Conservatives Target Obama Guest List – Despite the obvious love and joy that an excited American public lavished on Pope Francis in his public appearances here late last month, there was considerable behind-the-scenes dismay expressed during his visit from political conservatives and Catholic traditionalists alike. Together they were fighting an uphill battle against the tide of public approval of the Jesuit pope. The particular sore points with conservatives were two: the policy statements by Francis on immigration and climate change and the guest list for his welcome to the United States at the White House by President and Mrs. Obama.

There remains deeply imbedded in conservative “folklore” a visceral belief that climate change and the dangers that it holds for the world we live in are unproven liberal ideas that impede industrial progress and threaten capitalism.  This, of course, flies in the face of the overwhelming evidence given by the planet’s scientists that, leftist belief or not, the effects of uncontrolled climate change represent a ticking time bomb.

The second distressing sign to conservatives of a pope who appears to be generally supportive of policies emanating from the Obama White House was the presence at the impressive welcoming of an A-list of America’s nobility and a number of individuals whose places in life speak to the social, cultural, religious, and political diversity of the country. For these right-wing elements, many of whom have spent six plus years opposing President Obama’s agenda at every turn, seeing a hugely popular pope espousing what they see as liberal dogma before such a gathering was almost more than they could stand. While their complaints were many, certainly a lightning rod of outrage was the sight of the Catholic nun Sister Simone Campbell, the organizer of the “Nuns on the Bus,” and a favorite target of the right.

A right-wing news site describes some of the 15,000 at the Rose Garden reception for Francis as a “rogue’s gallery” of dissenters and their inclusion “a stunning show of political indecorum” designed to “test just how far Pope Francis’ notorious tolerance will go.” Sister Simone, outspoken and direct, has been a thorn in the side of conservatives; some paint her as the “pro-abortion executive director of the social justice lobby NETWORK.”  Sister Simone, who, like many, was stunned by the “apostolic visits” from Vatican clerics aimed at reining in the nuns and their leader, says she is “pro-life, not just pro-birth.”

A broad-based criticism by conservatives of the guest list seemed to be especially virulent concerning the number of gay Catholics and LGBT advocates who had been invited, including a gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, and others with similar backgrounds. As the National Catholic Reporter noted, “Maybe American conservatives and Obama critics are more upset than the pope they say they are defending.”

Grace Notes For A Troubled Time – In the north of Ireland and in some nearby border counties the slog is difficult and often depressing, but amidst the bramble bushes a sliver of sunlight now and then shines through. Two of those sidebar events caught my eye and deserve attention.

• For the first time a British army regiment will field a GAA team in competition. The story came out of London and it involved a vote taken last month to admit a junior Irish Guards side to play in the London county championships next year. The Irish Guards GAA team has an existing 45-man panel that includes Irish players, players of Irish descent, and others who simply want to play.
The Irish Guards regiment was founded in 1901 by Queen Victoria and many Irish companies were disbanded after Irish independence, but not the Guards unit, which remains an active part of the British Army. Rule 21, the ban on crown forces joining the GAA, was abolished in 2001.

• A similar if more subtle “hands across the community” gesture is taking place in Fermanagh where members of the Church of Ireland in Derrylin reached out to help their Catholic neighbors. The generous actions by the minister, Rev. Andrew Quill, his daughter, and a friend began following a rash of break-ins into cars outside St. Mary’s Catholic Church and nearby churches. The pastor of St. Mary’s, Father Fintan McKiernan, commended the action and revealed his parish members would soon be following suit. “I appreciate it. It was a meaningful neighborly thing to do. We will be having car supervisors now at Mass, weddings, and funerals,” the pastor confirmed. The gift of caring can be a powerful force, it says here.

Not A Hoax; Jeb Said It – I missed the last GOP Elephant Walk debate, but someone asked me for my reaction to Jeb Bush’s answer on who should grace the soon to be redesigned $10 bill.

I was told that Jeb (where’s that fire in the belly?) replied to the debate question by offering up former British PM Maggie Thatcher as someone to be pictured on the US $10 dollar bill. Wow! He actually said that. No Eire Pub pint for you. In the first place why have a British citizen on our money? And, if you’re stuck on that, then why have a divisive anti-Irish, anti-unions, pro-dictator politician as a symbol of American values and democracy. Please. Note to Jeb and his incipient presidential campaign: The Irish in America number an estimated 35-40 million people, many of whom are voters. Mrs. T is anathema to most Irish – and many Brits. Who is doing his research? Want a mulligan, Jeb, on that sappy answer?

Austerity Rules; Senior Travel Passes May End – There are threats abuilding to take away travel passes that senior citizens (over 60) in Northern Ireland use to travel and shop. It has been a privilege of age that the free passes are an accepted perk for the North’s 60 plus population.

Once the proposal moved from village rumor to a much-discussed possibility, the Northern Ireland Pensioners Parliament activated its lobbying arm in an intensive effort to kill that in-your-pocket fee. Advocates, including many not eligible for the senior travel pass, point out that “free travel allows the older population to have a more active and healthy lifestyle, and ensures it isn’t a financial burden.” Others note that the free travel should be praising what the Smartpass enables older people to do. These activities actually save money, help the economy, and secure a better public transport for everyone. Amen.

Boston’s Mayor Walsh a Tough Cookie – Globe columnist Adrian Walker took a few jabs at Connemara’s and Dorchester’s Marty Walsh late last month, but the mayor, zeroing in on the closing months of his first two years in the Plaza Parthenon, is still standing tall with his constituents.

Walker challenged Walsh on the $1.5 million Boston has spent on lawyers and push-back against casino mogul Steve Wynn in working to get the best shake for Boston and its citizens out of the gambling operation designated for Everett by the state gaming commission. I think it will turn out to be money well spent and an essential element in protecting Boston against the rampaging billionaire from the desert. Walker, in his Sept. 25 column, tried to hang the 2024 Olympics end game as a “fiasco” around Walsh’s neck, but I and thousands of clear heads who were unconvinced by the flying IOC circus think the Walsh call was a win and protected the city against liability for unlimited shortfalls and a plan that had too many unanswered questions.

When you are an incoming first term mayor and Olympic supporters, many with their own goals and heady dreams, are championing a five-ring, world class extravaganza, what new mayor would be a skunk at the lawn party by going against the prevailing winds and not supporting such an event? But a few words spring to mind: due diligence and caution. The mayor was not giving anyone, from Mount Olympus or elsewhere, an open checkbook on the city’s finances or future.

Walsh worked to get a guarantee that Boston would not be left holding the bag for losses that could have croaked the city’s balance sheet. That’s a line of prevent defense direct from Rosmuc. The IOC couldn’t produce, and Boston closed down the shop.

The mayor of Boston doesn’t owe anyone an apology for protecting the city against potential harm, except maybe the local banks that will not be enjoying an Olympics-driven borrowing frenzy. That’s the “fiasco” we missed. And ain’t we lucky, Boston.
Two Who Marked Special Septembers – This year’s Rose of Tralee, Elysha Brennan, a Meath native, had several reasons to celebrate her Rose crown. The first of course, most would say, is that she was chosen the fairest of all on stage at the annual Rose of Tralee pageant in Kerry. What many did not know about the 22-year-old Elysha is that she is in remission from cancer and is still being monitored with check-up scans, her next scheduled for just before Christmas. She is being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma but tells family and friends that she is in the “height of my health” and looking forward to fulfilling her duties as Rose of Tralee. Go girl.

Across the water is a another wee girl, the twenty-something Margaret Keys, who had the thrill of her young life when she sang for Pope Francis in Philadelphia before an estimated audience of almost a million people during his appearance there on Sept. 26. Margaret, from Derry, recently lost her father. He had been a strong influence in her life and a strong supporter of her singing career. When she spoke about her father’s help and hopes, she said that performing for the pope became a greater ambition following her father’s death. When asked how she came to be selected to sing for the papal party, Margaret explained, “I performed on Vatican Radio while I was in Rome last year, and I believe that one opportunity leads to another.” She is following in the footsteps of another Derry girl, the Eurovision winner Dana, who has sung for several popes in her lengthy career.

“The First Queen Of Journalism,” Mary McGrory – If you were Irish American, and a news junkie who loved politics, you had a surefire crush on Mary McGrory, who wrote tellingly and factually about politicians and others whom she covered in a half-century as a reporter and columnist. She won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for her articles about the Watergate scandal.

This Roslindale-born journalist was in her time arguably the most celebrated political columnist in America, first for the late Washington Star and then the Washington Post. She knew everybody who was anybody worth knowing in the Beltway. She was perhaps best known for her close ties with the Kennedy family. She and John F.  Kennedy were close in age and some thought she had a long and endearing crush on the handsome senator and president-to-be. Mary also traveled with and covered Robert F. Kennedy during his ill-fated 1968 presidential campaign.

During 1980, my year with Congressman John Anderson and his national independent campaign for president, Mary occasionally joined the campaign, especially early when Anderson’s poll numbers were significant. She was the star of the campaign’s Big Foot reporters and I did my duty seeing that she got up and onto the bus with her coffee or tea. I forget which. She was delightful if crabby, particularly if the bus left earlier than usual. I had enormous respect for her and her skills, which held up well even after decades of writing about politics. She spent almost a week once with the campaign in Chicago, and, upset for one reason or another, she took to calling our hotel for press and staff “the abysmal Bismark.” But on balance she was a favorite during the occasions when she caught up with the campaign. A Boston gal and a hell of a journalist; what was not to like.

Some six years later, I re-introduced myself to her at the White House Saint Patrick’s Day party and mentioned the Chicago hotel but it rang no bells for her. Six years in politics is an eternity. Mary died in 2004, and hopefully her biography/memoir, “The First Queen of Journalism” by John Norris, does this hometown lady justice.

Student Finds Truth of NINA – A prominent American historian and others have long dismissed as myth the anti-Irish discrimination signs of No Irish Need Apply, or NINA, that were found at job sites and in help wanted ads beginning in the mid-1800s and continuing into the early years of the 20th century. Reports of the NINA signs were deemed as untrue claims of discrimination against the Irish that didn’t hold up after scholarly searches.

Now, however, as a result of research by a high school student, there is further proof and authentication that these NINA signs and advertisements not only actually existed but they also were widely seen and recorded, according to a recent story in the New York Times.

After the student’s research turned up several examples of NINA artifacts, the Times reporter, Mark Bulik, conducted a search of his newspaper’s data base. The earliest example Bulik found dates back to Nov. 10, 1854, in a classified ad for a nanny. It was the first of 29 instances that Bulik found showing No Irish Need Apply stipulations. In addition, he found many more classifieds stating that applicants be Protestant, suggesting a prejudice against Irish Catholic immigrants.

It has long been said that “the truth will set you free.” Finally, to the naysayers, we have the proof.

Good Reading on the Vatican Curia and Whitey & the FBI – The New Yorker magazine continues to be one of the sharpest fact-driven investigative journals publishing today. In the Sept. 14 issue there is an excellent update on Pope Francis’s efforts to reform the Vatican Curia, by Alexander Stille. In the Sept. 21 issue, Patrick Radden Keefe, who grew up in Dorchester, takes a further look at the FBI and its long-term relationship with alleged informant Whitey Bulger that tries to answer the question of who worked for whom in the FBI-Bulger arrangement. 

RANDOM CLIPPINGS
Weeks after the Irish water rates protesters hit the streets, thousands are still protesting in Dublin, not about the rates but about criminal charges brought against protesters in Tallaght. … Minister of the Environment Mark Durkin of the SDLP is considering licensing all bonfires in the North. … New British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has come out as a supporter of a united Ireland. … The VW “Gotcha” cost in Europe is 6.5 billion euros; Ireland has been hit heavily. … The Pawtucket Red Sox (only 50 miles from Boston) move to Providence has been killed and the PawSox are looking for another field to play on. … Monica McWilliams, founder of the NI Womens Coalition, will speak at BC’s Devlin Hall at 5 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 9. … BC will host two fine Irish writers onto campus this fall, Paul Murray and Kevin Barry. Call BC Irish Studies for times and venues.

US Sen. Elizabeth Warren has the IRS in her sights as she pushes to end lucrative tax breaks for private equity managers. … Thought it might be a typo, but happily it’s true that the Irish government expects the domestic economy to grow by a stunning 6 percent this year. … Irish President Michael D. Higgins is suggesting that local housing authorities should apologize to the homeless for the lack of social housing services. … Ireland’s biggest hotel group is looking to purchase the well-positioned Gresham Hotel in Dublin for $67 million. … An immigration reform group is readying a large TV ad buy that will embarrass Ted Cruz, Donald the Draft Dodger, and Scott Walker, who has already left the campaign trail. … Mass. AG Maura Healey is looking closely at pipeline routes that would cut across conservation land in the Bay State and New Hampshire. … Glad to see that Dorchester’s Carney Hospital has turned the financial corner. It is looking at breaking even for the first time in years. … Regulators are eyeing some Big Pharma cost increases that have some cholesterol-lowering drugs costing $14,000 a year and other medications that are now priced in the $100,000 and up range. Pharma cites research costs, but many drug companies pay more to advertise than for research. … “Spotlight,” the tale of the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize series on priestly sexual abuse, will be shown at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October, and will be on screens in theaters Nov. 6.