KEEPING KIDS ON THE RIGHT TRACK: Seeking best practices to help at-risk youth in Massachusetts, Ireland, Northern Ireland

Jay McManus is Director of the Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts in Lynn, a legal aid program for low-income and disabled children. Recently, the agency was among a dozen that served as host sites for a group of Irish (from both the Republic and Northern Ireland) barristers, child advocates, and police who all arrived in Boston last spring for the “Rule of Law Program,” which was sponsored by Boston College and the US State Department.

A TALE OF TWO HEROES: Hypocrisy reigns supreme when it comes to US Sen. McCain and Secretary of State Kerry

John Kerry’s name has often appeared in this newspaper – not always accompanied by plaudits. Kerry came to this writer’s mind in recent days during the deserved outcry against Donald Trump’s outrageous comments about US Sen. John McCain’s service and heroism. From all corners of the media, condemnation of The Donald’s churlish remarks came fast and furious. From Republican presidential candidates who were either mute or tepid in response to Trump’s vile Nativist comments about Mexicans, the rush to excoriate Trump was thunderous.

Evolution is doing its thing. Let’s deal with it

The application of strict principles in an evolving society presents many problems, both temporal and spiritual. Supreme Court justices are split between those who see the constitution as fixed and immutable and those who see it as a set of fundamental principles that are adaptable, capable, that is, of being interpreted and applied in an evolving society to problems never envisioned by the authors. They see the essence of the document preserved by a broader analysis of its application.

Visits to schools in Belfast, Dublin show that much good work is going on there

As part of our careful search to determine the best use of the funds we raise on behalf of Ireland, the Irish American Partnership constantly reviews its decisions regarding grants to specific programs and Irish schools. A formal grants committee consisting of Irish and American directors meets in Ireland to regularly provide advice to the full board of directors.

Getting to Ireland: Good deals abound

Ed Forry

Ireland has launched a program of events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. “The Centenary Programme” is described as ”a call to action for the people of Ireland, our Diaspora and friends of Ireland all around the world - to remember 1916 and that pivotal period in our history, to reflect on the past 100 years, and to re-imagine our future.”

Cullinane touts O’Malley for Democratic nomination

 John Cullinane, the longtime supporter of successful Democratic candidates, has thrown his support to former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley in next year’s contest for the Democrat nomination for president. The veteran activist and his wife, Diddy, hosted  a reception June 30 at the Dedham Country & Polo Club to introduce O’Malley to potential Massachusetts supporters.

Introducing Éirways, all about things Irish

Irish culture has for many years extended its reach well beyond Ireland itself, whether through emigration, various advances in technology, or the enduring popularity of Irish music, dance, and other forms of artistic expression. That’s the concept behind a newly launched magazine, Éirways, which has a Massachusetts/New England connection in the form of its co-founders and publishers, Scituate native Kevin O’Brien and Kieran O’Hare, a Chicago resident now living in Portland, Me.

THE BARD OF FENWAY: Dick Flavin struts his stuff about the Olde Towne Team

Dick Flavin at one of his favorite places: Fenway Park, Boston. 	Bill Brett photoDick Flavin at one of his favorite places: Fenway Park, Boston. Bill Brett photo
“Like the Olmsted Emerald Necklace and Smuggler’s Notch and the Shelburne Museum, Dick Flavin is one of New England’s great and unique treasures, albeit one of the region’s most animated figures,” writes the legendary Boston sportswriter Peter Gammons. “He has been an Emmy Award–winning television reporter, journalist and satirist, and lo these last few years has become the Fenway Bard because of his poems and lyrics about New England’s Olde Towne Team, the Red Sox.

Many know Dick Flavin from his role as an award-winning political commentator on  WBZ-TV, or from an earlier stint as press secretary for former Boston Mayor Kevin H. White. Born and bred in Quincy, where he lives to this day, Flavin is a graduate of Archbishop Williams High School and Stonehill College, He has also enjoyed a successful run as a playwright (“Tip,” the story of Speaker Thomas O’Neill,) and he remains a raconteur of the highest order.

Consul General Ó Caollaí leaving for Dublin post

The Irish government has announced two significant staffing changes at its consulate in Boston. Consul General Breandán Ó Caollaí will leave his post this month to return to Dublin to become a counsellor to the corporate services division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFA). Ó Caollaí has served in Boston since August 2013, and was expected to remain in the post for two more years.

Irish Honors celebratory luncheon set for Fri., Oct. 23

Boston Irish Reporter publisher Ed Forry has announced the newspaper will observe its 25th anniversary at a Celebratory Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 at the Plaza Ballroom, Boston Seaport Hotel/World Trade Center. With an expected attendance of some 400 Boston business, civic, and political leaders, the luncheon event will present the 2015 Boston Irish Honors to acknowledge exemplary lives among Boston’s Irish community.

Pages

Subscribe to Boston Irish RSS