Irish Government Tightening Banking Rules – Ireland’s political leaders, like ours here in Congress, don’t agree too often, but there is a growing consensus on the isle that it no longer can be business as usual for Irish banks.  Enough time has passed since the biggest banks, with their destructive, madcap operating style, and developers and investors brought Ireland’s economy to its knees to make reform inevitable.

With memories fresh and a new-found reality the order of the day, the Dublin government has the support of the European Union Commission to strengthen its powers over the banks and other financial institutions. The reforms will focus on giving Irish courts the ability by law to veto certain transactions, to intervene to resolve the lingering mortgage arrears crisis, and to propose and enforce certain alternative arrangements when a bank gets into trouble.

In so many words, it is a new deal. Banks won’t like the reform game rules, but after the huge role they played in the Irish recession, their clout and command function has noticeably declined.

Also on the reform agenda are proposals to deal with unorthodox or undisciplined behavior by Irish banks and bankers similar to those newly in force in Britain. The Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said that for the most part the bankers’ behavior leading up to the crisis was unwise rather than criminal.

Earlier this year, Boston College Professor of Finance Ed Kane was more forceful regarding penalties for bankers who “routinely abused the rules” without penalty. He proposed a permanent structure for “punishing unruly behavior in a meaningful way.”

Testimony in the Irish banking inquiry has highlighted several factors that fueled the nation’s economic collapse: the lack of a national planning strategy; large scale land rezoning; cheap bank debt; and government tax incentive policy.

Elections in the North, Referendum in the Republic – The British elections will be held on May 7, which we all know includes the North, despite wishful thinking by Gerry and the faithful.  In the other 26 counties, the focus is on Fri., May 22, when voters will decide whether to approve same-sex marriage. Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the government support a Yes vote, with Kenny saying it would underline Ireland’s reputation as a tolerant and inclusive nation.

An opinion poll late last year showed that two-thirds of voters would back gay marriage in a referendum. However, the Catholic Church has strongly opposed such marriages in the Republic, so a loss on this issue would be a bitter pill for the church. More recent polling shows some erosion of the early Yes lead. There has been some suggestion that there might be a hidden No response, with voters possibly saying Yes to interviewers, yet voting No on the ballot later this month, thus giving evidence of an underlying anti-gay sentiment.

Vatican Formally Ends Oversight of Nuns – The Vatican officially announced in mid-April that it had ended the oversight of the religious sisters’ largest leadership group. The closing of the inquiry comes two years earlier than expected. The oversight initiated under Pope Benedict XVI, which has been thought by many to be an increasingly awkward and uncomfortable Vatican position for Pope Francis, was clearly controversial, but the Vatican’s final report contained no references to the original criticism of the sisters.
As someone who spent more than decade being taught by the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Boston I was dismayed by the irrational criticism initially cited in announcing the planned five-year inquiry of the sisters’ writings, their guest speakers, and their policies. The Vatican’s closing report clearly softens the hard-charging criticism from when the oversight was first introduced, but contains some lingering mention of review, and revised processes for the sisters’ choice of speakers, etc.

The reaction by the sisters to the final oversight report seems to be relief that it was even-handed,  “very civil,” and not contentious. As one of the sisters’ leaders characterized it: “It reads to me like women who have been in a long conversation of equals.”  And most importantly, as another leader noted, “the Leadership Conference of Women Religious has not lost its ability to operate freely”

I hope that we have seen the last of these type of exercises that bring into question the hard work, loyalty, and devotion of the Catholic Church’s invaluable religious.

Ready for Summer: Ireland’s Welcome Mat is Out – North and south, east to west, the island of Ireland has a variety of new trails and events that ensure a summer of wonderment, historical events, and scenic beauty. A big event in Belfast and the surrounding area will be the arrival of the Tall Ships for four days in high summer –July 2-5.  It will be the biggest event to be staged in the city. The city will be host and home port prior to the 2015 race featuring dozens of the world most celebrated and breathtaking ships. The long July weekend will be the third time in the North for the Tall Ships Race; it was previously staged in Belfast in 1991 and 2009.

Participating in Belfast waters for the first leg of the race this year are more than 50 vessels, including 17 massively impressive Class A ships. Having spent several days in Belfast last autumn, I can tell you it’s an exciting city, with a vigorous night life, scenic vistas that just begin in Belfast proper, a young, vital population, historic Queens College, and an array of first-class restaurants and pubs. It is a far cry, a universe away from the grim, grey town of yesteryear. And the rolling countryside, from the Ards Peninsula to the Antrim or Coast Road, is a fitting and splendid counterpoint to urban Belfast.

Another opening in old Belfast is the spanking new Folktown Market, the first independent outdoor market granted a license in 400 years.  It has captivated the townspeople in its early days and attracted crowds to the city’s Bank Square. The stalls in the natural stone market area have locally-sourced food, buskers, furniture, music, artisan crafts, and more.

 Moving southward to the west is the already established Wild Atlantic Way, that glorious stretch of variegated land and small towns and green byways from Donegal in the northwest through Mayo, Clare, Galway, and Kerry to west Cork, Dingle, Kinsale, and beyond. It’s magnificent panorama of Ireland’s natural habitat, and an unforgettable pathway in the west of Ireland.

And for those who appreciate a touch of regal splendor and are traveling in County Mayo, there is the refurbished Ashford Castle, newly restored to its original beauty at a cost of $50 million. The Castle, former home of the Guinness clan, is one of my favorite spots in Ireland for afternoon tea or an early morning breakfast in between our stays in bed & breakfast spots that fit our budget. The latest touches at the castle are a swimming pool, a spa, a billiards room, and a new 32-seat cinema.

Across the country, a new and compelling initiative highlights Ireland’s older historical attractions on the eastern side of the isle. “Ireland’s Ancient East,” it has been designed as a counterpoint to the Wild Atlantic Way and will officially open, with signposts, guidebooks, and the like in 2016. However, there should be details and touring information during this year. When it is officially launched, “Ireland’s Ancient East” is expected to attract an additional 600,000 overseas visitors. But for those heading to Ireland this year, there will be an opportunity to get a head start and test drive the historic long trail as pioneering visitors.

Ireland is better than ever. Go home this year. You’ll be glad you did.

No Breakthrough in Border Fuel Smuggling – Over the past months there has been increasing concern about the fuel smuggling and related environmental concerns re toxic waste and polluted waterways in the Dundalk area. The EU Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan (an Irishman) several weeks ago called out Sinn Fein “to tell more of what they know” about illegal fuel smuggling and laundering just north of the border area with Louth in the Republic.

Political sources estimate that the fuel rackets produce profits of over $50 million a year, all illegal and untaxed. The operations apparently are a pollution risk to waterways and residents within a 30-mile radius on both sides of the border. The Agricultural Commissioner said “both national authorities [the Garda in the Republic and PSNI in the North] have been well aware of this terrible problem for decades and they are trying, but not really succeeding, in stopping it.”

The commissioner also noted that the environmental fallout from abandoned fuel waste risked huge damage to the reputation of Irish food on global export markets. The Irish Independent newspaper, published out of Dublin, recently discovered a fuel laundering plant close to a public water supply for Armagh and Monaghan that was discharging toxic sludge.

Put A Woman On US Currency? Yes, Indeed – There is a small- bore campaign afoot to seriously study the idea of putting a woman’s face on the $20 bill. I think it’s a first-rate idea and overdue. If not the twenty, then another denomination. In the United States it is roughly a 50-50 split on gender. Maybe more women then men?  If we agreed on a woman for the $20 bill, it would mean jettisoning President Andrew Jackson. Hey, you win some, you lose some.

There’s no precedent for a woman on our American currency, but there is ample precedent in Ireland. A lovely lady, born Hazel Martyn in Chicago, who became Lady Lavery after marrying Belfast-born painter Sir John Lavery, was a mainstay on Irish paper currency from 1928 into the 1970s. Her husband, who became an official artist for the British government painted a number of portraits of his Lady. Following the Anglo-Irish treaty, he was invited by the Irish Free State to create an image of a female personification of Ireland for the new Irish banknotes. Sir John chose (wonders never cease!) his wife and her image adorned Irish paper currency until the euro was introduced.

There is a subtext here. Lady Lavery and Sir John had a palatial house in South Kensington, which they leased to Michael Collins and the Irish delegation during the talks on the Treaty of 1921.  There has been some suspicion, containing a degree of credible if not compelling evidence, that Lady Lavery and Michael, her tenant, grew closer together in those early 1920s. Paramour or not, Lady Hazel Lavery was for most of the 20th century the face of Ireland and nobody complained.  She died in 1935 in London
Cullinane & Costello At Harvard – My wife Jean and I took the Honda by the horns and drove over to Harvard Square in early April to the Kennedy School to listen to two gentleman who know a thing or two about Northern Ireland, peace, and public-private partnerships: John Cullinane, founder of Cullinet and a pioneer software entrepreneur, and his co pilot for the day Dr. Frank Costello, a resident of Belfast and a Visiting Research Professor at Queens University, Belfast.

It was a terrific afternoon at Weil Town Hall on the JFK School’s urban campus. Frank and John spoke, answered questions, and chatted about life in Northern Ireland, and the importance of public-private partnerships in the emerging peace process.

Following the session I had a chance to say hello and chat with some old and new friends. It was great craic to see and talk with friend Phil Haughey, who goes back to our BIV days and helps wherever he can in the Irish community; with my colleague on this paper, Irish American Partnership leader Joe Leary; and with Patrick McDevitt, a  Boston real estate developer who would never mention it but is usually the smartest man in the room. And it was a treat to meet Ronnie Millar, the executive director of the Irish International Immigrant Center and successor there to Sister Lena Deevy, a favorite who I once said we would have to invent if she didn’t already exist. A grand April day in the Square.

Another Bad Shoe Drop: A General is Flushed Out – Thirty-five years after the savage 1980 murders of four American churchwomen in El Salvador, a former Salvadoran defense minister has been deported by a US immigration appeals court. General Vides Casanova, who has been living in Florida for 25 years, was found to have covered up torture and murder by his troops, including the killings of the four women who were working with the Catholic Church as missionaries to the poor. 

The deportations of Bides Casanova and others for the untold number of abuses, tortures, and murders that they have been identified with are the result of new anti-terrorist laws that employ the concept of command responsibility.

Vides Casanova was the recipient of two Legion of Merit awards by the Reagan administration and was given safe haven in Florida by the first Bush administration.

Boston Olympics 2024 Picks Board; Support at 40% – The latest numbers for Boston 2024 are better than they have been by a bit, but with only 40 percent support (50 percent against) they are not knocking anyone dead. In the Globe last month, Smith College Economics professor Andrew Zimbalist used numbers from past Olympics to definitively show the scarcity of surplus or break-even scenarios.

In his closing, Zimbalist had this to say: “ If Boston 2024 really believes in American exceptionalism, there is one way to prove it. It can release both the city and the state from the financial backstop role and accept full responsibility for any revenue shortfalls, cost overruns, or losses.” Your serve, Boston 2024.

RANDOM CLIPPINGS
The average Irish groom is 35 and the bride he is marrying now is age 33. This is 9 years older for both than it was in 1977. … The Irish tax agency is adding 400 key staffers to replace retirees and stiffen up the professional talent. … Ireland is already buzzing about Johnny Depp and the Whitey Bulger movie “Black Mass.” … We lost a good man when pub mogul John Joe Somers died in late March. Had a meal late last year in his country pub in Wrentham where the chat and the meal were excellent. … Gillette can’t seem to make a decent disposable razor so they are delivering goofy, coded briefcases to get us to buy double-digit-costing futuristic razors to distract us. … An Irish tractor driver, clocked at 13 mph, was stopped after causing a 7-mile backup. The court will hold his license for a year. … The columnist and former Nixon apologist Patrick Buchanan is running out of newspapers who will run his smarmy column. MSNBC’s Morning Joe program finally, and on merit, fired Buchanan for repeated bias that some call bigotry. … Big Data can potentially change the way businesses operate and could add 20,000 new jobs for Irish workers, a new survey says.

When Pope Francis accepted the forced resignation of US Bishop Robert Finn of Missouri, it marked the first time that an American bishop was removed for covering up for guilty clergy. … In Belfast, George Mitchell, peacemaker extraordinary, says he [like Obama] supports integrated Irish schools. … Sinn Fein has raised some $12 million in political contributions from American givers over the past 20 years. … When thinking of great Bostonians don’t forget the late Norman Leventhal, who convinced then Mayor Kevin White to put parking underground and out of sight so that Post Office Square could become the beautiful park and oasis it is today. … Entrepreneurial plagiarism, big at US colleges, is the latest “pay for words” business at Irish universities. … A recent survey discovered that a majority of British people believe that Ireland should be independent and united. … The Famine commemoration will be held for the first time this year in Northern Ireland. Newry will host the Sept. 26 event. … I love the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an Elizabeth Warren creation. My IRS refund came with a short flyer about the benefits of CFPB. Whoever got that message into the envelope, good work!