From the Balcony, A Publisher's Blog

"Courage and ingenuity"

2009-11-29T20:33:00.000Z

The oration of Senator Mary White to the annual General Tom Barry commemoration in Cork
onSaturday, 28 November 2009:

Is cuís áthas agus onóra a Dom a bheith in bhúr láthair inniu. Mo bhuíochas do lucht eagraithe na hócáide seo agus go mór leis an tUasal Con O’ Farrell.....don chuireadh a bheit mar chainteoir ag an gcomóradh seo agus mo bhuíochas le Peadar ó Riada agus Cór Chúl Aodh don cheol álainn “Mo Ghile Mear” a chualamar cúpla nóiméad ó shin.
General Tom Barry and his comrades who we remember here today dedicated themselves to free Ireland which had been subjugated to British domination for seven centuries.
Ultimately, it was the determination, self-sacrifice and bravery of General Tom Barry, the West Cork Flying Column, Cumann na mBan and the People of Cork - as manifested so well at Kilmichael and Crossbarry and many other places - which forced Britain to negotiate and led to the withdrawal of British forces from the greater part of this island.
General Tom Barry and his comrades displayed not just courage, but ingenuity in developing a new type of guerilla warfare that allowed them to take on an enemy over thirty times their size and, in doing so, established a template for national self-determination movements around the world.  
There is no doubt in my mind that General Tom Barry deserves much more recognition for his role in achieving independence for the greater part of our country.
He was inspired throughout his life by the memorable opening words of the Proclamation of 1916: 
Irishmen and Irishwomen………. 
“ We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible….”

In his book Guerrilla Days in Ireland General Tom Barry wrote
“ the beauty of those words enthralled me. Lincoln at Gettysburg does not surpass it nor does any other recorded proclamation of history.
Let us also remember, Leslie Bean De Barra, Tom’s wife, who was just as brave as her husband, and was one of the last women to leave the GPO on the Friday of Easter week 1916. Leslie was Director of Organisation for Cumann Na mBan and travelled around the countryside encouraging women to join the republican movement.
In 1939 Leslie Bean de Barra joined the Irish Red Cross on its foundation and as chairwoman in the 1950s she represented Ireland at international level. Leslie received many awards for her humanitarian work including decorations from the Dutch, German and Italian governments and in 1978 the Henri Dunant medal the highest award of the International Committee of the Red.

On Thursday of this week , the draft 20 –Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 was published by Éamon Ó Cuív TD, An tAire Gnothaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta. The vision and aim in this new strategy is to ensure that as many Irish people as possible are bilingual in both Irish and English in 20 years time.

Mar a dúirt an Taoiseach Brian Cowen le déanaí, tá an Straitéis bunaithe ar spiorad na ndaoine agus an bród atá ag an bpobal ina dteanga agus le comhoibriú idir an Stát agus an pobal tá súil go mbeidh fás ag borradh leis an teanga nuair a thagann deiridh le tréimhse an Straitéis i gceann 20 bliain.
Irish is part of the culture and heritage of every part of this island including the north of Ireland and the promotion and protection of the language there is also a priority in this new strategy.
I myself feel that we are on the turning point of growing popular interest in the use of our beautiful native language and in our hearts we know that our language represents a vital part of our identity as Irish people.

A pioneering study published in the past year by that great advocate for the Irish language , An tAthair Michael Mc Greil found that positive aspirations for the Irish language were held by over 93% of the people and nearly half of the population feel that they have some level of fluency in Irish.
This afternoon, I am calling on the Women of Ireland to mark the Centenary of 1916 by becoming leaders in restoration of our beautiful language. I am calling on Irish women, mothers, grandmothers to speak to speak Irish to their children and grandchildren and lead the momentum of greater use of Irish in everyday life between now and 2016 the centenary of the 1916 Rising.
In 1969 speaking on RTE to Brian Farrell, Tom Barry said “I have a social conscience. I believe the poor and the less well-off should always be helped.” He always maintained that people who ‘fell on hard times’, should be assisted by those who could afford it. Today, inequality is at the root of a wide range of health and social problems in Ireland. During the Celtic Tiger we became carried away by material consumption and as our society became more unequal the gap between the rich and poor widened considerably.

Although the economic boom raised the living standards of many, unfortunately, Ireland remains an outsider among rich European nations in its high degree of income inequality. In 2008 the OECD found that amongst the EU-15, Ireland ranked first in terms of earnings inequality.
General Tom Barry, over the course of his life, fought against the twin social ills of inequality and poverty. As the government attempts to plot a course to economic recovery, it is vital that the most vulnerable members of society - those who depend on social welfare payments, are not left behind.
Social inequality is one of the major challenges facing Irish society and is the cause of many problems such as poor mental and physical health, crime, drug abuse and deprives us of the creativity, skills and talents of so many of our people.

During the Celtic Tiger years fears were being expressed that we, as a nation, were becoming too busy, too wealthy or too selfish to give time to one another as a result of our busy lifestyles. However, 2006 census found two out of every three citizens regularly take part in voluntary or community activities and the majority are in regular contact with their neighbours.
The very best of community spirit was evident during the savage flooding that devastated your city and many other parts of our country.

Next Saturday , December 5th is United Nations International Volunteer Day and I exhort everyone , young and old , men and women - to make a special effort to call to their elderly neighbours on that day and to continue that good work into the future.
In turbulent times, Ireland needs a new approach; a visionary and altruistic approach which puts the values of community first. An approach which would be informed by the Irish proverb, ‘Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine’ — we exist in each other’s shelter.
In doing so, we should take great heart from the role played by President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin in making their home in Áras An Uachtaráin a welcoming place for community and bridgebuilding with our Northern neighbours.
One of the remarkable achievements of the Good Friday agreement was that it allowed both traditions to maintain their political aspirations: the unionist tradition to remain in the United Kingdom and the nationalist tradition to aspire to a United Ireland.  The political key was that change could only come by consent. 
Throughout his life General Tom Barry continued to keep the question of the partition of Ireland to the fore. As A Nationalist and Republican, I believe passionately that the unfinished business of the 21st century is the pursuit by wholly peaceful means.

Every effort must be made no matter how small, towards mutual respect and good relations between the different communities on this island. Greater harmony, can only benefit Ireland and lead to the unity of mind, heart and soul of all Irish people both here at home and further afield in order to achieve an Ireland that is reflective of all, excluding no one, embracing all, welcoming all and showing the world the true nature of Irish people. .
Is ea, is feidir linn.

Appalling indictment of EU leader

2009-11-29T13:50:00.002Z

The United Nations Committee Against Torture held its 43rd session in Geneva earlier this month.

Visitors to this blog won't be surprised to hear the roll call of nations with dubious records on the treatment of their prisoners which found themselves in front of this auspicious UN body.

Yemen
El Salvador
Colombia
Moldova
Azerbaijan
Slovakia (a member of the EU admittedly but only a democracy since 1993)

But also there was Spain...desperately trying to deny its torture and ill-treatment of Basque detainees. Mo náire sibh.

Blogtalking heads

2009-11-28T06:56:00.002Z

What do you mean you don't have 40 minutes to spare to watch me, Mick Fealty of Slugger O'Toole and Gary McKeown mouth off about issues on which our knowledge is both superficial and stupendously elevating?

Blogtalk (episode 6) from Northern Visions/NvTv on Vimeo.

This is a production of NV/TV in Belfast which in turn is a child of the wonderful Northern Visions which was begot by Just Books in Winetavern Street when the Pope was an altar boy.

This blogathon should probably be read in conjunction with this lament for journlism by Michael Gerson in the Washington Post.

Amnesty, UN join outcry over Basque persecution

2009-11-27T18:00:00.001Z

Dear Mr. O´Muilleoir,

My name is Ainara Mendiola and I am the coordinator of "Egunkaria case" international campaign. "Egunkaria" was the only Basque-language newspaper and it was closed down by the Spanish military police (Guardia Civil) in 2003.

We have spread information about the case worldwide ever since and we received many adhesions and important backing from several human rights and political organizations (such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, the International Press Association, many groups of the European Parliament and the Spanish Congress, Pen International, the Basque Government), medias and intellectuals as well as thousands of ordinary people from around the world.

The latest news we have is that five former leading members of "Egunkaria" are going to be judged at the Spanish National Criminal Court beginning on 15 December, accused of belonging to ETA armed group. Those are the members to be judged:

            - Joan Mari Torrealdai
            - Iñaki Uria
            - Txema Auzmendi
            - Martxelo Otamendi
            - Xabier Oleaga

There is no proof of such charges and even the prosecutor of the Spanish National Criminal Court has claimed the case to be invalidated. But it is a politically motivated action which is going to be held.

Therefore, we would like to get your attention to this serious attack against the freedom of speech, human rights, the Basque language and the Basque culture. Attached to this message, I have sent you an explanatory document about “Egunkaria” case, as well as some other interesting documents. Apart from that, we will be pleased to give you as much information as you need and all the defendants are available to have interviews.

You will find several documents about “Egunkaria” in many languages on the following website (it will be activated soon): www.egunkaria.info/international .
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you very much.

Yours sincerely,

Ainara Mendiola
Coordinator of the international campaign in favour of Egunkaria
Martin Ugalde Kultur Parkea
20160 Andoain, Gipuzkoa (Basque Country)
e-mail: egunkaria.press@gmail.com
Office number: (00 34) 943 30 40 30
Website: www.egunkaria.info/international

Christine Quinn on Belfast trip

2009-11-27T17:15:00.002Z

The Speaker and President of New York City Council Christine Quinn is interviewed for Adrian Flannelly's Irish Radio show about her Belfast trip.

Agus Nollaig shona duitse fosta

2009-11-27T12:15:00.003Z

Now I know why the Irish Government is contemplating a 20-year plan for Irish...it takes eons to get the authorities to take even baby steps.

This time last year, this blog noted that the invitations from the British Irish Joint Secretariat were in the official language of Britain but not of the Republic of Ireland.

Complaints were duly lodged.

One year later and....we're back to the future.

One doesn't expect any better of the Irish side but with the British signing up to deliver "robust action" for Irish in the Good Friday Agreement, you really do expect to see An Ghaeilge acknowledged.

There's always next year.

The educated classes

2009-11-27T09:39:00.002Z

I had an interesting night at Queen's University last night where Bertie Ahern was the guest speaker at the annual Co-Operation Ireland gala dinner.

Though still a TD, Bertie, who serves on the board of Co-Operation Ireland, gave a diplomacy-free talk about the state of the nation, urging increased support for the reconciliation work of the all-island body which has just celebrated 30 years of endeavour.

He said governments had a key role to play in financing Co-Operation Ireland. "When you say to governments you have a security problem, they say, 'how much do you want'," he said. "However when you say it's an issue involving support for marginalised communities, you don't get the same support. I would be wary of that because prevention is always better than cure."

He also voiced support for Irish people to shop wherever they want, contrary to the oft-stated views of some of his Dáil colleagues, defended, belatedly, his €500,000 Bertie Bowl stadium plan and said many politicians were "short on vision" and stressed the need to provide more support for young people.

"Fighting for peace every day is our responsibility," said the man who was Taoiseach during the tough Good Friday negotiations when he impressed all by travelling to the talks despite the death of his mother in the middle of those 1998 deliberations.

At 11pm, on the way from the Great Hall at 11pm to my car, attired in finest dickie bow and tuxedo, I encountered some of our erudite student populace making their way out for the night. Drink in hand, one saluted me with "you look well tonight" to which his pal rejoinered, "you look like a faggot".

Of all the insults, the cream of our educated youth decides the most offensive is to accuse a stranger of being gay. Co-Operation Ireland clearly has its work cut out for it.

Making the trains run on time...and in two languages

2009-11-26T12:20:00.006Z

Anyone who had the misfortune to have to use the cattle byre which was Newry Train Station will be pleased to see it emerge as a regional, modern building at the end of a £12m rebuild programme.

Better still for Irish speakers is that Translink have been coaxed over the line on bilingual signage. You can see see 'Iúr Chinn Trá Stáisiún Traenach' on the 'totem' behind Conor Murphy and his giant scissors in our picture. I'm told the signage inside is Sainsbury's West Belfast store-standard.

Minister Conor Murphy, who has committed to reversing the neglect of Newry, Derry and other points west, said at the opening: "This new station will provide a modern, attractive facility for passengers with many new amenities, including the provision for 300 parking spaces for the use of rail passengers. The new station with its state of the art passenger building and concourse is in stark contrast to the facilities previously provided. Reliability, comfort and accessibility are important factors in attracting people to public transport and I hope passengers will quickly see the benefits arising from the investment in this new station for Newry."

Pictured with Minister Murphy are Newry and Mourne Mayor John Feehan of the SDLP and Translink CEO Catherine Mason.

You can see the great bilingual signage on YouTube (look out for the bilingual plaque).

Basque journalists on the rack

2009-11-25T18:16:00.003Z

Those of us who yearn for peace in the Basque Country and vehemently oppose the ETA campaign will be saddened to hear that the Spanish courts are to proceed with the bogus case against Martxelo Otamendi and the executives of the Basque daily newspaper Egunkaria which was closed down in February 2003.

At the time, five senior officials of Egunkaria were arrested and tortured, including Martxelo, by the Guardia Civil; conduct subsequently condemned by the UN rapporteur on torture.

The trial against the Egunkaria accused starts on 14 December. It is a travesty. Newspapers should not be closed down in any country, not least in an EU country and the international community must insist this sham is stopped.

I think back to my last conversation with the hero of the Irish peace process, Fr Alex Reid, who told me he returned from the Basque Country because peace was unattainable. "The Spanish government is not interested in dialogue," he said.

This case confirms his thesis.

Martxelo Otamendi (pictured) and his co-accused Inaxi Uria were frequent visitors to Belfast and addressed a packed meeting in Teach Basil some years back on the subject of a daily Irish newspaper. Martxelo has since travelled to the Aisling Awards on many occasions.

A powerpoint presentation of the Egunkaria case is here (hope this works, if not techies will sort tomorrow).

Fleadh Feirste

2009-11-25T18:00:00.002Z

Is togra an-dearfach é Fleadh Feirste a thosaíonn amárach le lasadh na solais Nollag ar an chrann Nollag ag an Chultúrlann. Leanfaidh sé ar aghaidh ansin le himeachtaí ar feadh cheithre lá, ina measc Cothaigh oíche Aoine sa Chultúrlann.

Téann ardmholadh chuig Jake Mac Siacais agus foireann na Cultúrlainne, Fhorbairt Feirste agus na Ceathrún Gaeltachta as an imeacht seo a thionscnú...cé go mbogfainn féin gach rud chuig an 12ú Iúil.

Go n-éirí go geal le Fleadh Feirste.

Ireland 2009

2009-11-25T17:49:00.004Z

If I only had the energy to go to TripAdvisor to tell them my hotel in Galway had no hot water in the shower at 6am this morning and then doubled up by having no soap/shampoo in the soap/shampoo thingy they insist in using instead of giving you a good old fashioned bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo.

Still, despite delays at Galway airport due to strong winds at Dublin (and, boy, that was some landing when we finally arrived), I arrive home safe if only partially washed.

The two great sights of Ireland 2009 which greeted me on my way to TG4 yesterday for the TG4 7 Lá show were a five-mile queue of striking workers and co. snaking their way into Newry for the Day of Action bargains and Galway under water from our Aer Arann plane as we came into land at Galway.

It's a disaster out there in Galway and Clare; in Cork half the populace can't drink the water. Anyone who thinks, as Taoiseach Brian Cowen suggested yesterday in the Dáil that the insurance companies will pick up the bill should think again.

I suspect that anyone who claims won't be able to afford the cover next year because their premium will be bumped up or, in fact, all insurance companies will decide these floods are a permanent fixture and decline cover entirely.

Certainly, after our premises were fire-bombed earlier this year, we claimed our insurance only to find out when renewal time came round last week that no-one wanted our business. Nice that.

Breakfast in the heart of the Shankill

2009-11-24T06:05:00.001Z

My own Aisling has been to be able to enjoy a pint of Guinness in a Shankill Road pub some Saturday evening with a full view of the populace passing by (and they of me).

I haven't realised that dream yet but I did enjoy breakfast at 8am yesterday morning at Edenderry primary school on Tennent Street in the Shankill yesterday morning, courtesy of Terence Brannigan, chair of the CBI here (and a native of East Belfast) and Betty Orr, school principal (pictured)

Edenderry is a beautiful old listed school with new sports facilities and caters for around 200 children from the upper Shankill area.

Around 70 per cent of children receive school meals — which means their parents are of meagre financial means. Educationally, the Shankill faces many challenges but most revolve around ambition and aspiration. One way to generate ambition is to work with the parents, though funding for a pioneering programme with parents has been axed.

There's also a need to celebrate success and give a leg-up to young people who want to follow an academic path. The annual Aisling bursaries go to young people heading off to university and obviously can't go to 11-year-olds entering secondary schools. However, Betty did give me an idea about providing bursaries to the parents of children.

Now there's a thought...and if I didn't have a glass of Guinness, I did have a sausage, an egg and a slice of potato bread.

Dála an scéil, beidh mé ar mo bhealach go Conamara Dé Máirt le bheith ar 7 Lá anocht.

Cúúúúúipéar!

2009-11-23T06:21:00.000Z

Tá deis againn anois vóta a chaitheamh le Mairéad Cooper as foireann peil na mban Aontroma as an tsárchúl a scóráil sí sa chluiche ceannais i bPáirc an Chrócaigh. TG4 atá ag eagrú an chomórtais anseo.

Hartley's hour

2009-11-22T14:40:00.004Z

When out tech genius John Ferris put this gallery together for the Aisling announcement of Tom Hartly as our person of the year, he had some music accompanying it.

The songs seem to have gone but some great pics in the gallery, some recent and others going back at least to 1980 and the H-Block proests.

Schools for scandal

2009-11-21T11:49:00.008Z

I don't know which is worse, the Catholic grammar schools for introducing an alternative to the 11-Plus or the Bishops for letting them.

For many years, Catholic schools in the North boasted of their fidelity to the bishops and insisted the buck stopped in the Bishop's Palace. But apparently now, even though the bishops have branded the 11-Plus immoral, the grammars are imposing their own academic selection criteria on a new generation of children.

The evidence is clear: the current education system in the North is not (thanks) "the best in the world" or even the best in Ireland. It fails over half our young people and should be scrapped.

Hopefully, some parent will take a legal case against the grammars and bring this charade to a halt. The Belfast Media Group has launched a petition against any efforts to retain the failed 11-Plus. You can sign it here.

Finally, we had a slán abhaile dinner for Speaker Christine Quinn last night and she spoke of her hopes that the Irish Government will provide funding for the new Irish Arts Center in New York. It's an incredible facility in Speaker Quinn's 'Hell's Kitchen' constituency and New York has pledged $12m for a completely new building, similar to Belfast's cultúrlann. The Speaker is hopeful the Irish Government will make a contribution as it understands the importance of the Irish Arts Center in providing a showcase for artists from Ireland (as well as for Irish American artists). Of all the important things she achieved over her three days in Ireland, among the most impressive, in my view, is that she took time out to canvass financial support from Taoiseach Brian Cowen for a regenerative project in her own back yard. All politics is, indeed, local.

"I know it was in good shape when it left here, but"

2009-11-20T17:39:00.001Z

A four-minute video by our photographer John Kelly of last night's Aisling Awards celebration.

"My heart hurts sore"

2009-11-20T17:33:00.003Z

Christine Quinn spoke at lunchtime at a meeting of the gay community in Belfast where she told her audience that two new gay councillors have been elected to New York City Hall, appropriately (she joked) from Queen's.

Speaking for the gay community, in Irish and English, well-known community activist Marie Quiery said "coming out" was the bravest act of any gay person. She said "my heart hurts sore" for gay people who were living a double life, for fear of coming out.

Amazingly, the gay community groups in Belfast don't receive any support from Belfast City Council — though, in a sign of the changing times, Lord Mayor Naomi Long will open the group's new premises in Waring Street while last year Lord Mayor Tom Hartley took part in the annual Pride parade.

In this YouTube video from last night, Christine Quinn gives a quick summary of her thoughts for Belfast.

Daring to dream at Aisling drama

2009-11-20T07:58:00.007Z

A line-up to remember at the Aisling Awards last night: Caitríona Ruane to read the education shortlist and announce St Patrick's College, Bearnageeha on the Antrim Road, under the tutelage of the indomitable PJ O'Grady as winner of the Education Award; Lord Mayor Naomi Long to introduce our Roll of Honour Recipient Alan McBride (who lost his wife Sharon and father-in-law Desmond in the 1993 Shankill bombing); and East Belfast unionist councillor Ian Adamson to introduce our Person of the Year, Cllr Tom Hartley, a Sinn Féin representative from West Belfast.

Our guest of honour Christine Quinn gave the speech of her life and Alan McBride, in a heartfelt and eloquent testimony summed up the entire purpose of Aisling: to bind the wounds of the city.

Minister Conor Murphy read out the sports shortlist, suggesting there was one of the three possible reasons why he had been given that honour:
1. He had run The Between the Bridges Race which raised £78,000 for the NI Hospice (to mark the opening of the new Westlink by his department);
2. Being from Armagh, he recognised sporting excellence (even I wouldn't believe that one);
3. He was free.

There'll be no comment except to say that the category was won by the magnificent Antrim Women's Football Team. Other winners were Féile an Phobail (Culture and Arts), St Malachy's Church (Belfast Brand Award), Féile an Droichead (Gaeilge), LORAG (Community), and the Park Avenue Hotel, East Belfast (Business).

Pictures as soon as, folks, our great photographers got some top-class snaps and I'm looking forward to bringing them to you...as well as a video report and some YouTube clips.

This just in: Speaker Quinn with Roll of Honour recipient Alan McBride, his daughter Zoe and wife Clare. The News Letter leads with Alan McBride.

On the move

2009-11-19T15:01:00.001Z

Nice piece re visit of Speaker on BBC and this just up on Irish Echo site.

Shake on it!

2009-11-19T13:15:00.005Z

Speaker Christine Quinn with First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont this morning.

Hopefully, she will be still be going strong by 7:30pm tonight when she takes to the stage at the Europa.

At the Presidents' Club today, the Speaker promised to work with small business here....she suggested that if the Cathedral Quarter link with Tribeca, the Belfast side also goes to East Harlem or a similar emerging area of New York. Apples with apples as it were. 98 per cent of businesses in the North employ fewer than 25 people.

Speaker Quinn stressed the importance to New Yorkers of building the peace process. "Ireland is of enormous importance to New Yorkers," she said. "The impact of Ireland in New York is huge. New York feels an enormous connection to Ireland. The future of Belfast, the future of the peace process, is of enormous importance to us and we understand that the next leg of the peace process is economic development. And we want to feel that we played a part not only in stabilising the peace but building it further."

Paul McErlean made a full confession: he owes New York tax dollars. When in the Big Apple many summers ago playing for Co Tyrone, he worked for cash-in-hand at the United Nations Plaza Hotel. "We were up on the 18th floor every morning and there was a Japanese girl who would do her stretches at about 8am in an apartment block across the way so that's the side of the building, all the Irish guys would start working on."

Speaker Quinn said that type of tax confession goes well in church but the City of New York would be going after McErlean.

Presidents all

2009-11-19T12:13:00.002Z

At the Presidents Club 'thought leadership' (no less) breakfast in the Presidents Club in the Cathedral Quarter this morning were Mark Finlay, founder Presidents Club, Speaker Christine Quinn, Bro McFerran, President of NI Chamber of Commerce and Denis Murphy of tech firm Anaeko.

The Speaker is now meeting with the team up in Stormont before she heads into East Belfast.

Normalú na teanga

2009-11-18T23:16:00.002Z

Beidh deathionchar ag an Foinse nua ar léitheoirí an Irish Independent, agus bímis buíoch ar a shon sin nó más léitheoirí rialta iad den Irish Independent nó den nuachtán Domhnaigh sa stábla, bhí siad báite in aineolas maidir leis an Ghaeilge le blianta fada.

Tá cursíos anmhaith ag Concubhar Ó Liatháin ar an nuachtán ar a bhlag. Anois tá dhá nuachtán Gaeilge againn in Éirinn, Nuacht 7 ó Eoghan Ó Néill agus Nuacht 24, Foinse agus ceann eile ar na bacáin.

Fanann tú rith do shaoil le nuachtán Gaeilge agus tagannn trí chinn chugat as deis a chéile.

Moladh mór tuillte ag Eimear Ní Chéidigh as an bheartas seo is déanaí i saol na foilsitheoireachta Gaeilge.

Hurricane Quinn hits town

2009-11-18T19:12:00.003Z

I know the Irish Echo, who gave her its Irish American of the Year accolade in 2008, has described her as irrepressible and unstoppable but watching the Speaker of New York City Council in action today, I'd say Hurricane would be a better description.

Flying overnight with father Larry and press aide Jamie McShane, the Speaker hit Dublin and rushed to the Dáil for a session with the Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Then it was to Belfast to meet community activists in the offices of the West Belfast Partnership Board before she stepped across the road to meet victims of state violence with the Relatives for Justice Group. She's pictured outside the RFJ offices with civil rights veterans Clara Reilly and Mark Thompson.

By the way, she still hasn't checked into her hotel but has instead opted to enjoy the Ireland-France match in the Roddy's, Belfast's greatest hostelry and social club.

This could go on if Robbie Keane finds the net, she might just go direct from the celebrations to her 7:20am interview on Good Morning Ulster. She'll be on Talkback tomorrow and on BBC's Hearts and Minds at the very time when the Aisling gala is kicking off. (It'll be pre-recorded.) Did I mention that as well as those media dates, she also has a business breakfast at 8am with Mark Finlay's Presidents' Club, a scheduled meeting with the First Ministers at Stormont, a journey into East Belfast to meet community leaders including paramilitaries turned peacemakers, a reception with the Lord Mayor and then, finally, her guest speaker spot at the Aisling Awards.

Hurricane indeed.

Lull before the storm

2009-11-17T22:45:00.002Z

Aisling time is also reunion time.

Regulars know all my jokes and even though they hear them once a year when Ivan Little, late of UTV, tells them from the Aisling podium in the Europa, they are polite enough to laugh.

I'm chief script-writer, chief-shoulder-to-cry and chief bottle-washer when the Aisling Gala rolls round honoring the very best of Belfast.

By the time I rise tomorrow morning, our guest of honour Christine Quinn will be in Ireland and heading for a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen. I hope he doesn't let us down and tap her before she gets to Belfast.

Tomorrow afternoon, Speaker Quinn will meet with community leaders in West Belfast and with the families of the Ballymurphy Massacre while on Thursday she'll travel into the heart of the empire in East Belfast to meet community stalwarts there.

I've seen her itinerary on Thursday, it starts with a 7:20am radio interview and ends with the Aisling person of the year presentation. They say New York is hectic. Believe me, she'll want to return to the Big Apple for some peace and quiet by the time this whirlwind visit is over.

Hurler on the ditch

2009-11-16T23:11:00.001Z