Putting a smile on the face of Belfast

Some uplifting images of the new MP for East Belfast, Lord Mayor Naomi Long.

Including with the Antrim Ladies GAA team in City Hall after their all-Ireland heroics last year; opening the Belfast City of Quarters conference in March; at the unveiling of a portrait for her predecessor Tom Hartley of Sinn Féin; with Anna Lo MLA, Pól Deeds of An Droichead and Bairbre de Brún MEP at An Droichead Cultural Centre in South Belfast; and launching Rith 2010 from Belfast with deputy Lord Mayor Danny Lavery and Cllr Caoimhín Mac Giolla Mhín.

Apologies for the Belfast Media Group watermark.

The last photo shows the Lord Mayor at the City of Quarters conference with Tom Dunne, Vice President of Fordham University, James Browne of University College Galway and Antonio Hermosilla of Barcelona.

The cup that cheers

The final count tally at this BBC site shows Sinn Féin ended up topping the poll in terms of votes cast and in percentage terms. In Fermanagh-South Tyrone, the party triumph saw 21,300 votes go to the Orange Order/Unionist candidate and 21,304 to Michelle Gildernew.

In total, Sinn Féin polled 171,942 votes, 25.5 per cent, an increase of 1.2 per cent since the last election. The SDLP is down one percentage point to 16.5 and 60,000 votes behind. (110,970).

And interesting to hear Michelle Gildernew just say on radio that special thanks goes to Alex Maskey who fell on his sword in South Belfast as part of what will now be seen as a Sinn Féin masterstroke.

So much for Sinn Féin's "dirty sectarian deal"! In fact, it seems that Fearghal McKinney's career may have started and ended in the same month as he didn't manage to get enough votes to win even one Assembly seat for the SDLP. Fearghal is a great journalist and a gentleman but he's not a politician so don't be surprised if he bows out.

Masterstroke or just class move

At 11am, the latest recount in Fermanagh-South Tyrone will start.

I woke up during the night to find on each occasion that the vote in the constituency was see-sawing between Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew and the unionist/Orange Order candidate.

At this stage, she's two votes ahead. If she wins, the decision to withdraw from South Belfast will be seen as a SF masterstroke, concentrating minds in Fermanagh South Tyrone and holing Fearghal McKinney below the waterline.

We travel in hope. I am in the BBC on Ormeau Avenue going over to Raidió na Gaeltachta at 10am and was able to congratulate Lord Mayor Naomi Long in person when she came into the green room. She tells me her parents have passed, and she has no siblings, which is a pity because one of the great personal joys of election is being able to share the moment with parents and family.

I also hear one of her team's election slogans in east Belfast was, "don't vote orange, vote ginger"!

Naomi wins the east

I've been saying for some time that Naomi Long is a formidable politician and public representative — not to mention a wonderful Lord Mayor of Belfast — so it's wonderful that she's broken the mould in east Belfast.

By toppling the Robinson dynasty, she has written a new chapter in local politics, delivering the electoral coup de grace to the troubled First Minister.

A warm politician who likes people and her profession — believe me you'd be surprised how many politicians don't like people — she opens up the possibility of a new era of close cooperation between east and west Belfast.

I am in the BBC studio doing some interviews: some quick pointers — Gerry Kelly had one of the campaigns of the election, increasing the SF vote by 7 per cent and coming within striking distance of the DUP.

Come home this year

Tourism Ireland has stupendous offices on Park Avenue in New York with incredible views of the Big Apple.
But like the rest of us they are having to come up with ever-more imaginative ways to boost visitor figures in light of the global recession.

One major fillip to under-pressure tourist visits should be the new Come home this Year campaign which stresses the great value now available in Irish hotels and guest houses and the fact that the beleaguered Irish are certain to roll out the red carpet to the visitors who make it to the Emerald Isle.

However, playing havoc with all the plans and projections is this Icelandic volcano.

I am heading out to Newark for the flight home in the hope that a ban on flights to 7am in the morning is liftef to enable us to land at 9am. If not, I am not sure what the pilot will do. He can certainly not divert to Iceland.

And it's a little late to be applying for a postal vote so I travel in hope. I am predicting Michelle Gildernew will shade it in Fermanagh, Alasdai McDonnell will be returned again in South Belfast, Peter Robinson will suffer the biggest drop in his personal vote since he entered politics and Sinn Fein will emerge the biggest party (even without South Belfast). I would kick myself if I wasn't able to play my part in making that little bit of history in a Westminster election.

First outing for Irish

Full marks to Kate McCabe of the Irish American Unity Conference (pictured in Washington DC's beautiful Union Station) for putting together the first ever hearing on Capitol Hill about Irish language discrimination in the North.

Pic just in: Kate McCabe, Janet Muller, Domhnall Ó Catháin, Micheál Ó Duibh at the hearing room on Capitol Hill. Picture by Jacqueline Quinn LaRocca. The second shows Janet, Kate and Micheál in front of the Congressional building.

There was a sizeable turnout of Congressional staffers and chiefs of staff who came to listen to powerful presentations by Janet Muller of rights group Pobal, Micheál Ó Duibh of Pobal and Domhnall O'Cathain of the Brehon Law Society who took no prisoners in a scathing assault on the 1737 ban on the use of Irish in NI courts.

Janet called for a resolution from Congress opposing discrimination against the Irish language and calling for the promised Irish language Act to be introduced. This is only the first step in a process but my hunch is that while the British and the unionists at Stormont find it easy to stonewall nationalist demands for equal rights, they'll find it a little bit more difficult to sell that type of bigoted approach to the US Congress.

Voices raised for IFI funding

At last! An influential group of Irish American leaders have raised their voices against the rundown of the International Fund for Ireland.

Back in March 2008, I raised the 'sunset' arrangements for the IFI on this blog and said it was a mistake, born from the mistaken belief that the peace was a destination rather than a journey.

In essence, no voices have been raised in Ireland against the decision to wrap up the IFI — even though it played a vital role (with US, EC, Canadian and Australian funds) in providing funds which made many projects possible in emerging areas of the North.

For example, in 2001, Forbairt Feirste's offices at An Nasc were built on the Falls Road, thanks to a 50 per cent grant from the IFI.

In recent weeks, according to the Irish Echo, the Ireland-US Alliance has suggested the funds be diverted to the Mitchell Scholarship programme. In response, the letter below has been penned by Irish American leaders. In my view, if the IFI is to continue, its objectives should be redefined to ensure it does more work on Irish language capital developments. The Irish language community remains discriminated against at every level of government and the British failed to live up to their pledges in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Similarly, unionist ministers in the Executive have prided themselves on blocking funding for Irish language initiatives. The newly-established Irish Language Development Fund would surely be a safe port for the IFI monies if it is to be wound up.

All of which is particularly relevant as I make my way to Capitol Hill for today's briefing on the Irish Language in the North.

Here's the letter:


Dear President Obama,

We ask for your support in continuing the critical work of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI).

The United States can look with great pride on its key role in establishing peace in Northern Ireland. To build this peace, the United States unselfishly sacrificed time, talent, and resources. Friends of Ireland are extremely grateful for this effort.

In spite of this success, now would not be the time to lessen the push for full reconciliation. Recently, a radical group exploded a bomb at a British facility. We must work to prevent such groups from attaining their intended purpose of undoing the good work the United States so nobly facilitated.

The I.F.I. has an ongoing impact on the restoration of civil society that allows the local democratic government of Northern Ireland to move forward on the final hard issues of policing, reconciliation, jobs, and justice. Its mission is to tackle the underlying causes of sectarian violence and build a new peaceful, democratic society in Northern Ireland.

This crucial work faces new challenges in today’s economically depressed Ireland. Unemployment is way up, and young people are especially affected. To complete the task so well begun, the I.F.I. must provide the assistance needed to guarantee a civil society and a developing democracy, and to prevent a return to violence in Northern Ireland.

Please join us in supporting the funding in Congress for the I.F.I.


SIGNED:
Michael Carroll Congress for American Ireland Relations
Jim Cavanaugh Irish Americans for Obama NE Attorney Omaha
John Connorton Irish Americans for Obama NY
Tony Culley-Foster Chairman Northern Ireland -U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jim Gaffey Atlanta President The Gaffey Group International Consultant
Loretta Glucksman Chair American Ireland Fund
Gavan Kennedy Irish American Information Service
Celine Kennelly Executive Director, San Francisco Irish Immigration Pastoral Center
Billy Lawless President Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform
.Katherine McCabe President Irish American Unity Conference
Kieran McLaughlin CEO American Ireland Fund
Sarah McAuliffe-Bellin President Pittsburg Chapter Irish American Unity Conference
Fr. Brendan McBride President Irish Apostolate USA
Fr. Sean McManus Irish National Caucus
Bruce Morrison Former Congressman
Bart Murphy Chairman Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform San Francisco
John C. Myers President Ohio Irish Congress
Niall O'Dowd Publisher Irish Voice Newspaper and Irish America Magazine
Brian O'Dwyer Chair Emerald Isle Immigration Center
Rosemary O'Neill International Consultant
Stella O'Leary President Irish American Democrats
Paul Quinn American Ireland Fund DC
Tom Quinn Former Observer to the International Fund for Ireland
Ciaran Staunton President Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform New York
Kevin Sullivan Washington Ireland Program
Mark Tuohey Patten Commission on Policing Northern Ireland
Carol Wheeler Irish Americans for Obama
Bill Young NJ Ancient Order of Hibernians

St Bríd and Georgia

A quick jaunt over to the Brooklyn Museum today, in smashing summer weather, to see Judy Chicago's famed tribute to the world of women in her mammoth artpiece 'The Dinner Party'.

The work consists of 39 place settings each commemorating an important woman in history. Places are set for Susan B. Anthony, Emily Dickinson, Virginia Wolff, a series of godesses and our own St Brigid. The table sits on a pedestal on which the names of 999 other famous women in history are written.

Finished by Judy Chicago in 1979, the feminist homage to great women was blocked from showing at some museums because each placing has a plate on which is sculpted or painted what the artist describes as a butterfly but what to the man on the street looks like female genitalia. St Bridget, for example, has a flaming 'butterfly' not unlike An Claidheamh Soluis beloved of Pádraig Pearse and the early Conraitheoirí.

The museum itself is a revelation and well worth a subway ride over from Manhattan.

Afterwards, Michael Patrick MacDonald, who has made Brooklyn his home, took me for a walk around the neighbourhood before we had dinner at a South African restaurant called Madiba, the term of affection South Africans use for Nelson Mandela. The owner is a Henegan who hails from South Africa. Not sure how the Henegans ended up there but perhaps someone can bring us up to date with the Irish story from Major John MacBride to the present day.

St Bridget wasn't the only Irish flavour to the day. As you can see, the sorbet-vendor outside the museum (pictured with its marvellous new entrance) was selling sorbet in the national colours.

Aontroim stairiuil

Ta me I mo shui ar an eitealan a bhearfas go Nua Eabharc me - agus, sea, ta me ag stopadh a dheas do Times Square (ar ndigh nil ach dha dhealbh mora ag Times Square agus is Eireannaigh iad beirt mar sin ca hait eile a stopfainn ach Broadway).

Cupla cead meadar o dheas d'Aerphort Aldergrove, ta comhartha nua curtha in airde ag Comhairle Aontroma: 'Welcome to Historic Antrim'. Faoi, ta an focal failte I roinnt mhaith teangacha, creidim.

Tomhais cad I an teanga arsa as Aontroim stairiuil nach bhfuil I measc na dteangacha ar an chomhartha.

Beidh me ar ais le votail Deardaoi, am a dtig liom grianghraf den chomhartha a fhail daoibh.

Idir amanna, ta me ag duil go mor le cuairt a thabhairt ar Capitol Hill De Mairt ait a mbeidh toscaireacht de Ghaeilgeoiiri ag tabhairt fianaise maidir leis an leatrom ar an Ghaeilge o Thuaidh.

Cad é mar fhulaingíonn tú? (How do you suffer?)

Paul Haller is co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center. His buddy, the actor and wannabe poet Michael O'Keefe told the Cultúrlann audience at his soup-and-bread reading on Wednesday that an Irish guy had got the job, obviously, "through a clerical area". (Jude Collins reviewed Michael's first collection for us.)

But while they're sorting that error out, Michael is doing a great job which isn't bad for a former St Mary's CBS boy who hails from the Cullingtree Road.

He also give me a shameless 'hook' for this piece about the elections in the Guardian Comment is Free section.

We met for dinner on Thursday night after the pair of them had finished their Black Mountain Zen Centre meditation classes for local participants. All religions and none go to these reflective and supportive sessions which are made possible by the wonderful transatlantic support by these two Irish Americans for their Belfast outpost which is headed up by our Zen guy Frank Liddy.

At Thursday's class, two of Paul's class carried out their dialogue in Irish — he marked that up as a first for him. The question each person asks the other is, "How do you suffer?" As emphathetic questions go, that's a fairly liberating one.

I'm not entirely sure what Zen in — which wasn't helped by Paul's answer to my question is it Buddhism: "It is and it isn't" But I suspect the planet could do with more of it. They aren't, for example, big on war or material consumption, preaching instead the gospel of moderation and meditation.

They have found a good place to work: post-conflict Belfast is full of walking wounded. Suicide rates among working class communities are frightening, a sub-group of young people has lost all respect for society and thinks nothing of beating or stabbing to death anyone who crosses their path, and alcholism and domestic violence blight too many lives. Among all that, a little Zen TLC can only be to our benefit.

Paul believes we're at our happiest when we do good to others and sees his job as bringing out the good in us. Now there's a honourable way to put your time in.

Pictured, l-r, are Michael O'Keefe, Paul Haller and Frank Liddy of the Black Mountain Zen Centre in front of the hills which gave them their name.

A vote denied is democracy denied

Only in this Godforsaken place could the guy in charge of the electoral process pride himself in halving the number of people allowed postal or proxy votes in a poll.

But that's the case with Chief Electoral Office Douglas Bain — you will remember him standing to attention as the TUV belted out 'The Queen' at the Euro election count — who says the drop of 47 per cent is "largely because of stringent measures put in place to detect fraudulent applications". To Sean and Sinéad Citizen, that means almost half of those who applied last time round were potential vote-stealers. Rubbish.

Bain says this is another blow to those who are hell-bent on fraudulent voting. However, it's the police's responsibility to prosecute vote-stealers. I don't remember them prosecuting anyone after the last election. You can take it they won't this time either despite the statement by Bain's office that they have passed on some applications to the PSNI>

Thankfully, Sinn Féin have hit out again at this denial of the franchise. Surely, we will some day have enough control over our own affairs to ensure all those who are entitled to vote get to vote.

(The picture is too good not to use again, Bain is on the far right.)