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Recalling a boy named Damien

Submitted by Staff on Thu, 2/2/12 - 3:50 pm

BY ED FORRY, BIR Publisher
The new year brought sad news for local Hibernians: The death of Damien Brennan, a 24-year-old youth worker who lived and worked in Belfast, N.I. Damien was five years old in 1992 when he became the victim of a vicious crime: he was attacked at a Portadown playground by three older boys. Read more

Galway gears up for a busy 2012

By Ed Forry, December 30, 2011

Volvo Boat Race Heads for Galway Finish Line in July
By Ed Forry
Almost three years ago, in late May 2009, Boston was a stopover port for the Volvo Ocean Race, an around-the-world, nine-month yacht race. The tenth running of the race that year began in Alicante, Spain, and eventually spanned 37,000 nautical miles, withBoston the only American port of call.
In our town, the then-undeveloped Fan Pier in South Boston was the center of race activities, and some unexpected bad weather during the Boston visit, including several days of rain and heavy fog, resulted in a low turnout for the Boston visit.
From Boston, the race set sail for Galway Ireland, and ultimately was completed in St. Petersburg, Russia. Read more

A fond farewell, Liam and Pauline

By Anonymous, December 5, 2011

by Ed Forry
BIR Publisher
In 1990, when first we began to publish this newspaper, the plan was to tell “the stories of Boston’s Irish.” We noted then that there were scores of stories about the culture of Boston’s broad and diverse Irish culture that were going untold in the general media, and since we were born and raised in that milieu, it was an area that called out for coverage.
At the same time, we had not been keeping up with information about Ireland, the land of our ancestors, so we began a search for reliable news and information from and about the Emerald Isle. Read more

A vision for 'Ireland's University of Enterprise'

By Ed Forry, November 14, 2011

The president of Dublin City University, Brian MacCraith, visited Boston on Oct. 17 to develop academic and technology partnerships. The holder of a PhD from NUI Galway, Dr. MacCraith, who began his ten-year presidential term in last year, has been a professor of physics and director of DCU's Biomedical Diagnostics Institute. Read more

Galway lovers, please take note

By Ed Forry, October 12, 2011

The Coast Road out of Galway city along the northern shores of Galway Bay is always a pleasant drive. The R336 passes through Barna, Furbo, and Killough, and on through Spiddal, gradually pulling away from the edge of the bay, going inland towards Costelloe, and eventually on to Leenane and the hills of Connemara.

It’s always a scenic drive, with the family-run Standún store (standun.com)in Spiddal a favorite destination, all just a short drive out of the city. Read more

Goodby summer, hello, autumn; busy days ahead

By Ed Forry, August 31, 2011

By Ed Forry

The summer of 2011 is all but history now. The sultry days are mostly behind us, some of the kids are back in school, the tomatoes are at last almost all ripe on the vine. In just the last fortnight, Bostonians have lived through first an earthquake, then, days later, the first hurricane of the new decade. Even the Olde Town team is sitting in first place as we enter Labor Day weekend. What an August month it was!

If you believe in omens, then perhaps you will agree that a World Series championship is almost a certainty. Almost. Read more

Coming soon: ‘Certificate of Irish Heritage’

By Ed Forry, July 29, 2011

By Ed Forry

When the Irish government underwent a transfer in power last winter with the removal of Brian Cowen’s Fianna Fáil party and the installation of Fine Gael ‘s Enda Kenny as Taoiseach, there followed, predictably, major changes in policy initiatives. But one foreign affairs initiative that would connect Ireland with the diaspora around the world has survived: The Irish government will soon begin offering an official government document to persons who claim some Irish ancestry. Read more

Social Club closing not yet a done deed

Submitted by Ed Forry on Tue, 7/5/11 - 9:35 am

By Ed Forry

The story of the closing of the Irish Social Club (ISC) in West Roxbury apparently has several chapters still to be written.
The facility, located in a converted bowling alley on Park Street, just off busy Centre Street, had for years been a wildly successful venue for Irish social events, in particular the Sunday evening dances that at their peak attracted hundreds to the site. Read more

A Leader Presides in the White House

Submitted by Ed Forry on Fri, 6/3/11 - 9:20 am

When first we heard the word that some brave American military personnel, Navy Seals all, had risked their lives to take out Osama bin Laden, there was a feeling of exhilaration. Here, in early May 2011, almost ten full years since OBL engineered the mass murder of so many innocent people, justice had finally been done. Read more

When the Words Make a Difference

By Ed Forry, May 6, 2011

by Ed Forry
For those lingering lost souls who struggle accepting that the American people voted to elect Barack Obama as their president, there were a few public utterances made within a few short days this spring that speak volumes about political discourse in our great country.While his political opponents wasted much time and energy to distract our president from doing his job, Obama revealed the true depths of his extraordinary leadership skills and political acumen. Read more

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