‘Oh, Yo-Yo Ma, the pipes, the pipes are calling…’

By Bill Forry
January 31, 2014
Bill Forry

One of the more memorable moments of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s inauguration ceremony at Boston College’s Conte Forum on Jan. 6 occurred during a musical interlude featuring Yo-Yo Ma, the 59-year-old Chinese American cellist who lives in Cambridge. Many in the audience anticipated that Ma might seek to tickle the mayor-elect’s Irish heartstrings, given that the official program book promised a “traditional Irish melody” as part of his medley, which also included George Crumb’s Toccata and Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3.

This is the Marty Walsh we know

By Bill Forry
January 31, 2014
Bill Forry

BY BILL FORRY
BIR EDITOR
On Jan. 6, the city and the region got its first extended glimpse of the political leader whom we’ve come to know, simply, as Marty. It was a good first impression and a reminder of why he won last fall: People want to like him.
They also want him to get better— to achieve more than even they thought he could. They still do. Like every one of us, he’s a work in progress. And that has been the case with him since Day One of his move into politics.

IRISHMEN at the CORE-3 stalwarts pass away

By BIR Staff Reports
January 31, 2014
BIR Staff Reports

Dr. William T. O’Connell of Duxbury, a podiatrist who was known to many as Dr. Bill, led an active life well into his 80s. He traveled extensively, touring Russia and South America, among other places while making 21 trips to Ireland. He skied into his 70s, and, with his wife Rita, devoted considerable time and resources to a wide range of Irish cultural and historic organizations, giving special emphasis, much time, and frequent lectures to educate, entertain and raise funds for the Deer Island Famine Memorial.

RUNNING FOR MARTIN -BAA Marathon team is raising funds to honor memory of Dorchester boy

By Bill Forry
January 31, 2014
Bill Forry

BY BILL FORRY
BIR EDITOR
A tight-knit group of neighbors and family friends will form the nucleus of the inaugural Team MR8, a squad of 100-plus runners who will run in April’s Boston Marathon in memory of Martin Richard, the eight-year-old Dorchester boy who lost his life in last year’s terror bombing attack.
Each member of the team will raise thousands of dollars for the newly formed Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation, whose mission is “to honor Martin’s message of ‘No more hurting people – peace’ by investing in education, athletics, and community.”

Irish offer cyclists, equestrians, and walkers options aplenty across the emerald landscape

By Ed Forry
January 31, 2014

BY JUDY ENRIGHT
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Going green doesn’t necessarily mean going to the Emerald Isle but it could.
There is much focus in Ireland today on visitors enjoying their stay without adding to the carbon footprint. Where bus tours and car travel were once the only way to see the countryside, many tourists today choose walking, cycling, and equestrian vacations.

Haass NI Proposals Down For The Count

By Bill O'Donnell
January 31, 2014
Bill O'Donnell

February 1, 2014– Despite seven good-faith drafts proposing remedies for the three fundamental areas of discontent – flags, parades, and the legacy of the Troubles – the five Northern Ireland parties were unable in the end to come to an agreement. There was a short leash on Dr. Richard Haass’s negotiations, a window so relatively short that it helped preclude the Northern Ireland political parties from working through to a solution.

Let’s make their dream for a Deer Island Irish Memorial come true

Ed Forry
By Ed Forry
January 31, 2014

By Ed Forry
Dr. Bill and Rita O’Connell, longtime stalwarts of Boston’s Irish community, spent much of their life learning about “The Great Hunger,” the famine that ravaged Ireland in the middle of the 19th century. Many died from starvation, and many others sought to extend their lives by cramming into sailing ships to escape to America.

Walsh plans trip to Ireland in the spring

By Gintautas Dumcius
January 31, 2014
Gintautas Dumcius

A Galway-only visit this time, maybe in May, says mayor
By Gintautas Dumcius
BIR Staff
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who boasts roots in Co. Galway, always keeps an eye on the ould sod, but this spring, as he rounds out his first few months in office, he plans to check things out personally. “I haven’t even focused on it yet,” Walsh told the Reporter this week as he continues to settle into his new job. “I do want to go, though, probably in May.” He added that he wouldn’t be making any other stops while over there.

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