THE DEMAGOGUE AT THE DOOR A con man could triumph in tough times

By BIR News Room
July 28, 2016

By Peter F. Steves, Special to the BIR

A week or so ago I had dinner with an erudite and sophisticated Dubliner, and during the meal he posed a straightforward question with an uncharacteristic expletive: “What the [deleted] is going on with America and Donald Trump?” Before I could muster an answer, he tossed out another question: “Can he actually win?” I blurted out, “Yes…”

The prospect does seem unbelievable, but – sickeningly to this scribe – not inconceivable. For America, a demagogue is at the door of the White House and on the verge of kicking it in.

Evolution won’t let us turn back the clock to those ‘good old days’

By BIR News Room
July 28, 2016

By James W. Dolan, Special to the BIR

The global economy is inevitable. Efforts to block or derail it may succeed for a while but an evolving world is destined by demographics, technology, travel, and the aspirations of humanity to eventually function as a gigantic partnership. The amalgamations so evident in the 20th century will be dwarfed in the 21st; better to accommodate and manage them than try to resist.

About Brexit and a United Ireland

By BIR News Room
July 28, 2016

By Joe Leary, Special to the BIR

The surprising vote by the British people to leave the European Union has and will cause many unforeseen difficulties and opportunities, one of which may be the impact on the question of a United Ireland.

There are many who dream about what it would be like to live in a single nation of Ireland with no border and no factional bickering, an Ireland that would be free of religious intolerance and far stronger economically.

VP Nominee Tim Kaine is draped in Irish heritage

Ed Forry
By Ed Forry
July 28, 2016

By Ed Forry, Publisher

As the 2016 election season heats, the new media global village has captured the imagination of our ethnic cousins throughout the island of Ireland, and TV news is the messenger.

Recent Boston tourists in Ireland were surprised to discover Irish viewers glued to their tellys, watching the GOP convention on satellite channels CNN, SKY-TV, and BBC. Even Irish national broadcaster RTE had news crews in Cleveland, and later in Philadelphia, reporting the latest convention news. The major speeches were viewed in real time in living rooms all across the Emerald Isle.

J-1 intern takes on the Big Apple, cites assistance he received from IIIC as vital

By BIR News Room
July 28, 2016

Michael Geraghty, who hails from the small village of Kilsheelan, on the Tipperary/Waterford border, obtained his bachelor degree in structural engineering at Cork Institute of Technology. He first learned about the J-1 Intern Work & Travel (J-1 IWT) visa in 2012, and decided it fit in with his aspiration to travel the world combined with a desire to gain the best experience possible in his field of study.

Irish border controls an issue as British confront Brexit effect

By Jill Lawless, Associated Press
July 28, 2016
Jill Lawless, Associated Press

LONDON – Britain wants to find a “practical solution’’ to ensure there will be no new border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland when the UK leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on July 25 in Belfast.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom to share a land border with another EU member. Residents and businesses on both sides of the frontier fear a return to customs and immigration controls along the unmarked border.

Joe Derrane dies at 86; Dance hall legend, master accordionist

By BIR News Room
July 28, 2016

Joe Derrane relaxing at his home in Randolph in 2010. Sean Smith photoJoe Derrane relaxing at his home in Randolph in 2010. Sean Smith photo

By Sean Smith, Special to BIR

Accordionist Joe Derrane, a beloved figure from the golden age of Boston’s Irish dance halls whose musical career experienced a revival during the 1990s, died on July 22 at the age of 86.

Derrane’s improbable “rediscovery” while in his 60s earned him a National Heritage Fellowship in 2004 from the National Endowment for the Arts, and brought his music to a new generation of admirers.

Celtic Thunder to return to Boston's Orpheum Theater in September

By Maureen Forry-Sorrell
July 27, 2016
Maureen Forry-Sorrell


Right on the heels of the release of their eagerly anticipated new album, Legacy, Volume Two, Celtic Thunder will kick off a 75 city tour of the US and Canada this summer. Known for their theatrical performances of traditional music, the five member male group will perform some of their most well-loved numbers from the past eight years.

The BIR spoke with Neil Byrne, one of the original members of Celtic Thunder, about the album, his life before Celtic Thunder, and their stop in Boston scheduled for September 18 at the Orpheum.

Replica cannon adds historic element to DorhesterHeights National Park

By Griffin Connolly
July 6, 2016
Griffin Connolly

By GRIFFIN CONNOLLY
Special to the BIR
The National Parks of Boston unveiled and dedicated a replica cannon brought to Dorchester Heights from Fort Ticonderoga during the 1776 Siege of Boston in a ceremony last month. The cannon, resting atop a six-and-a-half ton granite mount, will remain on permanent display, according to a press release from the National Park Service.

BIR History: FURY, FRAUD, AND FAILURE -- It’s summertime, and the livin’s not always easy

By Peter F. Stevens
July 6, 2016
Peter F. Stevens

By PETER F. STEVENS
BIR Staff
Early on the steamy afternoon of July 14, 1863, the worst riot in Boston’s annals erupted, a melee was sparked by Irish immigrants’ fury at the class and ethnic unfairness of the nation’s first Conscription Act, which allowed “sons of wealth” to buy their way out of the Civil War draft for $300. The sum was far beyond the reach of impoverished Irish families and fueled the epithet “rich man’s war, poor man’s fight.”

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