Hunger Strike Charges Shadow Adams – Richard O’Rawe, public information officer for the IRA inmates during the hunger strikes had an intriguing tale to tell of what actually occurred during the 1981 protests. O’Rawe’s account of what went down during the negotiations between Margaret Thatcher’s British government and the Irish republican leadership outside the prison walls makes for intriguing reading. And this story has haunted Gerry Adams up to the present moment, according to a story by journalist Ed Moloney, who organized and led the BC tape-recorded interviews effort.
Adams, a bitter critic of the Boston College oral history project, has charged that O’Rawe and others who recorded their IRA experiences were dissidents who disagreed with Adams’s embrace of the Good Friday peace plan. But O’Rawe, in his book, “Blanketmen” writes of betrayal, political compromises, and a cold-blooded strategy devised and administered by Adams in his senior role within the IRA.
The O’Rawe tale indicts Margaret Thatcher for four of the hunger strike deaths, but six others who died on strike, alleges O’Rawe, were the responsibility of Adams, who overrule concessions by the British that would have effectively ended the fast on favorable terms to the IRA. Adams’s motives for overruling the prisoners’ leaders, it is charged, were strictly political. He wanted to assure Owen Caron’s election to succeed Bobby Sands in the Fermanagh-South Tyrone constituency, and ensure that the SDLP would give Caron a clear field in that August’s by-election Also, the belief at the time was that an ongoing hunger strike would strengthen the IRA’s electoral position and broaden public support for republicans.
It is Moloney’s and O’Rawe’s conviction that Caron’s success and later IRA/Sinn Fein electoral triumphs came at the terrible price of the six men who needlessly died in 1981 following an ideal that had been politically compromised. In a ironic postscript to the Gerry Adams saga, a recent major poll showed that nearly half of Irish voters believe Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams was involved in the murder of Jean McConville forty years ago.
Irish Fear Obama To End US Firms’ Tax Breaks – The Man from Moneygall and his concerns about US-based multinationals operating in low tax countries like Ireland and avoiding taxes owed to the IRS at home is clearly worrying the Irish. President Obama has personally avoided public discussion on this touchy matter, but White House economic adviser Jason Furman spoke to the topic recently. Furman’s words, together with European Union’s edgy comments about Ireland’s low 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, might be leading to some major changes in US tax code.
Furman contends that Ireland must attract foreign investments on the basis of a skilled, English-speaking work force and proximity to Europe rather than on low taxes. Clearly, the US president wants US companies who are paying the low Irish corporate taxes to pay their US headquarters country additional large tax payments. The concept, said Furman, is that “if you are investing in a country with a robust tax system, you would likely not face any US taxes, but if operating in a country with a less robust tax system, you would have to pay US taxes.”
The heated debate on both sides of the Atlantic continues, but when the US high corporate tax rate of 35 percent is brought up, little attention is paid to the reality that most US multinationals hardly ever pay that rate, relying instead on generous loopholes and an array of business deductions that reduces actual corporate taxes paid to well below the dreaded 35 percent level.
Jackie, Priest Letters Sale Halted – As our deadline approached it was announced that the sale of 33 letters written to an Irish priest over a number of years by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had been called off. Some news reports suggested that the Kennedy family laid claim to the letters’ copyright, and other sources reported that Caroline Kennedy, freshly named ambassador to Japan, has asked to be kept informed. The letters, coming as they did both before and after her marriage to John F. Kennedy and in the days following the president’s assassination, are highly unusual items to reach the open market. Given Mrs. Kennedy’s reputation for privacy, they represent a treasured insight into the personal life of one of the 20th century’s most intriguing historical figures.
The media reports on the letters and their planned sale mention that the priest who exchanged correspondence with Jackie had died without a will and his order, the Vincentian Fathers, had asserted its ownership of the letters. In most cases that this observer knows of, letters between two people in most circumstances become the property of the recipient, rather than the sender.
It is much too early in the ownership issue between the Irish Vincentians and the Kennedy family to know what the outcome might be. Obviously, the Kennedy Library at Columbia Point would dearly love to add the letters to its collection. There has been conjecture that has found its way into the media, including the Irish Independent, that the letters, valued north of $3 million, might, after negotiations and a possible cash exchange, end up in the Kennedy Library & Museum.
Trump’s Bluster Riles Irish Reporters – Several Irish journalists found themselves in some edgy jousting with self-styled billionaire builder Donald Trump during his victory lap after his purchase of the golf course and hotel in Doonbeg, Co. Clare, golf course and hotel. The Donald, with nary a humble bone in his overripe body, made some interesting if debatable points about his slick out- maneuvering of the Irish to grab the storm-damaged property for pennies on the euro. He went on to proclaim his bargain buy for millions less than it originally was selling for and boasted that his purchase in Clare “created a great international image for Ireland.” Poor Ireland, in other words.
While in Ireland, this international boor even spoke encouragingly of his possible entry into the 2016 race for president, a bit of the BS he uses to con the Irish and boost his television career. When he was finishing telling the Irish what a great man he was and how he was going to make Ireland great once again, Trump was asked about the property in Aberdeen, Scotland, that he bought eight years ago amidst a cascade of high-flying promises. The reality, a fraught word for Trump, is that there is little to mention about the moribund nature of Trump’s paradise. He said early and loudly back when he bought the property that he would “invest a billion dollars as well as create some 6,000 jobs.” Going on nine years now, the master builder and job creator has made a relatively tiny investment (one-half of one percent) in what he pledged to invest in the Aberdeen property. And the Scots are still waiting for the job crush. Trump blamed his failure there on Scotland’s government. Yes, just what Ireland really needs, another obnoxious chancer. Say good night, Donald !
Did You Know … that in 1965 Professor James Pantridge and Dr. John Geddis, both at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, used two car batteries to create the world’s first portable defibrillator? The invention of almost half a century ago has saved thousands of lives of heart attack victims and is found in health centers, airlines, heart centers, municipal buildings, and public safety facilities across the globe.
Pension Proposals for ‘Troubles’ Victims – The question of pensions for victims of violence suffered during the 30 years of the Troubles is now a matter of proponents looking for ideas and proposals prior to going to the Stormont Assembly for potential legislation. The initial idea is to see what options and other considerations should be contained in the pension bill. New legislation would specifically exclude those hurt as a result of their own paramilitary activities. It was agreed early on that this exclusion be mandated as part of any new law.
Among the unanswered questions to be posed are: At what age should an eligible person be allowed to draw a pension; how serious should the physical injuries be; and most critically, how to manage a broad mandate excluding persons who were partly or fully responsible for a criminal act; those who were convicted of membership in proscribed organizations; and anyone convicted of a terrorism offense. Still to be agreed on is the pension amount and designated funding for any pension scheme.
One Man’s Opinion – There has been a US Olympic Committee delegation floating across America this year visiting cities like Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco – and Boston. The delegation’s goal is to eyeball these cities and others and help discern the level of interest in hosting the 2024 Olympic games. Yes, a decade from now and some hundreds of millions of spent dollars later, one United States city will be crowned “Big Spender.” Let the Games begin. Get the ceremonial shovels primed, with only about seven years remaining to build that second metropolis to entertain the torch-lit faithful.
The Games offer a mega-expensive experience for the selected city. Wall-to-wall TV coverage and minute-by-minute, split-second results are the big payoffs for building stadia nobody needs, the enrichment of prosperous contractors, new development projects that create temporary employment, and the burden of what to do with the leftover projects and buildings when it’s time to get back to regular business.
And there’s the cost: Don’t be sanguine about the zillions that the city, state, advertisers, and assorted sponsors will chip in once the nod is given. It took the city of Montreal 30 years to pay off the costs of their 1972 Olympics, and Greece went in the hole over $9 billion worth of public debt for its 2004 rendezvous with destiny. And they’re still a financial basket case. Olympic games are the gaudy moth and candle of the sports fantasy realm.
However, if you’re a city with aspirations, a city in search of a second master plan, a city that not enough people know about yet think they might want to visit, I’d say go for it. Put some name recognition out there, some spunky get-up-and-go spirit and, yes, the money in the middle of the high stakes table (don’t forget the money), and hope that lightning strikes and they get a Mitt Romney or a Vladimir Putin to run things.
Or – and this means you, Mayor Marty Walsh, John Fish and similar suspects – please work with what Boston has. As a native who has looked at the innards of cities in 45 states in my time, I know we have a good thing here. Work to make it better, but remember the curse of that Irish Olympic czar and rogue Lord Killanin: “If you build it, we will come.” Don’t take the dare.
Good Show! Riverdance At Twenty – The superlatives have all been uttered, the applause still vibrates across the globe and Riverdance, the wondrous accident, just turned 20. Most of us know the story. As the Irish Times put it, “Six minutes and 40 seconds that would put Irish dancing on the world map.” A Eurovision TV filler that helped make Ireland famous all over again. It’s been a delight, a whirlwind, Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, the long run of the expanded show at Dublin’s Point Depot Theatre and then the world.
In April, Riverdance sold its 25 millionth ticket. It has toured and performed in 46 countries. From its earliest incarnation, the trio that fashioned Riverdance, Moya Doherty, John McColgan, and Bill Whelan, knew they had a winner. In their hearts, on stage, and in the audience, those three creative spark-plugs were believers who saw first what we would all agree we saw later.
The Riverdance statistics mount to help define a unique entertainment. There have been 11,000 performances, a world box office take of $1.65 billion, 700,000 touring miles, 10 million DVDs and 3 million CDs. And the backstage numbers: 2,000 dancers who produced 60 in-house marriages and 90 “Riverdance babies.” And the show is still playing somewhere today.God Bless the Mark.
Former A-I Bank Chief in Hub Bankruptcy Court – David Drumm, who has been in the states (primarily Boston) defending himself against fraud and perjury charges while trying to get himself declared insolvent, has hit a few bumps on the litigation trail. The traveling ex-banker who owes millions to creditors large and small (including his former bank) told the Boston court that he “forgot” to list $1.2 million in cash he transferred to his wife just before he sought bankruptcy here. And earlier he failed to declare he was the target of lawsuits when applying for a mortgage on an upscale Wellesley home.
But the bad faith maneuvering of Drumm, who earned $18 million between 2004 and 2008, goes on and on, according to reports in the Irish papers. US Bankruptcy trustee Kathleen Dwyer argues that the allegations against Drumm should block him from being released debt-free when the court case is finally concluded.
Among its charges the government lists more than a dozen cash and property transfers totaling millions of euros made by Drumm to his wife in the two years just before he sought bankruptcy. This included over a million dollars in cash held in bank accounts. If our traveling banker was moving about shopping for a kind and gentle bankruptcy court, it seems he failed to find one in Boston.
Former Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey, 96, is dead – One of the nicest men ever to be a success in American politics, Patrick Lucey ran out a long and memorable life of activism, integrity, principle ,and accomplishment. I spent considerable chunks of the 1980 campaign year with Lucey, a two-term governor of Wisconsin. We were thrown together when he signed on as the vice presidential running mate for Illinois Congressman John Anderson, who was running for president as an independent. Pat had a grand career, beginning as an elected member of the state assembly, state Democratic Party Chairman, lieutenant governor, governor, ambassador to Mexico, and VP candidate. When it was all over politically, he was happy to return to Wisconsin and his wife Jean. He was delightful company, whether on a small plane over the Midwest under a lightning assault or at a rally in Santa Monica, or even when showing the Anderson-Lucey flag in Hawaii as part of Pat’s “50 state campaign.” A warm and hugely likable personality, he relished a good story, knew and was liked by all the Democratic leaders everywhere, and was as comfortable in his own skin as any accomplished politician I ever met. Rest in peace, Pat.
RANDOM CLIPPINGS
Ireland has the world’s most expensive petrol. In the Isle it costs $170 to fill the tank of a small Ford. … As the National Catholic Reporter says, GOP budget chief Paul Ryan’s recent proposals to double down on the same trickle-down economics reward the rich and slash safety nets. … It’s the 40th anniversary of the worst single atrocity of the Troubles, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings that killed 33.The victims’ relatives are suing the police, defense ministry and the secretary of state. … Has Rupert Murdoch lost something off his fast ball with the WSJ? The Journal under Murdoch has gone seven years without a reporting Pulitzer…. Mark June 8 all day at the Irish Social Club in West Roxbury for a fundraiser for fallen firefighters Mike Kennedy and Ed Walsh. Details at 617-620-6909.
The Boston College Belfast Project oral histories will make a busload of lawyers a lot richer. … The Derry city council has everything it needs to get its recycling going except organic waste bins. … Ireland has paid up 42 percent of the cost of the banking crisis at a price of $12,000 per person. … Ireland’s psychiatric patients are being sent abroad for treatment at a cost of $4 million annually while mental health facilities are closing!!! … The newest Irish ambassador to the Vatican is career diplomat Emma Madigan, an appointment that hopefully will bring peace to the edgy relations between the Holy See and Ireland. … The neighborhood outside Galway had streets dangerously pocked with potholes (sound familiar) so they put up a sign to the town councillors: No vote for you unless you fix our road. Within a week the municipal trucks were out and filling those pot holes. Ain’t it grand.