While Breandán Ó Caollaí never set out to make a big name for himself, he did just that with a blend of passion, perseverance, and Gaelic street smarts, all blessed from birth with a mouthful of a surname that most of us could never pronounce. This Dubliner, newly appointed Irish Consul General in Boston, has a resume of diplomatic service as long and fertile as the Ring of Kerry.
BY GINTAUTAS DUMCIUS
AND MIKE DEEHAN
REPORTER STAFF
On Nov. 5, voters will pick either State Rep. Marty Walsh of Dorchester or City Councillor At-Large John Connolly, the top two vote-getters in the Sept. 24 preliminary, as the next mayor of Boston.
Can you imagine taking the floor of the United States Senate to debate the morality of a US strike on Syria, the merits of a farm bill, or the confirmation of a new US Supreme Court justice?
The Boston Irish Reporter, the region’s leading chronicler of all things Irish-American, will host “Boston Irish Honors 2013” on Fri., Oct. 25, in the main ballroom of Boston’s Seaport Hotel. This fourth annual event will draw an appreciative audience of some 400 top Boston business and civic leaders and officials of Boston’s many Irish social and cultural organizations. The event committee chairman is Edmund Murphy, Managing Director, Putnam Investments.
Current and past All-Ireland senior champion and prize-winning musicians will perform at Waltham High School when the annual Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann “Echoes of Erin” North America tour makes its stop in the Boston area on Oct. 12.
BY JUDY ENRIGHT
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
The Irish work very hard to make sure that their homeland is all things to all visitors. Festivals, sports, genealogy, art, music, theatre, and cultural events, available for all ages, can be found everywhere. There’s scarcely an activity you might enjoy that is not offered somewhere in Ireland. COUNTRY FAIRS -As the weather cools and leaves change, the thoughts of many Irish turn to the country fairs that dot the island at this time of year.
US Envoy Seeks Solution In North – America’s diplomat of the newest Troubles, Richard Haass, has been in Belfast these days seeing if his presence can have a salutary effect on the troubled relationship between the nationalist and unionist communities in the North. The original, if unrealistic, timetable, called for some type of agreement by December but there is little to no chance of that happening.