Léargas

January 26th 09 A great moment To begin and for those interested in finding more about the First Dáil event last week, try www.ancheaddail.com Maith go leor? And for those interested in my reflections on the Barack Obama inauguration read on. Billions of words have probably been written and spoken about the inauguration of Barack Obama. The television coverage drew multitudes around the globe. Since I’ve come back to Ireland everyone asks me “what was it like?” What was it like? It was great. Not just the speeches or the hoopla or the sense of occasion. For me the biggest and most significant aspect of that big and significant event was the people. Some of them were on the train from New York to Washington. Elderly African-American ladies with packed lunches and wooly hats to ward off the cold. Old white guys with Obama badges on their backpacks. Young kids of all ethnic backgrounds. In Ireland there would have been a sing-song. Here there was a quiet undercurrent of excitement. When t...

FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN. 19 JANUARY 2009. This blog comes to you from Penn Station New York. At least that’s where it starts. On the train. En route to Washington DC. And to the Inauguration of Barack Obama. I arrived here with our trusty leader, RG McAuley late yesterday. The city as usual was buzzing. And snowing. Go han-fhuar. Up early for a quick walk around the block and then to where I now sit, waiting for the three hour journey to commence. The train is a good way to travel. It also means we get to avoid the Hudson. This morning’s newspapers are filled with news of the Obama family, tomorrow's inauguration and yesterday's big concert at the National Mall. Seisún iontach mór. There is a great photograph (above) in USA Today of Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger bopping it up with This Land is Your Land. Seeger, a special hero of mine, was there risking life and limb during the civil rights struggle and all the other great causes. He and thousands of other unsung, and ...

January 12th 2009-01-12 To begin with, a few words about friends and comrades of mine who died over the festive season. They include Christine Bap Beatty and Seán McKenna. (Editor's note: Sean McKenna is pictured as he appeared on publicity photo for 1980 hunger strike which was also used on posters of the time.) But the biggest shock was on Christmas Eve when I got the sad sceál that Mike Doyle had died suddenly in Philadelphia. Mike came from Castlerea in Roscommon. He never forgot his roots, visiting his homeplace regularly. He was a true friend of Ireland, an ally to many people who arrived over the decades looking for work in Philly and a mainstay of support for the republican cause. I was with him in the Autumn at a highly successful event and on our many visits to that fine city Mike and his pals were there to greet us. He epitomised in many ways the best of Irish America. Through hard word he did well for himself and his clann. Through it all he stayed true to the Iris...

I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS BLOGGING BUSINESS COULD BECOME CONTAGIOUS. THE INITIAL RESPONSE TO MY FIRST BLOG HAS BEEN VERY INTERESTING. THE PROBLEM IS WHEN I SEE ALL THE COMMENTS I FEEL GUILTY THAT I CANT RESPOND ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. IT IS LIKE NOT ANSWERING A LETTER. AND I ALWAYS TRY TO ANSWER ALL MY LETTERS. IT WOULD BE GREAT CRAIC IF I COULD ANSWER ALL THE BLOGGERS WHO TOOK THE TIME TO COMMENT. IF I HAD THE TIME. BUT I DONT HAVE THE TIME. SO WHAT TO DO? WELL TO BEGIN LET ME WELCOME ALL COMMENTS, GOOD OR BAD. BLOGGING SEEMS TO BE A VERY DEMOCRATIC CARRY ON AND I LIKE THAT. LET ME ALSO THANK EVERYONE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO ENTER THIS SPACE. GO RAIBH MAITH AGAT. LET ME ALSO EXPLAIN HOW COMPUTER ILLITERATE I AM. FOR EXAMPLE I NOTICED A FEW LINES BACK THAT I AM TYPING IN CAPITALS. I DONT KNOW HOW TO UNDO THAT AND I DONT WANT TO START ALL OVER AGAIN. YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT GETTING THIS FAR TOOK ME HALF AN HOUR EVEN THOUGH THE EXPERT AT THE BELFAST MEDIA GROUP GAVE ME TWO PAGES OF WRITTE...

January 4th 08 A BLOG IS BORN. As 2008 comes to an end scribblers and scribes, hacks and ordinary decent journalists are filling space with copious copy about the twelve months that have expired. This blog is about to follow suit. Blogging is new to me. It is an entirely foreign place. So safety first! A quick backward glance before plunging forward into space and into whatever it is that we will all face in this new year of 2009. Bertie gets my prize for great farewells. He did it in style. No matter about the Tribunals, Bertie exited stage left via Westminster, Washington, the Boyne and eventually in an amazing piece of theatre, Government Buildings in Dublin. Rumour has it he was advised a little while before by a very senior party rep that the FF ice was wearing very thin and that maybe, just maybe, he might be pushed if he didn’t jump. Not so much a heave as a hint of a heave. But methinks Bertie knew the game was up anyway. He didn’t need anyone to tell him. And though he res...