Gerry Adams has his take on the Policing and Justice paralysis on his blog.
Mick Fealty of Slugger O'Toole tells me that in political circles this is known as P&J.
Makes you wonder what you're missing!
Martin McGuinness told the DUP to get real last week and was accused of threats. But to me his address was aimed at ordinary Protestants and unionists who want to move on. He was urging them to tell their leaders to get on with it. No more prevaricating, foot-dragging or fecking about to avoid making a deal with their neighbours.
And McGuinness of course has the authority to make such a direct appeal given that the Belfast Telegraph poll put his approval rating among unionists at the same level as the approval rating of Reg Empey, the UUP MP (oops MLA).
I'm off to New York for the MacBride Principles silver anniversary gathering in New York City Hall. Back for the launch of Stró an Ghnó on Saturday. Bígí ann.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Sunday, December 06, 2009
If you want to get ahead, get a hat
I was in the Cultúrlann on Saturday morning, after the usual early-morning jogging constitutional, to meet with the Ullans Academy, led by Ian Adamson.
Ian of course came up with the word Ullans in 1993 "to make the Scots-Irish dialect a recognised language". You can visit the Ullans Academy website here and if you're a glutton for punishment you can go the whole hog and visit Ian's site. Ian, of course was a children's doctor who worked in the Royal hospital on the Falls for many years. He's delivered the speech of the night at the last two Aisling Award evenings which means I have to find an excuse to get him on stage next year again. He also, as you can see from this Blackberry snap, sports a mean hat.
You can read more about his important work at Ullans.com (though, careful, I'm told the Minister of Culture Nelson McCausland — he of the copyright breach) doesn't favour the use of the word Ullans to refer to the language brought to Ireland by the planters.
The Caifé Glas has very kindly agreed to place a table celebrating the Ulster-Scots heritage in the café. There'll be a number of images against a background of Ulster Tartan. Those images will include CS Lewis, Samuel Ferguson and John Hewitt.
It will make an impressive statement about diversity at the heart of the Cultúrlann experience and I look forward to seeing the finished article — and eating on it.
You can see the Ulster Red tartan above on Linda Clifford's site. If you can believe Ian Adamson, its colours have been regenerated from a worn tartan found in the bogs of North Antrim!
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Nelson should pay his way
Can any of the overlords of blogosphere, via Slugger perhaps, tell me how many articles of faith and copyright Minister Nelson McCausland has breached by using a Belfast Media Group photograph on his blog without credit, or, worse, payment.
Didn’t King Diarmait tell St Colmcille something about copyright and to every cow its calf (and to every book its copy) back in the sixth century?
And isn’t it just iodine in the wounds that he uses the beautiful picture of Irish America philanthropist Mike Breen and pupils from Coláiste Feirste to attack solid citizens on both sides of the Atlantic?
I won’t even ask whether the department sanctions this type of borrowing/theft/daylight robbery/plagiarism.
So do I sue or just ask him to find his own photos if he won’t pay his way? All advice welcome.
Still it gives me a great opportunity to use this wonderful picture which includes Mike's daughter Shannon and Roise Ní Bhaoill of the Ultach Trust?
(Careful readers of this blog might point out that I've half-inched a few images myself in my time as a blogger but then I'm not the Minister of Culture!)
(p.s. Photograph has now been removed meaning only photo on view on Minister's blog is his own. Sounds like a raw deal. Check out Minister's dignified U-turn.)
Friday, December 04, 2009
Bo Tree treat
After the launch of the Arts Council 'Troubles Archives' pamphlets in the Ulster Museum tonight, I got to enjoy dinner at Bo Tree.
I bumped into a fellow-diner who told me he had decided to check out the Thai restaurant on University Road after reading this feature in the Belfast Media excellent online foodie mag, Fork.
Bo Tree has a picture of royalty on display, not unusual in Belfast you might think but I suspect this is the only hostelry in which the royal is a Thai Prince.
Needless to say, Bo Tree is a hit with Belfast's Buddhist monks. Here they are imitating the hungry Christians I see every day in the Cultúrlann (apparently our picture in Fork is from a Japanese restaurant so presume that's about 200 million people insulted with one review!).
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Renewed faith in our student population
Wonderful as the Zogby talk last night at UU was, I had an even more uplifting experience when I visited the fifth and sixth floors of the new university city centre campus to check out its facilities for our forthcoming Belfast: City of the Quarters conference.
On the top floors, I was met by the inspiring sight of scores of young people (perhaps hundreds) working in an openplan space, typing on laptops, listening to ipods, printing off architectural plans, working a huge loom, building block towns, sitting round a warehouse space critiquing a wallchart. In short, learning. It's as inspirational image of the new Belfast as you're likely to see: hopefully, we'll see it in brochures and videos soon.
But there's more. On the way out, I witnessed an encounter which restored my faith in the studentworld. A twenty-something student was scrambling over an exit turnstile when a member of staff approached and told her she could operate the exit turnstile by pressing a small button. "I know replied the young lady but I'm not cattle. I'm refusing to press a button to leave the college. This is my protest."
I love that. She'll go far and Belfast has a bright future as long as we nurture such creative souls.
And focal scoir or final word: tonight as I was going into the dinner, a beautiful young lady of colour saluted me in Irish. Turns out it was a Brazilian lady who has made her home here and who is a student of Irish on the campus. She's married to an equally talented but not quite as beautiful Shaws Road Irish speaker and I'm told the language of their young family is a mixture of Portugese and Irish.
Áthas orm go bhfuair mé amach inniu!
On the top floors, I was met by the inspiring sight of scores of young people (perhaps hundreds) working in an openplan space, typing on laptops, listening to ipods, printing off architectural plans, working a huge loom, building block towns, sitting round a warehouse space critiquing a wallchart. In short, learning. It's as inspirational image of the new Belfast as you're likely to see: hopefully, we'll see it in brochures and videos soon.
But there's more. On the way out, I witnessed an encounter which restored my faith in the studentworld. A twenty-something student was scrambling over an exit turnstile when a member of staff approached and told her she could operate the exit turnstile by pressing a small button. "I know replied the young lady but I'm not cattle. I'm refusing to press a button to leave the college. This is my protest."
I love that. She'll go far and Belfast has a bright future as long as we nurture such creative souls.
And focal scoir or final word: tonight as I was going into the dinner, a beautiful young lady of colour saluted me in Irish. Turns out it was a Brazilian lady who has made her home here and who is a student of Irish on the campus. She's married to an equally talented but not quite as beautiful Shaws Road Irish speaker and I'm told the language of their young family is a mixture of Portugese and Irish.
Áthas orm go bhfuair mé amach inniu!
Obama's bad hand; a Zogby analysis
Renowned US pollster John Zogby was speaking at a special dinner in the University of Ulster's Academy restaurant on its belfast campus this evening, as a prelude to his speech tomorrow at the college's DIVA communications conference.
(Run by students at the university's catering college, the food and service at the Academy were excellent.)
Zogby is a Lebanese-American who is one of America's best-known and most respected pollsters. Addressing current US politics, he said he felt that Obama had been dealt a bad hand on Afghanistan and had acted accordingly. He didn't declare a withdrawal and become "a cut and run President" but neither did he give an open-ended commitment on the war against the Taliban. The Afghanistan speech needs to be seen in the context of his other difficulties with the economy and healthcare reform.
He also noted the staggering statistic that 56 per cent of Americans could see themselves in poverty within a year — most likely because of a health emergency.
Obama, he added, had given a lot of Americans hope. "He gave hope to Hispanic-Americans, to African-Americans, who are not a growing part of our population but are a growing part of our electorate and hope to our creative class, those 36 million people working in the creative industries from the media to medicine, architecture to the arts," he said. "But with hope comes great expectations from the electorate and that brings the political danger of not being able to meet those very high expectations."
Mary's Gift gets Nelsonian Eye treatment
Minister of Culture Nelson McCausland has turned his not inconsiderable linguistic focus to the comments of leading Irish American Mike Breen who recently launched Mary's Gift to help fund Irish schools here.
You can read the Minister's full comments here — apparently Mike's name came up on the ministerial radio because he referred to Pádraig Pearse as a "patriot". Who would ever have thought?
"Here once again we see the influence of Irish republicanism on the Irish language movement." Amazing stuff. Nelson's just copped on that Pádraig Pearse is effectively the father of the entire Irish language revival.
There's a lovely picture of Mike and Coláiste Feirste pupils at the school on the blog? Looks like a Belfast Media snapper's work to me.
Maidin mhaith.
You can read the Minister's full comments here — apparently Mike's name came up on the ministerial radio because he referred to Pádraig Pearse as a "patriot". Who would ever have thought?
"Here once again we see the influence of Irish republicanism on the Irish language movement." Amazing stuff. Nelson's just copped on that Pádraig Pearse is effectively the father of the entire Irish language revival.
There's a lovely picture of Mike and Coláiste Feirste pupils at the school on the blog? Looks like a Belfast Media snapper's work to me.
Maidin mhaith.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Waterboy
In Cavan town today.
No problem getting parked off main street. Christmas shoppers were all in Enniskillen.
I ended up in Enniskillen later though had to drive through a flooded road. This is the gate at the side of the border road which gives you an idea of how slow the flood waters are receding.
In Inis Ceithleann, I hoped to congratulate Peter Quinn on joining an all-island party but turns out he simply addressed the Fianna Fáil Forum in Fermanagh, as asked, and remains party-less.
I did, however, bump into the redoubtable Domhnall Ó Cobhthaigh, former Sinn Féin councillor and one of our sharpest young political minds west of the bann. I was disappointed to hear that he'd left SF and sorrier still to hear he'd given up his council seat. He's lining out with Joe Higgins Socialist Party who are making waves though unlikely to cause a flood just yet.
Domhnall, of course, works for Peter Quinn Consultancy Services in Enniskillen which makes the office ripe for a TG4 soap, methinks.
I reached Béal Feirste again at 9pm, too late to cheer on Coláiste Feirste who went down to a better Edmund Rís team in the colleges' final in Casement Park today. Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach.
Happy birthday MacBride
From tomorrow's leader column in the Andersonstown News:
An entire generation of young people have now come of age in the North of Ireland under the protection of the robust fair employment code created by the MacBride Principles, launched 25 years ago.
It’s hard to believe now that these basic principles, named for human rights icon and Amnesty International founder Sean MacBride, ensuring equality for all in the workplace should have been resisted so bitterly by successive British governments.
Yet, sadly, the record shows that rather than welcome American moves to insist that any US company investing in the North commit itself to employing on merit alone, the British railed against the Principles.
Ultimately, of course, those efforts to hold back equality of opportunity on the shop floor were faced down by Irish Americans who kept up the pressure for fair play until the British had transformed the employment laws here.
Today the workplace is the most integrated part of society in the North of Ireland.
For helping to forge a better and fairer future, therefore, the signatories of the MacBride Principles — including Dr John Robb and trade unionist Inez McCormack — deserve enormous credit.
However, their work is not done. Structural discrimination still exists. It’s not by accident that 19 out of our 20 most disadvantaged wards are in North and West Belfast and in Derry.
Thus the work to ensure equal opportunity must also go on. Next week in the chamber of New York City Hall, Inez McCormack and Gerry Kelly MLA will join the leaders of Irish America to insist that part of the solution to enduring inequality is American oversight and investment. Hosted by our sister paper the Irish Echo, that auspicious gathering will salute the achievements of Irish America in winning the battle for MacBride but also in persuading US pension funds to invest in our fragile economy.
This paper welcomed the bold efforts by New York City and New York State comptrollers (treasurers) last year to build on MacBride by directing over $100m of pension funds to the underserved areas of the North. Unfortunately, those pension monies of hardworking New Yorkers have been caught in a bottleneck; not one cent has been spent.
The greatest epitaph for Seán MacBride would be for the pension investments of hardworking New Yorkers to be spent, as promised, in working class nationalist AND unionist areas along the peacelines of Belfast.
So here's to a happy 25th to the MacBride Principles. Long may they remain a standard for equality and an inspiration for those who battle injustice.
An entire generation of young people have now come of age in the North of Ireland under the protection of the robust fair employment code created by the MacBride Principles, launched 25 years ago.
It’s hard to believe now that these basic principles, named for human rights icon and Amnesty International founder Sean MacBride, ensuring equality for all in the workplace should have been resisted so bitterly by successive British governments.
Yet, sadly, the record shows that rather than welcome American moves to insist that any US company investing in the North commit itself to employing on merit alone, the British railed against the Principles.
Ultimately, of course, those efforts to hold back equality of opportunity on the shop floor were faced down by Irish Americans who kept up the pressure for fair play until the British had transformed the employment laws here.
Today the workplace is the most integrated part of society in the North of Ireland.
For helping to forge a better and fairer future, therefore, the signatories of the MacBride Principles — including Dr John Robb and trade unionist Inez McCormack — deserve enormous credit.
However, their work is not done. Structural discrimination still exists. It’s not by accident that 19 out of our 20 most disadvantaged wards are in North and West Belfast and in Derry.
Thus the work to ensure equal opportunity must also go on. Next week in the chamber of New York City Hall, Inez McCormack and Gerry Kelly MLA will join the leaders of Irish America to insist that part of the solution to enduring inequality is American oversight and investment. Hosted by our sister paper the Irish Echo, that auspicious gathering will salute the achievements of Irish America in winning the battle for MacBride but also in persuading US pension funds to invest in our fragile economy.
This paper welcomed the bold efforts by New York City and New York State comptrollers (treasurers) last year to build on MacBride by directing over $100m of pension funds to the underserved areas of the North. Unfortunately, those pension monies of hardworking New Yorkers have been caught in a bottleneck; not one cent has been spent.
The greatest epitaph for Seán MacBride would be for the pension investments of hardworking New Yorkers to be spent, as promised, in working class nationalist AND unionist areas along the peacelines of Belfast.
So here's to a happy 25th to the MacBride Principles. Long may they remain a standard for equality and an inspiration for those who battle injustice.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Foinse i mBéal Feirste
Ní hé an pictiúr is fearr é dár ghlac mé ariamh ach seo Emer Ní Chéidigh, foilsitheoir Foinse, lena comrádaí Tomás Mac an Rí, taobh amuigh den Chultúrlann i mBéal Feirste Dé Sathairn seo chuaigh thart.
Bhí seans ag Emer Nuacht 24 a bhreathnú agus í sa Chultúrlann. Cé déarfadh nár mhaith comhoibriú a bheith ann idir an dá nuachtán?
Breithlá sona do Phobal
Lá breithe shona do POBAL
Forbairt na heagraíochta ina slat tomhais ar na hathruithe le deich mbliain anuas
An mhí seo, bheidh sé deich mbliain ó osclaíodh oifigí POBAL, scáth eagras phobal na Gaeilge agus leis an dáta stairiúil seo a cheiliúradh, beidh bricfeasta speisialta ann ar 8.45 ar maidin, Dé hAoine 11 Nollaig in Óstan an Europa, Béal Feirste. Ag an ócáid, beidh ceoltóirí óga ó Choláiste Feirste agus ó Bhunscoil Phobal Feirste, chomh maith le scoth an bhricfeasta agus deis ag an lucht éisteachta díriú ar an mhéid atá bainte amach ag pobal na Gaeilge agus ag an scátheagras le deich mbliain anuas. Orthu siúd a bheidh ag tagairt do thionchar obair POBAL, beidh an Feisire Eorpach, Bairbre de Brún.
Dúirt PF POBAL, Janet Muller, ‘Is maith linn go bhfuil Bairbre de Brún in ann a bheith linn le tuairisc nua ar Acht na Gaeilge a sheoladh dúinn, mar gur thug sí cuidiú leanúnach dúinn ar an cheist seo sa Bhruiséil, ag díriú aird na bpáirtithe ar fad ar stádas na Gaeilge ó thuaidh.’ Seolfaidh Bairbre de Brún tuairisc POBAL atá bunaithe ar chainteanna saineolacha a thug Dafydd Iwan, Uachtarán Plaid Cymru agus Neasa Ní Chinnéide, Cathaoirleach an Biúró Eorpach do Theangacha Neamhfhorleathana, Éirinn ar cheist na reachtaíochta ag ócáid de chuid POBAL i mbliana.
Dúirt Janet, ‘Bhí tacaíocht agus deá-chleachtas idirnáisiúnta i gcónaí iontach tábhachtach dúinn, agus muid ag tógáil ar ár saineolas féin agus ar chumas phobal na Gaeilge an teanga a chosaint, a chur chun cinn agus a úsáid. Cé go bhfuil dearcadh ar leith ag roinnt páirtithe sa Tionól ar an Ghaeilge, le bliain anuas, d’éirigh le POBAL tacaíocht a fháil d’Acht na Gaeilge ó shaineolaithe i gComhairle na hEorpa, ó na Náisiúin Aontaithe, ó pholaiteoirí na Breataine Bige agus ar ndóigh, tá sé dearbhaithe ag rialtas na hÉireann go gcoinneoidh sé féin le gníomh ar an cheist i gcomhar linn.
Níos mó ná rud ar bith eile, is dócha, beidh deis ag pobal na Gaeilge ag an ócáid guth na Gaeilge ó thuaidh a cheiliúradh. Orthu siúd a d’iarr cúpla bomaite le labhairt faoi thionchar dearfach POBAL ar fhorbairt na Gaeilge, beidh Dónall Ó Cnáimhsí (Guth na Gaeltachta), a bhfuil baint aige leis an fheachtas in éadan chiorruithe rialtasacha ar an Ghaeilge, Pól Deeds (An Droichead), Pól Ó Frighil (Comhairle Dhoire), Réamonn Ó Ciaráin (Gael Linn), Daniel Holder (Coimisiún Um Chearta an Duine) agus daltaí ó Choláiste Feirste.
Dúirt Janet Muller, ‘Ar bhealach, tá forbairt na heagraíochta POBAL ina slat tomhais ar an athrú atá ar shaol na Gaeilge ó bhí Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta ann. Bunaíodh ag an pobal ó thuaidh muid leis an phobal a chosaint i gcúinsí ar leith an dlínse seo agus leis an teanga a chur chun cinn i gcóngar is i gcéin . Tá go leor bainte amach ag phobal na Gaeilge ó shin, ach go fóill tá bealach le dul, gan amhras. Tá muid ag dúil leis na dúshláin a shárú sa chéad deich mbliain eile!’
Happy birthday to POBAL
The development of the organisation is a yard stick for the changes of the last ten years
This month, it will be ten years since POBAL, the umbrella organisation for the Irish speaking community opened its offices and to celebrate this historic event, there will be a special breakfast event at 8.45 on Friday 11th December in the Europa Hotel. At the event, there will be young musicians from Coláiste Feirste and the choir of Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, all enjoying the best of breakfast spreads! There will also be a chance to take stock of what has been achieved by the Irish speaking community and by POBAL in the last ten years. Amongst those who will be looking back over the influence POBAL has had will be the MEP Bairbre de Brún.
Janet Muller, POBAL’s CEO said, ‘We are pleased that Bairbre de Brún is able to be with us to launch a new report on the Irish Language Act because she has given ongoing support to us in raising this matter in Brussels and making other parties aware of the status of Irish in the North.’ Bairbre de Brún will launch a POBAL report based on an event earlier this year, when the President of Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Iwan, and the Chair of the Irish Committee on Lesser Used Languages spoke in support of legislation at a POBAL event.
Janet said, ‘International support and best practice has always been very important to us as we built up our own expertise and the ability of the Irish speaking community to defend, promote and use the Irish language. Even though some of the parties in the Assembly have a particular attitude to the language, in the last year, POBAL has succeeded in getting support for the Irish language Act from experts at the Council of Europe, from the United Nations, from Welsh politicians and of course the Irish government has also confirmed that it will continue to work on this matter with us.
More than anything else, though, this event will give the Irish speaking community in the north the chance to celebrate its own voice. Amongst those who will spend a few minutes talking about the influence of POBAL, will be Dónall Ó Cnáimhsí from campaign group Guth na Gaeltachta which is opposing Irish government cuts to Irish, Pól Deeds (An Droichéad), Pól Ó Frighil (Derry Council), Réamonn Ó Ciaráin (Gael-Linn), Daniel Holder (NIHRC) and pupils from Colaiste Feirste.
Janet Muller siad, ‘in a way, the development of the organisation POBAL is a yardstick for the change that has taken place in the life of the Irish language community since the Good Friday Agreement. The community in the North established the group to help protect the Irish language in the particular circumstances of this jurisdiction and to promote Irish far and wide. The Irish speaking community has achieved a great deal since then, but there is still a way to go, without doubt. We are ready for the challenges of the next ten years!’
Forbairt na heagraíochta ina slat tomhais ar na hathruithe le deich mbliain anuas
An mhí seo, bheidh sé deich mbliain ó osclaíodh oifigí POBAL, scáth eagras phobal na Gaeilge agus leis an dáta stairiúil seo a cheiliúradh, beidh bricfeasta speisialta ann ar 8.45 ar maidin, Dé hAoine 11 Nollaig in Óstan an Europa, Béal Feirste. Ag an ócáid, beidh ceoltóirí óga ó Choláiste Feirste agus ó Bhunscoil Phobal Feirste, chomh maith le scoth an bhricfeasta agus deis ag an lucht éisteachta díriú ar an mhéid atá bainte amach ag pobal na Gaeilge agus ag an scátheagras le deich mbliain anuas. Orthu siúd a bheidh ag tagairt do thionchar obair POBAL, beidh an Feisire Eorpach, Bairbre de Brún.
Dúirt PF POBAL, Janet Muller, ‘Is maith linn go bhfuil Bairbre de Brún in ann a bheith linn le tuairisc nua ar Acht na Gaeilge a sheoladh dúinn, mar gur thug sí cuidiú leanúnach dúinn ar an cheist seo sa Bhruiséil, ag díriú aird na bpáirtithe ar fad ar stádas na Gaeilge ó thuaidh.’ Seolfaidh Bairbre de Brún tuairisc POBAL atá bunaithe ar chainteanna saineolacha a thug Dafydd Iwan, Uachtarán Plaid Cymru agus Neasa Ní Chinnéide, Cathaoirleach an Biúró Eorpach do Theangacha Neamhfhorleathana, Éirinn ar cheist na reachtaíochta ag ócáid de chuid POBAL i mbliana.
Dúirt Janet, ‘Bhí tacaíocht agus deá-chleachtas idirnáisiúnta i gcónaí iontach tábhachtach dúinn, agus muid ag tógáil ar ár saineolas féin agus ar chumas phobal na Gaeilge an teanga a chosaint, a chur chun cinn agus a úsáid. Cé go bhfuil dearcadh ar leith ag roinnt páirtithe sa Tionól ar an Ghaeilge, le bliain anuas, d’éirigh le POBAL tacaíocht a fháil d’Acht na Gaeilge ó shaineolaithe i gComhairle na hEorpa, ó na Náisiúin Aontaithe, ó pholaiteoirí na Breataine Bige agus ar ndóigh, tá sé dearbhaithe ag rialtas na hÉireann go gcoinneoidh sé féin le gníomh ar an cheist i gcomhar linn.
Níos mó ná rud ar bith eile, is dócha, beidh deis ag pobal na Gaeilge ag an ócáid guth na Gaeilge ó thuaidh a cheiliúradh. Orthu siúd a d’iarr cúpla bomaite le labhairt faoi thionchar dearfach POBAL ar fhorbairt na Gaeilge, beidh Dónall Ó Cnáimhsí (Guth na Gaeltachta), a bhfuil baint aige leis an fheachtas in éadan chiorruithe rialtasacha ar an Ghaeilge, Pól Deeds (An Droichead), Pól Ó Frighil (Comhairle Dhoire), Réamonn Ó Ciaráin (Gael Linn), Daniel Holder (Coimisiún Um Chearta an Duine) agus daltaí ó Choláiste Feirste.
Dúirt Janet Muller, ‘Ar bhealach, tá forbairt na heagraíochta POBAL ina slat tomhais ar an athrú atá ar shaol na Gaeilge ó bhí Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta ann. Bunaíodh ag an pobal ó thuaidh muid leis an phobal a chosaint i gcúinsí ar leith an dlínse seo agus leis an teanga a chur chun cinn i gcóngar is i gcéin . Tá go leor bainte amach ag phobal na Gaeilge ó shin, ach go fóill tá bealach le dul, gan amhras. Tá muid ag dúil leis na dúshláin a shárú sa chéad deich mbliain eile!’
Happy birthday to POBAL
The development of the organisation is a yard stick for the changes of the last ten years
This month, it will be ten years since POBAL, the umbrella organisation for the Irish speaking community opened its offices and to celebrate this historic event, there will be a special breakfast event at 8.45 on Friday 11th December in the Europa Hotel. At the event, there will be young musicians from Coláiste Feirste and the choir of Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, all enjoying the best of breakfast spreads! There will also be a chance to take stock of what has been achieved by the Irish speaking community and by POBAL in the last ten years. Amongst those who will be looking back over the influence POBAL has had will be the MEP Bairbre de Brún.
Janet Muller, POBAL’s CEO said, ‘We are pleased that Bairbre de Brún is able to be with us to launch a new report on the Irish Language Act because she has given ongoing support to us in raising this matter in Brussels and making other parties aware of the status of Irish in the North.’ Bairbre de Brún will launch a POBAL report based on an event earlier this year, when the President of Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Iwan, and the Chair of the Irish Committee on Lesser Used Languages spoke in support of legislation at a POBAL event.
Janet said, ‘International support and best practice has always been very important to us as we built up our own expertise and the ability of the Irish speaking community to defend, promote and use the Irish language. Even though some of the parties in the Assembly have a particular attitude to the language, in the last year, POBAL has succeeded in getting support for the Irish language Act from experts at the Council of Europe, from the United Nations, from Welsh politicians and of course the Irish government has also confirmed that it will continue to work on this matter with us.
More than anything else, though, this event will give the Irish speaking community in the north the chance to celebrate its own voice. Amongst those who will spend a few minutes talking about the influence of POBAL, will be Dónall Ó Cnáimhsí from campaign group Guth na Gaeltachta which is opposing Irish government cuts to Irish, Pól Deeds (An Droichéad), Pól Ó Frighil (Derry Council), Réamonn Ó Ciaráin (Gael-Linn), Daniel Holder (NIHRC) and pupils from Colaiste Feirste.
Janet Muller siad, ‘in a way, the development of the organisation POBAL is a yardstick for the change that has taken place in the life of the Irish language community since the Good Friday Agreement. The community in the North established the group to help protect the Irish language in the particular circumstances of this jurisdiction and to promote Irish far and wide. The Irish speaking community has achieved a great deal since then, but there is still a way to go, without doubt. We are ready for the challenges of the next ten years!’
MacBride silver lining
Legendary Irish American human rights attorney Brian O'Dwyer has made it possible for us to hold a special event in the chamber of New York City Hall next week to mark the 25th anniversary of the MacBride Principles on Fair Employment.
Here's a note from your host, Speaker Christine Quinn.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the MacBride Principles on Fair Employment.
On Tuesday, December 8, 2009, the New York City Council will be hosting a special reception and panel discussion titled "Building on MacBride". The event will take place from 4:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. at New York City Hall. This event, which is being co-sponsored by the Irish Echo newspaper, will feature a panel discussion with opportunities for audience questions and comments.
The MacBride Principles, consisting of nine fair employment affirmative action principles, are a corporate code of conduct for U.S. companies doing business in Northern Ireland. This will be a moment for us to reflect on the North's significant fair employment gains and to discuss how New York City and Northern Ireland can work together to build on these gains.
Among the invited speakers are: Niall Burgess, Consul General of Ireland in New York; Gerry Kelly MLA, a junior minister in the Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive and Sinn Féin representative for North Belfast; Inez McCormack, signatory of the MacBride Principles; and Joe Jameson, Irish American Labor Coalition. The discussion will be moderated by Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, publisher of the Irish Echo.
The Invite is here but you have to rsvp to attend.
Here's a note from your host, Speaker Christine Quinn.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the MacBride Principles on Fair Employment.
On Tuesday, December 8, 2009, the New York City Council will be hosting a special reception and panel discussion titled "Building on MacBride". The event will take place from 4:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. at New York City Hall. This event, which is being co-sponsored by the Irish Echo newspaper, will feature a panel discussion with opportunities for audience questions and comments.
The MacBride Principles, consisting of nine fair employment affirmative action principles, are a corporate code of conduct for U.S. companies doing business in Northern Ireland. This will be a moment for us to reflect on the North's significant fair employment gains and to discuss how New York City and Northern Ireland can work together to build on these gains.
Among the invited speakers are: Niall Burgess, Consul General of Ireland in New York; Gerry Kelly MLA, a junior minister in the Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive and Sinn Féin representative for North Belfast; Inez McCormack, signatory of the MacBride Principles; and Joe Jameson, Irish American Labor Coalition. The discussion will be moderated by Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, publisher of the Irish Echo.
The Invite is here but you have to rsvp to attend.
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