Boston Irish Commentary
The vote of the British people to leave the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit, has caused resentment, anger, and regret in many quarters. Its implementation will be very complicated.
The two sides, European Union countries and the United... Read more
We are poised on the edge of a Constitutional crisis and a medical catastrophe for anywhere between 20 million and 50 million Americans. As President Trump – with the aid of numerous Irish-American lemmings such as GOP leaders Paul Ryan, Mick Mulvaney and... Read more
The sad continuation of officially sanctioned sectarian agitation occurs regularly every July in Northern Ireland. Hundreds of government-approved parades and dozens of subsidized massive bonfires together celebrate the superiority of Protestants over the... Read more
President Donald Trump is caught in a spinning wheel that he can’t control. He has every reason to be alarmed at the appointment of a special prosecutor, but not because there was collusion between his campaign and Russia or that he engaged in obstruction... Read more
“Nothing is politically right that is morally wrong.” Those words were uttered some 170 years ago by Daniel O’Connell, who scared the proverbial bejeezus out of the British government in his battle for Irish Catholic rights and on behalf of his homeland’... Read more
At a time when Ireland is facing a serious Brexit crisis in both the North and the South, the need for revitalized aggressive leadership and functioning political systems is very apparent.
Far more than its population merits, Ireland is a country whose... Read more
Eric TrumpLike father, like son. This is not a matter of Republican vs. Democrat or Left, Center, or Right. In more dizzying ways than can be tallied, President Trump and his family are flouting any distinction between the family business and the nation... Read more
For over six centuries Ireland has suffered from its imperialistic neighbor. Located just across the Irish Sea, certain parts of the three cultures of Wales, Scotland, and England, collectively known as the British people, have considered Ireland their... Read more
No one expected the leading Unionist party to lose 10 seats in the recent Assembly election in Northern Ireland. No one expected that as a result of the voting, the Democratic Unionists would have only a one-seat advantage over the Sinn Fein. No one... Read more
Martin McGuinness, Photo courtesy Robert P. Connolly
In some respects, it was as if he were just another government official showing up for work on a chilly Belfast morning. But as the man who had inspired cheers and chills for three decades emerged from... Read more
From left, Frank Burke, Martin McGuinness, and Joe Leary at the Clover Club years ago.The first time I saw Martin McGuinness was at the old Ritz Carlton Hotel in Boston in 1996 as he was striding down the second-floor corridor to join a luncheon the Irish... Read more
Northern Ireland tribalism is a unique force that has created a near-permanent division amongst its people. This artificial state, set up and controlled by British leadership almost 100 years ago, has proven itself almost ungovernable since its inception... Read more
Finally! We have the answer to everything that comes from the mouths of Donald Trump and his acolytes. The answer? “Alternative facts.” Kellyanne Conway snapped at NBC’s Chuck Todd that “alternative facts” now govern the nation in which we live.... Read more
Northern Ireland, a small, artificial enclave of 1.8 million people, has been in constant turmoil since 1922 when Great Britain separated it from the rest of Ireland. In the years since it was created, thousands of its people have died in protest of that... Read more
Anyone who bet at the outset of 2016 that Donald Trump would win the White House is smarter—as well as richer, perhaps—than most of the “all-knowing” media, pundits, and pollsters in the world. An even longer bet, however, might have been that an inner... Read more
Every New Year brings new challenges and new surprises. For Ireland, both North and South, 2017 will be a very critical year. The American election and the British vote to leave Europe (Brexit) will dramatically impact Ireland and could be very disruptive... Read more
RockyWed., Nov. 9, 2016 12:30 a.m. – In the ER with my elderly Maltese who is not doing well. We’re in line behind a Shi-tzu who ate a tampon, presumably while watching the election returns.
Memories: In 2001, my family (including my mom, who was healthy... Read more
“Facts are stubborn things.” In his defense of the British soldiers on trial for the infamous Boston Massacre (1770), John Adams used those words, which are often attributed to him even though they appeared long before he deployed them with telling... Read more
Is the American experiment in democracy equipped to survive a Trump presidency? Our E-day-plus-one answer is, “Of course it will.” And it is the responsibility of our leaders, especially the vanquished Democratic ticket, to re-affirm this bedrock belief.... Read more
It was quicker than anticipated. After lamenting the loss of my wife and pondering the chances of meeting someone else, it happened. A friend told me about a widow I might like to meet. Why not? I figured; it’s better than sitting at home feeling sorry... Read more
