The time was November 1995 and the place was the downtown area of my native Belfast. The Irish Republican Army had called a ceasefire a little over a year before and the sense was Read More
The Middle East peace process, frozen to the point of lifelessness, may be starting to thaw. After the swearing in over the weekend of a Palestinian unity government, cracks quickly began to appear in the Western diplomatic boycott to which the Palestinians have been subjected since Hamas’ victory in last year’s elections. Norway’s deputy foreign Read More
Republicans everywhere are on the defensive about Iraq, a development that is bound to have a big impact on the GOP incumbents fighting for survival here in New York. Eliot Spitzer and John Faso favor very, very different approaches to tax policy. Alan Hevesi leads his opponent, and continues to duck him. Read More
More than 30 years after firing its first shots, the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army has ordered its members to dump their arms. When will Osama bin Laden, or his successor, issue the same order? It’s a fair bet that most people over the age of 45 will not live to see that Read More
More than 30 years after firing its first shots, the Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army has ordered its members to dump their arms. When will Osama bin Laden, or his successor, issue the same order? It’s a fair bet that most people over the age of 45 will not live to see that Read More
William Scott (1913-1989), whose paintings are the subject of an immensely appealing exhibition at Denise Bibro Fine Art in Chelsea, is not an artist easily categorized. Born in Scotland of Irish and Scottish parents, he received his training at the Belfast College of Art in Northern Ireland and the Royal Academy in London, yet it Read More
"Get down on your knees and wash my feet with your hair to
show me just how grateful you are!" This might sound like a kinky Biblical vignette from a Pasolini movie, but it's just me admonishing my father as I throw armfuls of his favorite things into a Dumpster while simultaneously demanding his gratitude. Yes, Read MoreHere's a deportation case you'll never hear about on those cable television screamfests, but if you haven't entirely given up on the idea of justice, it surely is worth a scream or two.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service, under the jurisdiction of Attorney General Janet Reno, is spending taxpayer dollars to split up a family and Read MoreA little more than a century ago, William Butler Years, Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory and other writers and artists wandered into the Irish countryside and discovered a rich, complex folk culture that had survived centuries of oppression and neglect. It was a revelation. They went into the fields and workhouses, spoke with keepers of ancestral Read More
It has been said here and elsewhere, but it bears repeating: President Bill Clinton, fairly and unfairly maligned for all sorts of foreign policy mishaps, has helped win peace in a corner of the earth that has known intractable conflict for most of the millennium. Peace in Northern Ireland would be a stunning triumph for Read More
It has been said here and elsewhere, but it bears repeating: President Bill Clinton, fairly and unfairly maligned for all sorts of foreign policy mishaps, has helped win peace in a corner of the earth that has known intractable conflict for most of the millennium. Peace in Northern Ireland would be a stunning triumph for Read More
A militant group that is being tied to the worst atrocity in Northern Ireland's history received an official message of support and encouragement from New York's City Council just four months ago.
Council Speaker Peter Vallone, currently a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor, presented a proclamation to leaders of a group calling itself the Read MoreWednesday, Aug. 19
The people over at Comedy Central have something excellent lined up and ready to take over the comedy waves, which is a lucky thing because the last funny sketch show, The Kids in the Hall , is 10 years old, not to mention Canadian. The new hot property, the Upright Citizens Brigade , Read MoreThe fire that consumed three Catholic boys in Northern Ireland on July 12 was the same fire that took the lives of four black girls in an Alabama church more than 30 years ago. Hatred was its oxygen, bigotry its accelerant.
We Americans understand certain things about our society, so the Southern fire remains fixed in Read MoreJohn Hume swept into town the other day to collect an award, to be congratulated for his long years of working for justice in Northern Ireland, and to raise the profile of the province's Social Democrat and Labor Party, which he helped found a quarter-century ago. He traveled without entourage, without sycophantic Boswells, without celebrities Read More
