Obama goes Irish with chief of staff pick; Says Denis McDonough will ‘always give it to me straight’

By Ed Forry
February 7, 2013

BY NEDRA PICKLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has picked a straight-talking Irish-American with roots in Minnesota and South Boston as his new chief of staff. Trusted White House foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough, a man the president described as a close friend, will succeed Jack Lew, whom the president has selected as the next Treasury chief.

Adams accuser Price dead at 61; a central figure in BC tapes case She said Sinn Fein leader ordered ’73 bomb attacks

By Ed Forry
February 7, 2013

BY SHAWN POGATCHNIK
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DUBLIN – An Irish Republican Army veteran who accused Sinn Fein party chief Gerry Adams of involvement in IRA killings and bombings was found dead in her home on Thurs., Jan. 24, according to police.
Dolours Price, 61, was a member of the Provisional IRA unit that launched the very first car-bomb attacks on London in 1973. She later became one of Irish republicanism’s most trenchant critics of Adams and his conversion to political compromise in the British territory of Northern Ireland.

JOYCE’S DUBLIN: GONE WITH THE WIND?

By Thomas O'Grady
February 7, 2013
Thomas O'Grady

BY THOMAS O’GRADY
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Punctuated with headlines to mark its being set in conjoined newspaper offices, the seventh episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses, “Aeolus,” itself punctuates the novel, announcing by way of its sudden typographical shift—and indeed by its first headline—that both the characters and the reader are now located IN THE HEART OF THE HIBERNIAN METROPOLIS.

As days get longer, the music heats up

By Sean Smith
February 7, 2013
Sean Smith

BY SEAN SMITH
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
While it may have only 28, or sometimes 29, days, February (along with the early part of March) can seem like the longest month: closer to spring than January, but often with cold, wintry weather and days that gradually but oh-so-slowly get longer. Fortunately, the Greater Boston area has plenty of Irish and Celtic music events this period to brighten spirits. Here’s a sampling:

What are you going to do with your life? ‘I’m going to play music,’ said Colm Gannon

By Sean Smith
February 7, 2013
Sean Smith

BY SEAN SMITH
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
There was never any doubt, really, that Colm Gannon would play music – nor any doubt as to what kind of music, nor which instrument he would use to play it. Not with a father who is an accomplished Irish accordion player, and an older brother following suit.
But then, Gannon hardly needed any nudging to take up the box. Quite the opposite.

Hollywood disrupts a rural Kerry village in Lyric Stage’s ‘Stones In His Pockets’

By R.J.Donovan
February 7, 2013
R.J.Donovan

BY R. J. DONOVAN
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
This month, Lyric Stage Company of Boston is presenting “Stones In His Pockets,” the poignant but very funny tale of what happens when a movie crew descends upon a village in County Kerry.
As the story unfolds, two local guys, Charlie and Jake, secure jobs as extras in the movie but soon find the film business is far from the glittering world they expected. Ultimately, they decide to write a film of their own to tell what actually happens to a small town and its people when Hollywood takes over.

After we take our last at-bats, is that really the end of the game?

By Ed Forry
February 7, 2013

BY JAMES W. DOLAN
SPECIAL TO THE REPORTER
A close friend of mine died recently. He had been sick for a while so it did not come as a complete surprise. As we aged, we would often talk of the inevitability of death and the importance of being prepared for it.
We joked we were in life’s on-deck circle, waiting with others to be called to bat. From this at-bat nobody returns. You can only hope your turn in the batter’s box will be delayed.

In 2012, the Irish American Partnership raised $692,730 to support its mission

By Joe Leary
February 7, 2013
Joe Leary

BY JOE LEARY
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Five Irish universities, ninety-four primary schools in the Republic, fifteen primary and secondary schools in Northern Ireland, and twelve community groups throughout Ireland received support from the Irish American Partnership in 2012 – a total of 126 schools and organizations benefitting from Irish America’s love of their heritage.
Revenue for 2012 – $692,730 – was up 15 percent over 2011 with 89 percent spent on the Partnership’s mission in Ireland.

The Irish Social Club is ready for the future

By Ed Forry
February 7, 2013

BY JACKIE GENTILE
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
The Irish Social Club of Boston is back and offering a thousand welcomes to members, guests, and inquisitive minds alike at its West Roxbury home. The club acquired a permanent liquor license early last month and so the 119 Park St. fixture, which earlier had obtained an entertainment license, is once again open for business.

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