Bad News from a Beautiful Country

All morning long I hear the dire news from Ireland via RTE News on my computer. Will the EU or IMF come in to rescue Ireland from insolvency? The horrific costs of proposed budget cuts have edged up further and further as Finance Minister Brian Lenihan drops bigger and bigger crumbs leading up to the December 7 (a Day of Infamy?) Budget announcement. Word is that even the pensioners may share in having their benefits cut. All this coming up to Christmas and the time when people will be searching their pockets to pay their ESB bills or for oil to heat the house.
All this and the global economic doldrums have lowered the number of tourists to Ireland this year by 850,000. I know the feeling. The gorgeous coastal vistas along the Slea Head Drive in Dingle are often in my mind, probably because they are in frames beside my computer. They will have to do for now until I feel more free about spending on travel.
If you would like to check them out or would like to have a 2011 calendar of Irish scenes visit my new online store at
http://www.cafepress.com/ShopAllIrelandPhotos?nocache=yes

Let's hope that 2011 is a better year for Ireland and for us all.

Invitation to Visit the North of Ireland

For six days at the end of September, travelers entering Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan could choose Belfast in the North of Ireland as their destination.

Discover Ireland, in an effort to draw visitors to the six counties of Antrim, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry, Armagh and Down, filled Vanderbilt Hall with exhibits, music, food and story telling from the region Sept. 24-29.

A multi-media exhibit on the Titanic, which was built in Belfast, described a newly developed tour of what was once the city's bustling shipyard. Generous displays of tourist literature and maps were on offer to help in planning a trip to enjoy Belfast's rich history and traditional music heritage, both found in pubs such as Kelly's Cellars.

During breaks from Irish dancing performances, actors presented history lessons on the walled city of Derry, chefs gave cooking demonstrations -- the Irish palate has graduated from beef, potatoes and veg --and Kabosh, the award-winning Belfast theater troupe, entertained.

Some lucky traveler will win two tickets to Belfast,courtesy of Discover Ireland, and will have the chance to experience a part of Ireland not often on the tour guide's agenda.

Last Friday Night at 1stIrish Festival

I really want to say something positive about "Three Irish Widows versus The Rest of the World," Ed Malone's one-man performance at Stage Left Studio as part of the 1stIrish Theatre Festival.

Last year I saw three 1stIrish productions and loved each one for its professionalism, fine acting and intimate theatre space. So, I was really looking forward to "Three Irish Widows."

Cheryl King greeted audience members warmly as they arrived at the 6th floor of 214 W. 30th Street in Manhattan, the new site of her Stage Left Studio performance space. The "black box" space, which is really painted red, accommodates an audience of about 20. we settled into our folding chairs in the front row with great anticipation.

Malone, who also wrote "Three Irish Widows," based the play on his mother and two aunts back home in Cork. After losing her husband, each woman sets out to look for love. The dearly departed were not always dearly beloved we learn.

Malone uses each woman's real name, so lucky they have not seen it performed, because the tales about their adventures in New York, Spain and India range from humorous to crude. It leaves you feeling embarrassed for his mother most of all. It seems that Malone is processing some of his own issues about growing up and a bout of alcoholism at the expense of Maura, Breda and Margaret.

The stage is completely bare except for a very frenetic, curly-haired Malone dressed in cargo shorts and an old plaid shirt.

I would love to return to Stage Left Studio to see another production with a little more heart and a bit more art.

Festival of Irish Theatre Returns

Great news for lovers of Irish theatre...1stIrish 2010 steps off on September 7, offering performances by Irish playwrights at venues across New York City.

Leading up to the celebration was a production of Frank McCourt's "The Irish...and How They Got That Way," which opened on July 14 at the Irish Repertory Theatre. The production, which commemorates the first anniversary of McCourt's passing, was well-received and has been extended to September 26.

What I enjoyed about last year's festival was the high level of acting and the intimate settings. I actually sat on the stage for one production. Now I'm looking through the schedule of this year's offerings to see what I can afford to attend.

The reviews for "Wife to James Whelan" at the Mint Theatre have been very positive. The playwright, Teresa Deevy (1894-1963), may have been forgotten in some circles but this production has some very modern themes of choices between love and ambition.

At the Stage Left Studio you can catch "Three Irish Widows Versus the Rest of the World," which sounds like a hen party version of "Eat Pray Love" with the three named widows traveling to Spain, New York and India in search of adventure and romance.

In "Hue and Cry" two Dublin cousins come together at a family funeral, and of course, all that emotion boils over in this Irish Repertory Theatre production.

A symposium about Irish theatre featuring leading actors, directors and playwrights comes near the end of the festival on September 25 at NYU Glucksman Ireland House.

For a full schedule check out www.1stirish.org. You'll find it hard to whittle your choices to just a few.

1916 Easter Rising Commemorated in the Bronx

There was a great turnout for the Easter Rising Mass and Commemoration celebrated at the Green Tree Restaurant in the Bronx on Easter Sunday, which was dedicated to the men and women who fought for Irish freedom.
The celebration of the 94th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland was organized by Sean Oglaigh na hEireann and Friends of Irish Freedom.
Msgr. Patrick Moloney celebrated Mass for the gathering. He reminded them that “it was not an accident” that “just a handful of men would choose Easter to rise up” as Easter is a day of resurrection. “Our country is and was a land of saints and scholars, a holy island.” In a strident voice, Msgr. Moloney said the “mandate of 1916…has not yet been accomplished.” He said the civil rights that Bobby Sands died for have not yet been attained in the north. “Keep up the good fight. Keep the banner high,” he said calling for an “Ireland united and free…a nation once again.”
After Mass and before the guest speaker, the original 1916 Proclamation was read in Irish and in English by Maurice Brick and Michael McDermott, respectively.
Cathleen O’Brien, an organizer of the commemoration, also reported to the gathering on abuses in the north including PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) harassment through use of Section 44 to “stop, search and arrest” in republican areas.
Special guest was Lorna Brady of Strabane, County Tyrone, younger sister of John Brady, 40, who died in custody at the Strand Road Barracks in Derry on October 3, 2009. Brady, a well-known republican, had served 18 years in Long Kesh and Maghaberry prisons. He was due for release in November 2009 and had been out on weekend parole when he was involved in a dispute with a brother-in-law. He was picked up in Tyrone by the PSNI/RUC and taken to Derry. The next morning, Brady’s solicitor, John Finucane, visited him. Finucane left Brady in a legal consultation room for 15 or 20 minutes. When he returned, Brady was dead. The PSNI claimed that he had hung himself with shoelaces from a window.
Lorna Brady said that her family strongly disputes the claim that Brady committed suicide, saying that he was in good form when Finucane left him. She said this was the latest in a pattern of harassment of the Brady family which has included death threats of all including an 8-year-old child. Brady said it was an attempt to “demonize” people like her brother who were “true republicans.”
“I am here today to campaign for truth and justice,” said Lorna Brady, who is waiting for results of a PSNI investigation into her brother’s death. “We do not have the rights proclaimed in 1916….Do not forget those who live in Ireland under British rule. Support groups like [Friends of] Irish Freedom and the Republican Network for Unity.”

Here in New York, it's not just Happy St. Patrick's Day or week, but a whole month of parades.

Yesterday, the Brooklyn Irish American Parade Committee led contingents of bagpipers, ste dancers, Hibernians and school children through the streets of Park Slope. Onlookers filled the curbs along Seventh Ave. on a gorgeous second day of spring. The Luck of the Irish has smiled on the parades this year with unseasonably warm days.

Among the marchers were Mary Nolan leading the members of the Commodore Barry Club of Brooklyn, which was founded in 1951. Irish human rights activist Cody McCone marched behind the Shamrocks Gaelic football club banner. The AOH gentlemen from Flatbush and young ladies from the St. Saviour H.S. Gaelic Society, who are parade regulars, strode down the avenue.

Hopefully, the Bay Ridge St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday, March 28, in which our friend Mary Lennon will serve as an Aide to the Grand Marshal, will be favored with the same gorgeous weather.

Friends of Irish Freedom Marched in Manhattan

Many supporters of the Friends of Irish Freedom marched up Fifth Ave. in Manhattan in the 249th St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17.
The warm sun was at their backs as they strode up the avenue passing thousands of onlookers sporting their green. Cheers rang out as the Pat Mullin chapter passed. Seeing the FOIF green banner struck a chord with some who were far from home.
There were a few shouts of “England out of Ireland” heard.
Before the parade stepped off, members had a chance to share their varied experiences of Ireland and to discuss the situation in the north. Because what happens on the ground in the north of Ireland is barely reported in the New York press, chatting one-on-one can be very enlightening.
Even better, next time you go to Ireland, pass up the nights in Temple Bar and take a trip up to the six northern counties. Go to Derry or Tyrone. If you aren’t up to driving on the left side of the road, it is very simple to get on a train at Connolly Station in Dublin and travel two hours up to Belfast. Chat with your fellow travelers on the journey and then take the time to walk around the city, talk with locals in a pub or cross over the Motorway and walk around West Belfast. Go see things for yourself. Pick up a local newspaper.
If you can’t make it to Ireland this year, come to the Friends of Irish Freedom annual Easter Mass & Commemoration on Easter Sunday at the Green Tree Restaurant at the corner of Riverdale Ave. and W. 259th St. in Riverdale in the West Bronx, north of Gaelic Park.