Loyalist Killer Hutchinson’s Remarks Offend – In a recent Belfast newspaper interview, Billy Hutchinson, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party in the North who killed two innocent (non-IRA) Catholics in 1974, justified the cold-blooded shooting of the two brothers as having “contributed to preventing a united Ireland.” Hutchinson made it clear that he has no regrets some 40 years later. These horrendous comments by the unionist political leader in post-Troubles-Northern Ireland have triggered angry words from nationalist political figures who have served with him in local government.

Hutchinson and Alex Atwood of the SDLP came to Boston in the late 1990s to run as a symbolic team in the Boston Marathon. My memory recalls it was in 1996, the 100th anniversary of the famed Boston Athletic Association race. During his time in Boston, I and others who were supportive of peaceful links between longtime foes welcomed the pair and hosted Hutchinson at an office we kept in Boston.
There was, understandably, no mention of Hutchinson’s earlier trial and conviction as a UVF killer, and in the spirit of the times that inconvenient, ugly slice of history remained unexplored.
However, now almost two decades later, reading the hard-line comments by Billy Hutchinson, I am repelled by the memory of our hospitality in the face of his later trumped-up defense of murdering two young men, unaffiliated with any paramilitary organizations, while they were walking to work. And to add insult to injury, Hutchinson claims the killings were “based on intelligence,” somehow (wink and a nod) suggesting that the two Catholics were IRA. What staggering dishonesty! One thing is sure, Hutchinson is no David Irvine.
Ireland Tops Out on Quality Of Life – It isn’t all peaches and cream as we know in looking at life on the green isle with unemployment far too high and the homicide rate discomforting. However, when all is said and done, the Irish are happier than most of their European neighbors.
According to polling on United Nations International Day, the Irish are “more content” than most of Europe despite the economic difficulties the country has had to deal with in recent years. Ireland leads the European Union average in overall experience of life, per capita GDP, life expectancy, and air pollution. The happiest among the Irish citizenry are those over 65. There
has been no firm focus on gender attitudes, but Ireland is still behind the male counterparts with women earning 14 per cent less than men, which is still better than most of Europe.
Christy Brown Archive Will Remain in Ireland – Christy Brown, author and painter who despite his cerebral palsy became an international best-selling author and movie subject in “My Left Foot,” didn’t live to see it, but his memorabilia and papers have been purchased and will remain in Ireland. There had been discussions with several universities in the US about the disposition of the Brown papers and artifacts, including Boston College for one, but the archive has now been jointly bought by the Little Museum of Dublin (noted here in past columns) and the National Library of Ireland. Born and raised in the Kimmage section of inner city Dublin, Christy was a close friend until he died. He was a true “Dub” who would be delighted to have his life’s work and related materials on public view in his beloved Dublin.
I have a swatch of personal letters from Christy, the IBM typewriter he used to write many of his novels and his poetry, and other items that I amassed during our 12-year friendship. I am planning to donate these as a gift to the Little Museum and the National Library. One item in particular is of keen interest to collectors: the last letter that Christy ever wrote to anyone several days before he died and received by me just hours before we got the phone call from his wife Mary telling us of his death. It is an extraordinary letter, typed as usual by that famous left foot on foolscap, and one that is so painful I have not been able to re-read it in years. I am donating that and other material as a tribute to the courageous Brown family – Anne and her brothers and sisters – and as a posthumous thank you to Christy in Glasnevin for the pleasure of his company during those final years of his tumultuous life.
Veteran IRA Leader Arrested In McConville Murder – The murder of Jean McConville, 37, a widowed mother of ten has been the subject of countless newspaper stories and TV programs since the she was abducted and killed in 1972 by the IRA as an informer. The interest in McConville has intensified since her buried body was discovered on a beach in Co. Louth in 2003. The Northern Ireland police (PSNI) arrested Ivor Bell, a veteran IRA commander, shortly after St. Patrick’s Day, and following several days of questioning, he was remanded and is being held without bail. This is the latest development in the long simmering case that has gone unsolved for more than 40 years. Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein president and member of Dail Eireanne for Co. Louth in the Republic, has been a prime target of Northern police after being named by former colleagues as the Provo leader who ordered McConville’s death. Adams denies any involvement.
It is widely believed that the subpoena initiated by British law enforcement officials thru the US Attorney in Boston, and the source of lengthy federal court litigation between Boston College, and involving Ed Moloney, the oral history project, and the federal attorney’s office is a new and vigorous attempt by the British to make a case against Adams, who has avoided any charges or prison time in the years since his Long Kesh days. There is no statute of limitation in murder cases in the UK. How the recent arrest of Ivor Bell plays out in the British effort to bring charges against Adams is unknown.
Updates On Past BIR Column Items – I wrote several years ago in this space about the huge payments expected following claims by RUC police officers of hearing loss suffered by
RUC personnel during firearms training. The police trainees, numbering as many as 20,000, were never provided with adequate protection by the Ministry of Defence, and claims to date, and those expected, have affected 8,500 officers. The total damages paid and in the pipeline over the five remaining years of the court decision amounts to a quarter of a billion British pounds or some $400 million to satisfy all claims. Additionally, with retirements and mandated redundancy compensation, the total costs to the British taxpayers for the hearing losses is expected to be upwards of $1.1 billion.
An item in the September 2013 column reported on an emerging new online funeral service that will, for a fee, provide a real time website allowing mourning families to pay their respects from distant points via the internet. The service also will allow relatives and friends in hospitals and nursing homes to tune in and “attend” the funeral via the internet. The service, for the moment is the only website of its kind in Ireland or the UK, and has set fees between $500 and $1,000, depending on live streaming or delayed videos. The owner of the company, ‘Funerals Live’ is Alan Foudy, and presumably more information will be forthcoming.
Upscale Castle Hotels Are Struggling – The castle hotels of Ireland, including the regal pair, Dromoland in Clare and Ashford Castle in Mayo, have had to struggle in recent years to appeal
to a traveling public that seems willing to cater to their pocket books as they book into bed&breakfast lodgings, and leave the big houses for special times. Ashford Castle Resort was sold last year to Red Carnation Hotels for somewhat in excess of 20 million euros after emerging from receivership. The hotel has undergone extensive refurbishment and re-opened last month in all its splendor.
Dromoland in Co. Clare is a similarly enchanting hotel set against a lush and expansive landscape. We honeymooned there eons ago and have returned for quick, enjoyable visits since. It remains among my favorite spots to visit when in Ireland. And I always suggest to friends who usually select B&Bs and are hesitant to book into hotels with lofty tariffs to stop by the luxe landmarks and drop in for a meal, or maybe a breakfast at Dromoland or tea at Ashford. Leave the horses outside and you’ll be fine.
President Obama Target Of The ‘Foxy Set’ – The Grand Old Party is stirring and up to their usual agenda priority – 'Let’s Get the Kenyan.' Only fooling. The Right Regiment has had smiles
on their faces since the flawed Obamacare rollout debacle. And for some it’s Benghazi, or Obama’s supposed timidity on the Crimea land grab where some senior GOPers want an invasion. Yes.
Tom Foley, ambassador to Ireland under George W. Bush a few years ago and currently a candidate for governor of Connecticut. has some caustic advice for the President. A fairly undistinguished Irish envoy, Foley castigated Obama with, “It’s too much golf and not enough work. … If he knocked off one round of golf he could take care of it.” He was talking about the delay in naming an ambassador to Ireland.
The one question I have for the Bushite retainer Foley is this: Who set the record for the most days away from the White House on vacation ? (Hint: Think Crawford, Texas) Answer: George W., by a leisure landslide.
Irish Smoking Ban Is Ten Years Old – It’s a slow and arduous process to persuade people to give up smoking. I know; I smoked cigarettes for 30 years until I quit and that was long before the cost
went viral. The leaders of the successful 2004 law when Ireland became the first country to ban smoking in all workplaces call the prohibition an “astounding success.” Smoking is down from 29 percent to 21 percent and thousands of people have been saved who would have died from passive smoking alone.
I recall my reaction when the ban was announced. I thought then, and still believe, that Ireland was courageous and deserving of praise. Once again it showed it was a leader, punching above its weight.
A quick story: My favorite pub in Dublin, on Dame Court in the Liberties, is the Stags Head. Terrific food, first rate Guinness, great fish and chips or sandwiches and a perfect place to step into for a lazy lunch. Except or one thing: Before the ban, the tobacco smoke was ultra bad, vile, really. So I had to move a few blocks away, to the Boxity or the Joyce pub. But I missed the Stags Head. And it’s about time for the next visit.
A Taxing Situation – “It is beginning to be an old story. Either German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with Taoiseach Enda Kenny about “leveling the corporate tax field,” or the Irish Times does one of its periodic pieces on Apple or a similar low-tax-paying multinational and soon, Kenny or the Irish Finance Minister has to pull out the crib sheet and try to explain to an envious Europe that there is something like “stateless companies” or that criticisms are based on “a flawed premise.” And then the corporate defender moves on, swiftly citing the “global rate” or the “blended rate.” Glossy-eyed reporters soon head for the exits, promising not to get hooked again asking about the 12.5 corporate tax rate.
Grandparents Newest Target of Tax Collector – Grandparents minding their offspring’s children are facing stiff new Irish tax forms of two dozen pages or more, while others could become new taxpayers under rules freshly adopted by the revenue department.
At present, those grandparent child-minders tending to children in their family are exempt from taxes on the first $20,000 of income annually. But the new rules would now force formerly
exempt minders to fill out an onerous 26-page form. Critics of the new revenue rules suggest that the new guidelines will drive many minders into the black economy and they will avoid filing at all.
Odd Timing by First Minister Robinson – It was March 8, just hours before DUP honcho Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness were scheduled to fly out together to America to sing Ireland’s song of recovery and bright futures. But the two leaders of the band in the North were having a fight, at least Peter Robinson clearly was primed for a round or two. He took off at McGuinness about the former IRA commander shaking hands with the queen, then voting to restrict displays of the Union Flag at Belfast City Hall. Next came an attack on McGuinness for his attitude toward the on-the-runs and an IRA commemoration in Castlederg, and then further gripes from the mercurial Robinson who took a couple of weeks hiatus during his difficult days and came back to his power office filled with relatives and declared himself cured or ready for leadership or whatever. This is the same Peter Robinson, DUP leader and First Minister of the Realm, who professes to be eager for nationalist/Catholic vote support. Get thee, Peter, to Dale Carnegie or to anger Management. The sooner the better.
RANDOM CLIPPINGS
The Boston Herald, where Howie Carr hangs out, has lost another libel lawsuit, this one for over half-a-million. They had to give Judge Murphy $2.1 million nine years ago. … Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund’s Jimmy Gustafson are memoralized in a handsome bronze statue outside D-F’s Smith Research Labs. … Big Mouth phone-tapper chieftain Rupert Murdoch in error in
claiming that gay groups “bullied” Guinness to pull out of the NY St. Pat’s Parade. … Galway area members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are being charged for being “asleep at the switch” losing millions in EU grants. … The United Nations is warning Ireland and other neighbors to beware of British plans to build a new nuclear power plant. … April 27 is the date for a twin canonization when Popes John Paul II and the beloved John XXIII take a step up into the Vatican’s saintly hierarchy. … Lawrence’s O’Reilly Division AoH March lineup of events reminds me just how much I miss the legendary Dave Burke.
The SDLP Leader Alasdair McDonnell told the New York parade people that “he was “very proud to march alongside the men and women of both the police service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Siochana.” … With Ryanair out of the Aer Lingus bidding wars, expect the Abu Dhabi airline Etihad to intensify its links to Aer Lingus. … Russia’s Ambassador to Ireland is warning Ireland (that’s economic coercion) that it will pay dearly if it supports EU sanctions against Putin and company. … Scotland’s vote on independence from the UK is close and set for a referendum on Sept. 18. … It was a relatively tough journey and meeting for the two Stormont leaders and Enda Kenny in Washington on the St. Pat’s trip: no Richard Haass breakthrough, likely no immigration reform, and a bit of a snub by Obama. Not the North’s best day in DC. … Ireland is on the way back. Its stock index beat most European and US indexes in 2013. … A shout-out to The Connellys at their Aisling Galleries in Hingham, picked by the Globe as one of the top 8 spots that “feel like home.” … Great book just out by my pal Jimmy Murphy in Falmouth. It’s called “The Green Box” and it’s a charmer with heft & heart.
Congratulations to Mary Mulvey for all she does in West Roxbury, and the same to Brian O’Donovan, who is this years Eire Society of Boston’s Gold Medal honoree. Silver anniversary kudos to the Irish Cultural Centre on No. 25. ...There are still far too many suicides in Galway. Eleven this year so far, and 30 tragedies last year. … It seems that that Trina Vargo and the US-Ireland Alliance is having trouble getting our State Department to re-instate $485,000 for this first rate program. … Bob Ballard, who discovered the sunken Titantic, recently opened a new nautical attraction at the Titantic exhibit in Belfast. … Not surprised that Brother Thomas Dalton pulled his band and float from marching in the South Boston parade. He belongs to an order and a center founded in 1949 by Father Leonard Feeney, whom some seniors might remember.