Grace Cotter Regan to lead BC High

By
August 30, 2017

Grace Cotter Regan will be the next president of Boston College High School, the school’s board of trustees announced on Aug. 24. The new head of the 154-year-old Jesuit institution has most recently served as head of school at St. Mary’s in Lynn and was previously the executive director of advancement for the New England Province of Jesuits and the Boston College Alumni Association.
She succeeds longtime President William Kemeza, who retired after a 30- year-career at the school earlier this year.

Democacy dies behind closed doors – and closed investigations

By Peter F Stevens, special to the BIR
August 1, 2017
Peter F Stevens, special to the BIR

We are poised on the edge of a Constitutional crisis and a medical catastrophe for anywhere between 20 million and 50 million Americans. As President Trump – with the aid of numerous Irish-American lemmings such as GOP leaders Paul Ryan, Mick Mulvaney and Scots-Irish-American Mitch McConnell – tries to incinerate the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and shut down the “Russian hoax” by finding a way to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, one member of the Republican Senate has planted herself squarely in the president’s way.

Boston and New England send their ‘Rose’ to Tralee

By BIR Newsroom
August 1, 2017
BIR Newsroom

Orlaith Roche, a 26-year-old model from Sudbury, at left, will represent Boston and New England this month as the Boston Rose when some 65 young women from around the world gather in County Kerry for the annual Rose of Tralee competition.

The highlight of the international festival, at 58 years old one of Ireland’s largest and longest running events, is the selection of the Rose of Tralee but over its seven days of celebrating Irish culture (Aug. 16-22) there are street entertainments, a carnival, live concerts, theatre, circus, markets, funfair, fireworks and Rose Parades.

Lindsay Straw looks to yesteryear for songs about women who know how to take charge

By BIR Staff
August 1, 2017
BIR Staff

The women in the songs on Lindsay Straw’s latest album don’t possess super powers or wear skintight, flashy costumes, nor do they have secret identities or high-tech headquarters. But they’re heroic nonetheless, relying on pluck, wit, cleverness, strength of will, and other such qualities to escape danger, turn the tables on aggressive would-be lovers, fashion successful and fulfilling lives, and even ride to the rescue of a gentleman-in-distress.

She believes – in ‘Neverland’

By R.J. Donovan, special to the BIR
August 1, 2017
R.J. Donovan, special to the BIR

Karen Murphy has traveled the globe as a much-in-demand actress and singer, who has appeared on Broadway and in major touring companies, has performed in concert and presented her own highly acclaimed one-woman show, “Torch Goddess.” Happily, her career has its roots right here in Boston.

She welcomed a BIR interview. I dialed her number and waited for the familiar voice. She picked up and I asked, “Is this Karen Murphy, the Goddess?”

With theatrical flair, she announced, “I’m anxious and excited to return to the city where my career began!”

Holding immigrants for ICE is unlawful, SJC rules

By Andy Metzger, State House News Service, special to the BIR
August 1, 2017
Andy Metzger, State House News Service, special to the BIR

In a ruling rife with consequences for immigrants being pursued across Massachusetts by federal agents, the Supreme Judicial Court said last month that state law does not permit officials to detain immigrants solely at the request of federal immigration officials, effectively erecting a legal barrier to a long-running component of immigration enforcement.

Ulster University cites former BRA head Coyle for his outreach work in the era of the Troubles

By Gareth McKeown, The Irish News, special to the BIR
August 1, 2017
Gareth McKeown, The Irish News, special to the BIR

DERRY, No. Ireland – An American businessman who helped replace guns with jobs in Derry during the Troubles received an honorary degree from Ulster University last month.

Boston native Stephen Coyle, a director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority under Mayor Ray Flynn in the 1980s whose family hails from Derry and Galway, was recognized for his work promoting peace and prosperity in the Maiden City during the conflict, notably his work in helping to bring about the creation of Foyleside shopping centre.

July is a sad month in Ireland’s North

By Joe Leary, special to the BIR
August 1, 2017
Joe Leary, special to the BIR

The sad continuation of officially sanctioned sectarian agitation occurs regularly every July in Northern Ireland. Hundreds of government-approved parades and dozens of subsidized massive bonfires together celebrate the superiority of Protestants over the Catholic population by commemorating a 300-year-old military battle.

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