became for Irish Americans the embodiment of a new Ireland, an Ireland in which the Irish diaspora – those 70 million worldwide who can trace their roots to the Emerald Isle – were once again welcome. Perhaps it happened as she gave her magnificent speech at Ellis Island, commemorating the first immigrant to … [Read more...] about The Vision of Mary Robinson
The First Word: Does the South Want the North?
"We have constitution which perpetrates the fallacy that Ireland is one nation with a right to territorial unification...when are we going to recognize that the 'national territory' is Santasyland." - John A. Murphy. Sunday Independent Newspaper Dublin "Northern Ireland Catholics are not our responsibility. They are citizens of a modern democracy and a regional economy … [Read more...] about The First Word: Does the South Want the North?