First-Ever Minister for the Diaspora – Enda Kenny’s coalition government has answered the hopes and aspirations of the Irish living abroad by appointing to the cabinet the first minister of state for the diaspora. The new position has been the goal of the overseas Irish for decades, and is viewed largely as an ombudsman post for the Irish abroad and an activist voice for voting rights and immigration reform.

The new minister is Jimmy Deenihan, former minister for the arts, who assumed his new post following the recent cabinet reshuffle. He will be closely watched by the overseas Irish, especially young people who have lobbied loudly for the vote in Irish national elections.  However, a spokesman for the Taoiseach, in reacting to a question about voting rights that other countries have implemented, said, “No concrete plans are even on the agenda yet.”

The Irish in Britain organization, which has long campaigned for a minister for diaspora in the government, has said that there is much work to be done by the precedent-setting minister of state to engage the Irish living in Britain. Kenny, in making the appointment of Deenihan, described the new position as “an important role in connecting with the huge Irish Diaspora throughout the world.”

Sounds in The Irish Marketplace – A County Kerry restaurant owner has taken the hard road in trying to tame his noisy customers, many of whom are American tourists who visit Peter’s Place in Waterville. The restaurant posted a sign banning new customers with bad habits. The notice, prominent in front of the Ring of Kerry business, loudly proclaims: “No bus/coach tours or loud Americans. Thank you.” 

The sign, blasted as offensive by both tourists and local business owners, is a turn-off for many visitors and also has many of the restaurant’s neighbors up in arms for scaring away their customers and giving Waterville a bad name. My initial observation is that the ban is a strange way to build a business. On second thought, I admire the owner for choosing respect and civility over loudmouth boors. I have always been appalled when in line to pay a bill or change money in Ireland to hear some green-bedecked Yank crudely ask the clerk  “How much is that in real money?” Like many who travel would agree, such cringe-inducing behavior today is much less frequent than it was some 30 or 40 years ago, but it has no place for guests in a welcoming country.

Where Have All the Magdalene Victims gone? – Despite the belief that the overwhelming majority of Magdalene abuse victims live in Britain, only 67 laundry survivors have come forward to claim compensation. Thus far almost $11 million in compensation has gone to 357 survivors, most living outside Britain, and only 20 percent to survivors living there. It is widely believed that the majority of Magdalene women left Ireland and now live in Britain.

In the past the Irish Women Survivors Network has claimed that many survivors, certainly at least 500, should be filing compensation claims. The survivors network further claims that hundreds of Irish women in Britain are choosing not to seek compensation that they deserve because they have never told their families about their years in the laundry.

The organizers of the compensation program also said that “the problem is that they are too afraid”. And others are unwilling to discuss their Magdalene years, citing family alienation, among other reasons. The maximum lump sum compensation payment for Magdalene survivors who were in a laundry for four years or more is $68,000.

Anyone reading this who has an aunt, or a cousin, or other female family relative living in Britain who could have been a victim, should talk to those relatives and urge them to contact the IWSSN, the survivors network, to seek what in the US is correctly called damages.

New Honors for Former Boston Diplomat – Those of you out there who were involved with the Irish Consulate in Boston in the 1980s will likely remember the vice consul during part of that tumultuous decade.  Brendan Roger, who along with his colleague and friend, Irish Consul General Patrick Curran, were two of the most effective and popular representatives ever for the Irish government in Boston. Both ran the Boston Marathon; they brought young boxers from the poorest streets of Limerick to compete in Boston; they reached out to Father Joe and similar charities; and they worked long hours with the Irish in Boston and at home to build significant, lasting bridges between our two countries. Those strong ties exist and thrive to this day.
Curran, a native of Waterford County, is retired, and Rogers, of Dundalk and now a veteran of the Irish Foreign Affairs Department, is embarking this month on a new diplomatic mission – as Ireland’s Ambassador to Thailand and Myanmar, formerly Burma.  His most recent claim to fame, at least in this columnist’s corner, was his “lucky charm” extended visit to Boston in 2004 when he helped celebrate the Red Sox win of their first World Series in 86 years.

In the years since he left Boston, Rogers has spent long, fruitful years as ambassador to Zambia, as a key member of Ireland’s United Nations Team in New York, and most recently as chief of Ireland’s widely acclaimed foreign aid program. As he was departing for his new Asian post, Foreign Affairs quoted from a Brookings Institute report that cited Ireland’s Aid Program for International Development, led by Ambassador-designate Rogers, as the “outstanding aid program among the 31 international donors across the globe.”

New Boston Branch of Solas Nua – This all-encompassing organization focusing on contemporary Irish arts that was begun in Washington, DC, by Dublin native Linda Murray, has recently opened a branch in Somerville, at the Burren on Elm Street, Davis Square, to be exact. Its interests range from theatre, but also film, music, literature, dance, and the visual arts.
Solas Nua’s producer and guiding light is Jason McCool, who came to Boston to work on a PhD in music at Boston University and stayed to open a regional Solas Nua in the exciting Davis Square area as one of greater Boston’s newest theatre efforts. Early theatrical projects have involved play readings on the fourth Monday of the month in the back room of the Burren. This past month, Solas Nua in Somerville had two readings: “Buddhist of Castleknock” and “Noah and the Tower Flower,” a play set in Ballymun, a working-class Dublin neighborhood.

McCool, a native of Brockton, and a multi-talented actor and musician, has appeared in New York, Washington, and at the Kennedy Center. All are welcome to this new arts adventure by Solas Nua in Somervile.  For details the website is solasnua.org/boston.

Tony O’Reilly: Not A Happy Ending – An international rugby Hall of Famer, a hugely successful business mogul with breathtaking stakes in publishing, retail, oil & gas exploration, crystal, newspapers, and a myriad other stunning totems of wealth and power. Sir Anthony O’Reilly had it all as he conquered the mercantile world in Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Ireland’s first billionaire reigned confidently over all he surveyed.

On the few occasions I have been in the same room with him, I couldn’t escape the relentless certainty that I was in the presence of a handsome, charming, extremely gifted, and capable personality who had dealt in nothing but triumphs all his life. Failure had never even remotely shadowed this Dublin-born prince. How well I remember the headline: “Heinz CEO Highest Paid Executive in the World,” as one celebrated journal reminded its readers about O’Reilly’s ascendancy.

Flash forward: Tony O’Reilly today, a few months past his 78th birthday, is being haunted by his creditors in the Irish courts for millions of dollars he no longer has. His regal mansion estate in Kildare and other properties have been sold off to satisfy the banks. His homes in Pittsburgh, the Bahamas, France, and Dublin are gone, as are his holdings in Waterford Crystal, the Independent Newspaper empire, and countless other once-blessed O’Reilly enterprises.

But along the way I want to remember the man who had it all and gave much of it away, even as he fought to retain his ownership of the Independent paper. The media prince at bay and ultimately ruined. Most of all I would like to remember Tony O’Reilly as the man who, maybe above all others, made the Ireland Fund possible. In between his legendary giving to universities, libraries, his O’Reilly Foundation, and on and on, there was the Ireland Fund, an idea now some forty years old that O’Reilly helped make a reality with his philanthropy and faith in what such an enterprise could do. And through all his glorious wins, he never forgot he was Irish, Brit title or not. He lived mainly in Ireland and, ironically, his downfall was centered amidst the wreckage of his Irish holdings.

I don’t know about you, but I’m for cutting Tony O’Reilly some slack, some compassion, and maybe a bit of comfort for his senior years. All to often and (admit it) all too easily, we derive some perverse scent of pleasure when a Big Kahuna falls. Not for me, not this time. I wish him, amidst the debris that is his life today, a bit of the old Irish good luck. Lots of it.

The Clerical World at Odds – My daughter just finished a course in Reiki, a stress-resistant program that, I’m told, helps individuals to reduce tension, to find peace of mind, and to see life as easier on several fronts.

My daughter is a good person, a great mother, bright, active, and a giving, team-player type. But she is also not on the side of the angels, at least according to Father Padraig O’Baoill, a parish priest in Donegal. She recently became a Reiki master and, according to the good reverend, Reiki, along with Tai chi and yoga, are things “we should refrain from taking part in.”  Or to quote, “As followers of Jesus Christ we should not partake in deeds that go against our religion. Therefore, you should not take part in yoga, tai chi or Reiki. Do not put your soul in jeopardy for the sake of these contemptible things.”

Supposedly, the assessments above reflect church teachings. Oops! Flunked theology again, I guess.

Hidden Risk in Family Roots – Most genealogical websites provide rich veins of information and connections that help us unearth the precious data about our ancestors. Irish genealogy, created by the Irish government’s Department of Arts, Genealogy and the Gaeltacht, was established to provide information to people who were born or married in Ireland regarding birth and marriage certificates for their family history research. Last month Irish Genealogy had to temporarily close down its internet site because family data about personal facts used for online banking and similar transactions, mother’s maiden name, etc. were mistakenly coupled with older family history, which allowed casual viewers to see personal contemporary information that could be used for identity theft.

Most of the data on the website is, as one official noted, “mostly about dead people,” but current details are a decided worry re identity theft, one of the fastest-growing crimes in Ireland and America. Adjustments are being made on the government site to exclude personal contemporary information, and keep the Irish Genealogy data safe and free from identity theft, while keeping it available to ancestor hunters.

Wise Words from A Wise Woman – Nuala O’Loan, Baroness O’Loan, the first police ombudsman in Northern Ireland (1999-2007), is one of the most honored women in Irish public life. A solicitor and law professor, she was the police ombudsman during the time when by statute the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) became the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI). She is controversial at times but respected always for her independence and integrity. The following is excerpted from an OpEd column by Baroness O’Loan that appeared in The Irish Catholic on July 10:

“We have had so many attempts – healing through remembering. The Eames-Bradley Report, the recent Haass talks all came to approximately the same conclusion: That we need multiple solutions which recognize pain, which allow stories to be told, which provide support for those whose terrible injuries were life changing and who have not been properly looked after by the state. We need support for their carers too, and we need an independent investigative process which will bring before the law those who can be made accountable, and will tell as much as can be told about all the other deaths of the Troubles, no matter what embarrassment or inconvenience that may cause to anyone or any government.

“The problem that those who want to close down the past do not seem to understand is that for many of those who have suffered grievous wrong, and have been affected by the most serious crimes, what happened remains part of the present ...”

RANDOM CLIPPINGS
The Tall Ships will be sailing back to Northern Ireland a year from now with an additional 30 new vessels in the Parade of Sail. … Rupert Murdoch, already notorious for “Fox Make Believe” and hacking private phones for news, will be the undisputed king of US media if his $75 billion bid for Time Warner goes through. He would then control 40 percent of the cable market. … Former Irish President Mary Robinson has been newly named as the UN special envoy for climate change. … Ireland, like the US, is reporting laser beam hits on planes. The latest was on an air ambulance carrying a very sick new-born. … A public commemoration for the hunger strikers will be held in Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh on Aug. 3. … Five great golf courses that are not Lahinch or Ballybunion:  Donabate, Dublin; Carne Golf Links, Co. Mayo; Carlow Golf Club; Little Island, Cork; and Scrabo Golf Club, Newtownards, Co. Down. … The Irish government has 400-600 openings for clerical help. Pay is $14.87 an hour and the application office is flooded. … Limerick City, long troubled by the local criminal underworld, finds gun crime is at historically low level and gang warfare way down. … Virgin Airlines is set to open its Belfast-to-Orlando route next June. … The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that federal spending on health care will continue to decline in the coming decades. … Every summer the Irish Drinks Industry Group alerts the public that pubs are closing, citing 1,000 pubs shut down (many due to excise taxes) since 2007.

A few Cabinet veterans were pre-empted in the recent reshuffle. Gone are Taniste Eamon Gilmore, Pat Rabbitte, and Ruairi Quinn. … Ireland was in a two-week-long media frenzy when negotiations broke down and Garth Brooks, refusing five dates, pulled out of his planned Croke Park concerts. … Aer Lingus moved into its new terminal at Heathrow in London, a timely short-cut now for its passengers in there. … A national campaign is being conducted by concerned Irish postal workers organizing protests to what they fear is the impending closure of some 550 mostly rural post offices across Ireland. … The annual Jimmy Fund radio-telethon on NESN and WEEI radio is set for Tuesday & Wednesday, Aug.19 and 20, to raise money for kids with cancer and other major health problems. You can follow it on Facebook and Twitter. Dig deep, fellows & gals. … Poor Peggy Noonan, held hostage by the Wall Street Journal as she muses over her bankrupt conspiracy theories. The latest accuses President Obama of using children as “pawns,” allowing the border kid invasion to force immigration reform. Sure, Peggy, that will work. … That Enda Kenny has a great sense of humor. In his recent cabinet reshuffle he named Joe McHugh the new junior Minister for the Gaeltacht. The sole qualification for the job is the appointee should be an Irish speaker.  You guessed it: Joe is not!