Celtic fans spell it out for the management

The good news: I went to mass for the first time in yunks today, a sort of service before going over the top celebration by Fr Brian Jordan for the NYPD and New York Fire Department runners (in whose company I ran). It was marvellous.

The race itself was a challenge, of which more later, but I finished in respectable time and before the off presented Fr Jordan with $2,100 dollars donated by readers on the Balcony for the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus on the upper west side of Manhattan. A late contribution from Mark Guilfoyle and Casey Guilfoyle of Kentucky, fierce friends of Ireland, tipped us over the $2,000 target.

There'll be more later but for now, I was taken by this riveting picture from Celtic Park commenting on Celtic's use of the poppy on their rigs. The Celts went on to win 9-0 so I'm assuming the sentiment served to spur them on.

iphone folly and the intervention of the Holy Spirit

Not that anyone cares but this iphone caper is madness. Yesterday, it dropped phone connection entirely. Bad enough the internet reception is a mess: it refused to link with the UMass Lowell wifi system and all around me on the train down from Boston, business junkies were hammering away on their Blackberries as I gazed down forlornly at my stubbornly silent iphone. For the record, I've already invested in a steel casing for the iphone which is supposed to solve its woeful reception problem.

Please God, they'll give me my Blackberry back. Last straw has been the inability to link by bluetooth my iphone and Mac laptop (made by the same people) so that I can transport over the photos of Mayor Harvey, Hugh Commiskey et al.

I also tried to download an app — the one area where this gizmo is supposed to trump Blackberry — but gave up after an hour when it continued to refuse my credit card details (and this for a free app, by the way).

Anyhow, I'm signed up, have got my NYPD singlet which ensures me a ride out with the cops in the morning and access to their post-race shelter in Central Park and I'm also going to go to mass in the morning (for the first time in yunks), said by no less than Fr Brian Jordan at the starting point on Staten Island.

After that, it'll be me and the Holy Spirit for 26.2 lonely miles.

I wonder is there a patron saint of iphones. St Jude perhaps.

Lowell-Lawrence Fáilte

I hitchhiked a lift with the Mayor of Donegal and her party today to the city of Lawrence, where she was received by (pictured) Mayor Willie Lantigua (he joked with Micheál O hEanaigh, "you think I didn't get that pronounciation right, I'd like to see you try Lantigua!")

Mayor Lantigua is the first Latino mayor of Lawrence (and the first Latino Mayor in Massachusetts), once a powerhouse of Irish America, and is very proud of the city's links with the Dominican Republic. He has a great welcoming line: "Welcome to the great city of Lawrence."

After our visit to Lawrence, we dashed across to the University of Massachusetts Lowell where they have a nuclear reactor on campus of the usual sci-fi movie size and shape — I thought that was a joke but apparently not, nuclear physics is a speciality at UMass Lowell.

My iphone is out of power but I took a picture of a sculpture downtown of Hugh Commiskey who led the Irish navvies on a 30-mile trek to Lowell to build the canals which powered the mills (which led in turn to the Bread and Roses strike of 1912 in Lawrence). We also visited "The Acre", an acre of land donated to the Bishop by millowners to build St Patrick's Church. In its shadow arose an Irish shantytown which students from the archaeology departments at Queen's and UMass have been excavating. They recovered hundreds of items including rosary beads and children's marbles. The area of Fermanagh from whence they came has also been subject of a dig in a great example of inter-university collaboration which has caught the imagination of the public.

Behind the series of activities by the Irish Parnterships Center at UMass Lowell is Professor Frank Talty and his team and behind them is Chancellor Marty Meehan who gave a warm welcome to Mayor Harvey today. An exceptional and dynamic leader, former Congressman Meehan has shown what one focused, driven individual can do to boost a city's fortunes. In fact the building in which our reception was hosted had been abandoned by the previous heads of the university and left to wreck and ruin — until Chancellor Meehan insisted it be lovingly restored to its former glory with unbelievable views over the powerful Merrimack River.

Mayor Harvey addresses the Donegal Association tomorrow but for me it's the train to New York and my date with destiny! (Pictures and video from Lowell to follow.)

Flag going up

Lawrence, Massachusetts, is an exceptional American town. A former mill town built by the Irish, it is now rebuilding itself to meet the economic challenges of the 21st Century.

Its now a majority Latino town though the Mayor Willie Lantigua has a great grá for Ireland and sponsored a reception in the State House (when he was a State representative) for the Shankill-Falls economic mission which visited Massachusetts in 2007.

If my memory serves me, Lawrence was the first US city to recognise the Republic declared by the First Dáil.

Tomorrow, when Mayor Córa Harvey and the Donegal delegation visits Lawrence, they will be receive a warm welcome from Mayor Lantigua who has ordered that the flag of Ireland be raised outside City Hall in her honour.

Meanwhile, here's the Mayor presenting to Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Charles Murphy and I'm pictured with Rep Charles Murphy and Marc Lawrence of Heartsine, who has responsibility for marketing the company's portable defibrillators across the US.

Let's pick up the Aussies' cast-offs

Congressman Bill Delahunt

gave a rousing speech in support of Irish immigrants to the US last night at the launch in Boston of the Irish Network.

He said the E-3 Viss programme should be extended immediately to take in the Irish, noting that his own constituency in Massachusetts is "the most Irish" in the entire United States.

Ireland has a J Visa arrangement with the US which is all but meaningless. It's been extended to allow graduates to spend year in US but they must then return home, exactly about the time when they picked up some knowledge about the place and are ready to make a contribution.

An E-3 Visa on the other hand is a work visa which guarantees a Green Card which in turn can be a path to citizenship for those who want it.

I caught Congressman Delahunt's speech on video iphone and chatted with him after the event. He is convinced the established Irish need to do more for the undocumented and to achieve this E-Visa programme.

If push comes to shove, of course, we could always to to the Australians and ask them to let Ireland pull up their slack. Australia has about 10,000 E-Visas for its citizens each year and only uses about 2,500. Seems like a good opening and after all, they owe the Irish too.

Mayor Harvey at Golden Bridges, Boston

Mayor Cora Harvey, the first Sinn Féin Mayor of County Donegal in 80 years, the first woman mayor of the county since the reorganisation of local government in 2000, and the first woman speaker at a Golden Bridges lucheon went down a treat when she addressed our annual event in the marvellous Marriott Copley Place Hotel earlier today.

Interestingly, among the statistics from her native county was that almost one third of the county's population is under 25 — quite a selling point to investors.

She was joined by Cllr Dessie Larkin of Fianna Fáil and County Manager Seamus Neely as well as Henry McGarvey, ceo of Pramerica Ireland who was joined by his manager John Fox who came up from the New Jersey headquarters of parent company Prudential to applaud Henry for being among our honorees today.

The memory stays strong

If you want to understand where Irish America is coming from, read the home page of attorney John Foley, the Boston immigration expert, who recalls the moving story of his grandmother's journey to America...and how she never forgot.

John, of course, continues in that tradition...he was an observer at Drumcree, gave evidence to the Rosemary Nelson tribunal about his work with the assassinated human rights lawyer and has pioneered some of the most innovative ideas ever in Irish America including Irish TV.

You can see his grandmother Delia O'Toole's story here.

Democracy catching on

I see the democracy bug is catching, the High Court in Dublin today scolded the Irish Government for failing to call the Donegal by-election after a challenge by Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty.

And bad news for First Minister Peter Robinson whose call for the abolition of Catholic schools won't cut much ice with the incoming Speaker of the US Congress, who it turns out is not only a Republican (but not the type of republican you think, Peter) but also a fervent supporter of Catholic schools.

Fr Sean McManus sends me this excerpt about Congressman John Boehner


"Now that he may be on the verge of becoming speaker, Boehner finds he has many more friends who can't wait to meet him. Every October, he holds a charity dinner in Washington to raise money for Catholic schools. (He used to co-host the event with Kennedy.) Last year, it drew a modest crowd, and Boehner pleaded with those in attendance to recruit more donors. This year, he had no such trouble. When Boehner arrived for the dinner, the ballroom was packed"

Over the line

A good news story from the US election is that Tom DiNapoli, Comptroller of New York State, beat off a stiff challenge from republican contender Henry Wilson (who he had dubbed "a wizard of Wall Street").

DiNapoli, who has veteran civil rights advocate Pat Doherty at his side, has made repeated commitments to investing state pension funds in the Irish peace process and this victory gives him a four-year term to get his plans over the line.

In Massachusetts, where we host our Golden Bridges luncheon later today, the Democrats saw off the republican challenge — a clear sign that they took on board the Tea Party surge earlier this year which gave Scott Brown the Senate Seat of the late Ted Kennedy. Interestingly, in many constituencies, Democrats in Massachusetts don't have challengers. One exception to that rule is State Senate President Therese Murray

(who will join us later today), a staunch ally of the Irish peace process who is especially committed to working with organisations in the Derry-Donegal region. She also saw off the Republican challenge. (Picture courtesy of Cape Cod Times.)

Ag rith an ráis

Tá an ceann scribe sa Pháirc Lárnach romham anois Dé Domhnaigh agus seo bhur seans deiridh le cupla pingin a chaitheamh sa sparán don Athair Brian Ó Siúrdáin agus a phobal in Eaglais an Ainm Naofa.

Tá mé céasta ag cléithíní loirg (amharc suas é ar focal.ie, rud a rinné mé féin) ach críochnóidh mé an 26.2 míle le cuidiú Dé.

Deis iontach mar sin leis an phíosa iontach a scríobh an tAth Brian ar an reathaíocht a chló arís ó tharla gurb é an reathaíochta an rud is cóngaraí don chreideamh dá bhfuil agam.

RUNNING FOR MY RELIGIOUS LIFE by Father Brian Jordan, OFM, Labor Priest and Immigration Counselor at Holy Name Church, Upper Westside, Manhattan.

On April 19, 2010, I will be running in the Boston Marathon. This will be my 60th overall marathon. It will also be my 20th Boston Marathon. Many people have asked me why do I run? As a Franciscan priest for 27 years, I tell people that I am ‘running for my religious life.” It is not that I am running away from something rather I have a distinct goal to run toward something meaningful. What is meaningful is completing a goal that I set out for with support from my fellow runners, the spectators and Almighty God. There are many aspects to a marathon. Here are some aspects of a marathon with anecdotal experiences from my previous 59 marathons.
SPIRITUAL I ran my first marathon in Boston on Easter Monday in April, 1979. I ran as a “bandit”—an unofficial runner. The most I have ran before that was 10 miles and lots of spiritual reading. I should have done the reverse. I finished the course in 3 hours and 34 minutes. During my first marathon at age 24, I began to reflect on the numerous Biblical verses associated with running. For instance from the Old Testament, Isaiah 40:31, “They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary.” In the New Testament with 1Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.” I have not and will never win the Boston Marathon or any other marathon. For me, each person wins when they finish a marathon. As a Franciscan priest, I take comfort in the words of Philippians 3:14 “I run toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” I don’t just run for myself but a marathon is a paradigm of life of beginning something then finishing that goal together with other people not just yourself. Personally, running a marathon is a prayer of praise to God for the gift of life.
PHYSICAL Running a marathon is indeed an incredible feat. You cannot just run on blind faith. You have to train with many, many miles in preparation for a marathon. I was lucky in my first marathon but even then I realized that to run another marathon would require more training. I recall meeting the nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis at the beginning of the New York City 2000 Marathon and he wished us well but admitted that even as a Olympian, he could not run a full marathon. WOW! Incredible honesty from this great champion. In 2006, I was near the world famous Cyclist Lance Armstrong right before the NYC Marathon. He had admitted that running a marathon was tougher than competing in Tour de France. He emphasized the importance of substantive training. Marathon training is a year round effort. Likewise, the marathon season is also year round which includes all types of weather. The coldest marathon I ran in was the 1995 NYC Marathon which occurred on the second Sunday of November rather than the customary first Sunday. Even before the race started, it was 18 degrees wind chill factor. At least 300 runners opted out of the race due to the frigid temperatures and gusty winds. I finished the marathon in about 4 and a half hours and was truly grateful when it was over. The hottest marathon I ever ran in was the 2004 Boston Marathon in which the temperature hovered over 88 degrees and the humidity was quite high. I finished the race in a little more than five hours and saw many running casualties along the way. I prayed for each and every one of them and thanked God I was not one of them. Running a marathon requires one to drink plenty of fluids before and during the marathon. And for you Irish runners—that does not include shots of Jameson and pints of Guinness! For most people, running a marathon will be the most physically challenging feat that you will ever do. You will lose weight and feel better about yourself. Learn to persevere in a marathon! Recall the words of Hebrews 12:1 “Let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us.”

EMOTIONAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL Running reduces stress and anxiety. At the same time, a novice marathoner should have reasonable expectations of oneself. Otherwise they can increase stress and anxiety along the marathon course. I have seen way too many first time marathoners trying to exceed personal goals by running faster than planned which eventually causes them to drop out of the race due to sheer exhaustion. I always tell people “to keep pace with God’s grace.” Keep your emotions and psychological framework in check. I urge runners to practice meditation before and during a race. Your emotional well-being is essential to run a satisfactory marathon. Current events can also affect the emotional-psychological make-up of runners. I vividly recall the atmosphere of both the 1980 and 1990 Marine Corps Marathons in Washington D.C. both in the late fall. In 1980, the Iranian hostage crisis was still ensuing and tragic fatalities were occurring in Central and South America. There was a sense of anger among many members of the armed forces who were running that day. I asked them to channel their anger to psychic energy to run a good marathon. Many listened to me, others ignored my pleas. In 1990, there was nervous tension among the armed forces in anticipation of the First Gulf War which commenced in January, 1991. Many were supporting their fellow troops already stationed in Kuwait. Others were awaiting their orders to be assigned to Kuwait after the marathon. I prayed for peace in their hearts, minds and souls. I especially prayed that they return home safe and sound with their loved ones. A little reassurance is always welcomed in a marathon.

Two of the most emotionally draining marathons was the October 2001 Chicago Marathon and the November 2001 New York Marathon. Both took place after the terrible attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the downed plane in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Security was at an all-time high for both marathons due to the uncertainty of whether there would be a terrorist attack at each respective marathon which numbered in the 30 thousand range. In Grant Park, Chicago, we prayed for the victims of the attacks and for the safety of all runners.

In New York, where I served as a chaplain at Ground Zero, I gave a fiery sermon at a prayer service for the runners from the New York City Police Department , the Fire Department of New York, the Port Authority Police, the FBI and other uniformed services. I yelled out “that recall on the day of September 11, 2001, many people fled from both the World Trade Center and lower Manhattan and I say today, Nov.4, 2001 let us run toward Manhattan and take it back for America.”

Of all the 27 years I have preached as a Franciscan priest, I never heard such an enthusiastic and raucous response to any homily I gave that day to over 200 uniformed service personnel and their friends. We all ran with great inspiration that day and we received tremendous support from the overflowing crowds along the streets of the five boroughs that comprise New York City. Not all marathons can match the same drama but can still be emotionally satisfying. For example, the Boston Marathon is my favorite marathon for its tradition, its tough, rugged course and for their great fans along the way. While I was running my 50th marathon before I turned 50 in 2005, I personally chose the Boston Marathon due to its charm and also being the site of the first marathon I ever ran.

INTELLECTUAL It has been said that marathon running is 90 percent thinking and 10 percent physical. After certain marathons, I thought it was the reverse. Nevertheless, positive thinking is essential in running a satisfying marathon. We need to stimulate intellectual growth in a positive way when we run in a marathon. Contrary to this belief, in the Toronto Marathon in 1995, I ran my worst marathon in 5 hours and 43 minutes. I walked about 5 miles. My training was quite good but I was immersed in negative thinking. I complained about the water stops in that particular marathon. I complained about Toronto police officers letting certain cars get in front of the runners and how we cursed not only the drivers but also the police. Initially, due to my negative thinking, I was blaming external factors beyond my control. The only one to blame for this horrid performance was myself. I misled myself with useless, negative thinking.

We need other people to influence us towards positive thinking. One prime example was in October, 2009 when I ran my tenth Chicago Marathon step for step with a Chicago-based psychologist. He emphasized the importance of positive thinking as crucially important not only in marathon running but in all intellectual developments of life.

Being intellectual in a marathon also means learning how to improvise. When I ran the October 31, 2005 Dublin Marathon, I was mortified to find out that there were only 8 water stations along the Dublin course. In most marathons, like New York, Chicago, Boston and others, there were at least 20 water stops. Despite my pleading with the race director at the marathon exhibit two days before the race, my fellow Franciscans from St. Anthony’s Church in Merchant Quay advised me to improvise during the race. While looking over the map of the city which included the course, the Irish Franciscans implored me to knock on the doors of four Irish families in four different neighborhoods of Dublin. One Irish friar said “ When they open the door, tell them who you are and that you need a glass of water. The Irish are famous for their hospitality and will gladly give you the water.” I took their advice and randomly selected four homes in four different neighborhoods. Much to my surprise not only did I receive the water but in each Irish household they asked me, “Father, before you go, can you first bless my house?” And I did as requested. Nothing for nothing for the Dubliners! So much for the price of hospitality and intellectual improvisation.!

COMMUNAL
It is my firm belief that no one really runs alone in a marathon. Besides your fellow runners, there are many people along the way who are rooting for you as you try your best to finish the marathon. I do not call them spectators but that they are active participants! I truly appreciate them because they are active and vocal with their participation. Many a time when I feel like slowing down or giving up during a marathon, a friendly voice gives me encouragement to finish the race. I am truly grateful for that person and I always wish after the marathon that I could embrace that person and say thank you. Marathon running is not merely an individual effort rather it is a communal celebration of humanity from all walks of life. Besides my fellow runners and the active participants, I am especially grateful to the volunteers who give out water, gels, fruit, ice and other helpful items. I am grateful to the police and fire departments to protect us. For the medical personnel and the musicians who soothe the body as well as the soul.

For most of my marathons, I run for a special cause: a fund for AIDS victims; operations for disabled children; funds for a food pantry; funds for the unemployed; funds for a retirement fund for elderly religious, etc. This year, for my 60th Marathon before I turn 55, I will run for St. Anthony’s Shrine near the Downtown Crossing in Boston, MA. I served there for three years and I have stayed there every time I ran in the Boston Marathon. It is a great spirit-filled place that serves well the People of God. A marathon is like life. It includes many people from the day we are born until the day we die. I liken the starting line of a marathon to our birth on earth and the finishing line as the end of our life on earth to the beginning of eternity with God in Heaven. The words of the Second Letter of Timothy 4:7 sums it up best: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” That is why I am running for my religious life!

This article is dedicated to my running partners throughout the 31 years of running marathons—stretching into 4 decades!
Vincent McCarthy Oliver Boyle Terry Prince James Smyth The Active Particpants

Wailing walls

I hadn't seen this probing Robert Fisk piece from earlier this year until now, thanks to Niall Meehan for forwarding.