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Remembering an uncle lost with his ship

By Ed Forry, June 3, 2013

by Ed Forry
BIR Publisher

At the turn of the 19th century, a British steamship company, White Star Line, operated passenger service between Liverpool and Canada.
In 1908 the company launched the two largest ships built at that time for the service – the SS Megantic and SS Laurentic. The Laurentic was the fastest ship yet built for the trans-Atlantic crossings, sailing regularly between Liverpool and Quebec City.
At the onset of the Great War, the Laurentic was commissioned in Montreal as a troop transport for the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and began service as a merchant cruiser in 1915. Read more

A president salutes the Irish experience

By Ed Forry, April 8, 2013

By Ed Forry
BIR Publisher

President Obama welcomed government officials from Ireland and Northern Ireland to the White House last month for the traditional presentation of a bowl of shamrocks. Participating in the East Room ceremonies for the third consecutive year was Ireland’s leader, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who earlier in the day had joined the President and Speaker John Boehner at a St. Patrick’s luncheon in the Capitol building. Also appearing at the early evening ceremony on March 19 were First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Northern Ireland. Obama told the audience that he was looking forward to visiting the island again when the G8 summit meets in County Fermanagh in June. Read more

Deer Island memorial getting a second look

By Ed Forry, March 6, 2013

The awful years of An Gorta Mor, the great hunger that ravaged Ireland in the middle of the 19th century, saw thousands of Irish board ships that took them across to America. Between 1847 and 1849 some 25,000 souls arrived in Boston Harbor on the “coffin ships,” which under an edict by the city’s health officials were steered to Deer Island, where the passengers would be examined, and if necessary, quarantined to prevent the spread of any communicable diseases from coming ashore. Read more

Deer Island memorial getting a second look

By Ed Forry, March 1, 2013

The awful years of An Gorta Mor, the great hunger that ravaged Ireland in the middle of the 19th century, saw thousands of Irish board ships that took them across to America. Between 1847 and 1849 some 25,000 souls arrived in Boston Harbor on the “coffin ships,” which under an edict by the city’s health officials were steered to Deer Island, where the passengers would be examined, and if necessary, quarantined to prevent the spread of any communicable diseases from coming ashore. Read more

Let us hope on immigration

By Ed Forry, February 7, 2013

by Ed Forry
BIR Publisher
“We need Congress to act on a comprehensive approach that finally deals with the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in this country right now.
“The good news is that – for the first time in many years – Republicans and Democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together. Members of both parties, in both chambers, are actively working on a solution. And yesterday, a bi-partisan group of senators announced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform, which are very much in line with the principles I’ve proposed and campaigned on for the last few years. At this moment, it looks like there’s a genuine desire to get this done soon. And that’s very encouraging.”
– President Obama, announcing his plan for reforming the immigration laws, January 29, 2013 Read more

Boston set for a dancing spectacular

By Ed Forry, January 7, 2013

The region’s thriving Irish dance community has had four years to prepare, and now the clock is ticking toward a huge event being hosted by Boston in March – the annual World Championship of Irish Dance, an eight-day event that will run from March 24 to March 31 at the Hynes Auditorium. Read more

Regrets, hopes from an IRA man

By Ed Forry, November 30, 2012

When Martin Ferris was a young man in Tralee, Co. Kerry, he was a member of the Kerry GAA Under 21 football team that won the 1973 All Ireland championship for his age group.

He had joined the provisional IRA in 1970, and in 1975, he was arrested and jailed for nine months in Portlaoise prison on robbery charges; a year later, he was imprisoned briefly on charges as an IRA member. In 1984, he was sentenced to ten years for his role in the infamous Valhalla incident, where a Boston-based trawler was caught transferring an arms cache to the ship Maita Ann off the coast of Kerry. Read more

Boston Irish Reporter Endorsement: Forward with Obama

By Ed Forry, November 2, 2012


If only every decision in life were this easy.

President Barack Obama has earned re-election with an impressive first term that will come to be viewed as one of the most productive, progressive, and — ultimately— successful periods in the history of the modern US presidency. Obama has done so in spite of an inherited economic crisis that would have upended lesser leaders and in the face of a Republican Congress whose sole reason for existence over the last two years has been to undermine the president and his initiatives at every turn. The GOP has failed, the president has prevailed, and we enthusiastically endorse his re-election next Tuesday. Read more

New M4 Motorway makes for easy travel across Ireland

By Ed Forry, October 2, 2012

By Ed Forry
A September trip to Ireland brought with it good weather, some surprising motoring, and some great new memories from my ancestral homeland.
The good news for this visitor is how the exchange rate is advantageous against the dollar; in late September, a euro cost $1.30, not a bad rate compared to a year ago. Also, Irish hotels and restaurants are offering attractive low rates and package deals, helping the American tourist to stretch the travel budget. Read more

Irish Democrats Rally Behind President Obama; Create new SuperPac

By Ed Forry, August 31, 2012

Coming soon: ‘McBlackpac’
BY ED FORRY
Even as the Republican party met in Tampa in late August to nominate Bain Capital’s Willard “Mitt” Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, a group of Irish Americans were getting ready to troop to Charlotte for the Democrat convention that will nominate President Obama and VP Joe Biden. Read more

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