There was no Céad Mile Fáilte for President George W. Bush when he made his first visit to the Irish Republic. Thousands of soldiers and police were drafted in to keep protestors away from the President and his entourage as he made a brief visit to Co. Clare at the end of June. The biggest security operation in the history of the State was mounted for the visit, which was … [Read more...] about Bush Greeted with Antagonism in Ireland
Politics
The Not So Great Escape
Ten years after robbers emptied an armored security van of $7.4 million at gunpoint, a former I.R.A. member has admitted in a memoir that he masterminded the heist. ℘℘℘ Sam Millar rues the fact that he is unlikely to set foot in New York ever again. He spent 16 years in the city, saw his four children born there, set up a successful comic book business in Queens and blew it all … [Read more...] about The Not So Great Escape
The Reagan Democrats
Say what you will about Ronald Reagan, but it can't be denied that he changed the face not of just American politics, but Irish-American politics. Since the time of the Famine, when shrewd political bosses such as New York's Boss Tweed saw votes in the desperate millions as they stepped off of coffin ships, Irish-Americans were loyally tied to the Democratic party in the … [Read more...] about The Reagan Democrats
Sinn Féin and PUP Angry Over New Report
On April 20, 2004, Paul Murphy, Secretary of State of Northern Ireland, announced that the International Monitoring Commission (IMC) had recommended monetary sanctions upon Sinn Féin for the alleged abduction of a dissident Republican by the IRA and on the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) for its connection to the Ulster Volunteer Force, a loyalist paramilitary group. Angry … [Read more...] about Sinn Féin and PUP Angry Over New Report
Colombia Three Are Acquitted
Following on the heels of the very successful run of Tom Murphy's Bailegangaire, Irish Repertory of Chicago's 2004 season resumes in June with the world premiere staging of A Dublin Bloom, an adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses. This production is Irish Rep's contribution to the worldwide "Bloomsday 100" celebration, marking one hundred years since the most famous day in … [Read more...] about Colombia Three Are Acquitted