ILIR efforts continue
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform is continuing its efforts throughout the Congressional summer recess, says the Irish Voice in New York. The group is hosting weekly local meetings to discuss tactics around the New York Area; volunteers have also been spreading the word through attending Irish festivals. In addition, Irish comedian Des Bishop will feature in fundraisers hosted by the ILIR and by the Aisling Immigration Center. The ILIR is also sponsoring a bus to participate in a cross-cultural rally in Washington DC on September 7. The group has also been attending Congressional hearings on the immigrant issue around the country, and will step up their efforts to pressure Congress on the issue this autumn.
Returning emigrants need info, says Brennan
Sunday, August 20th, 2006Unison.ie’s breaking news reports that Social Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan, speaking as he presented a cheque for €200,000 to the Emigrant Advice service, said that returnees must have all the up-to-date information needed to make the return process as smooth as possible. The report noted that 20,000 Irish people are coming home every year.
New York mayor to unveil Sligo monument
Thursday, August 17th, 2006In other news about Irish men serving in forces abroad, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York will visit Ballymote, Co. Sligo to unveil a monument to the 69th Regiment of the American Civil War – also known as the “Fighting Irish�. The monument’s base contains steel from the Twin Towers in memory of Sligo-born Michael F Lynch, a firefighter who died on 9/11.
Irish WWI soldiers to be granted pardons
Thursday, August 17th, 2006The British government’s announcement yesterday that it would seek pardons for the 306 soldiers who were shot at dawn for cowardice or desertion during World War I has been welcomed by Irish campaigners and Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern.. There were 26 Irish killed for such offences; Irish men were four times more likely to be executed as a result of court martial than British, Canadian, or New Zealand troops. The offences for which they were killed were repealed by British authorities in 1930; many of the offences were apparently related to post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2006, Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern called for pardons for the Irish-born soldiers shot by the British army; his department had produced a report, presented to the British government, that outlined the flawed justice the men had been subjected to.
http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/Press_Releases/20060328/2010.htm
Minister re-iterates support
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has re-emphasised the Government’s commitment to supporting the interests of the Irish abroad. He said, “This commitment is reflected in the fact that funding for emigrant services has never been higher. I am delighted that the unprecedented amount of €12 million has been allocated for this purpose this year. This follows on other substantial increases in recent years, so that funding is now twelve-times the sum that was available when this Government came to office in 1997.â€?
Commenting on the distribution of grants, the Minister said:
“So far this year I have been happy to announce grants exceeding €9 million. Most of this funding is being distributed to organisations in Britain that support Irish people there. In July I approved grants to over 140 organisations throughout Britain that are engaged in a wide range of activities of benefit to our community there.
The bulk of funding to groups in Britain, which I expect will reach some €9 million by the end of the year, is allocated to welfare projects that benefit the vulnerable members of our community there. I am also delighted that increased funding has enabled us to support a much wider range of initiatives in Britain than was possible in the past, including social, heritage and sporting projects which foster a sense of community.
The interests of the Irish in the United States remain an important priority for the Government. I have been happy to announce funding to organisations there of over €1 million. The information and advisory services provided by Irish organisations in the US make a critical difference for many members of our community there. These services are of particular value to the undocumented Irish whose welfare remains an issue of deep concern for the Government.
While most funding is directed to organisations in Britain and the United States, I have also been happy to announce financial support to a number of organisations in Ireland that are engaged in activities of benefit to Irish people abroad. I have also approved first time funding to Irish-Argentine community organisations. I look forward to announcing further grants later in the year to Irish community groups abroad, including to organisations in Australia and elsewhere.�
See the full press release on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
Pat Rabbitte called for a re-examination of nation…
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006Pat Rabbitte called for a re-examination of national policies on immigration as part of his speech on Michael Davitt to the Parnell Summer School. He warned against seeing immigration in solely economic terms and called for addressing the challenges of integration and assimilation.
He invoked the spectre of Ireland’s legacy as an emigrant nation:
“We should also do well to not forget our own national experience as a one time emigrant people. We should as a now receiving country, remember and recall the three dimensions of involuntary, large-scale emigration as it affected our country – the wrench of leaving home, the demographic hole – and its consequences – left behind, and the difficulties our emigrants and receiving populations faced in the destination countries. We should have in our collective memory the lessons from that experience and apply them in our remarkable new demographic setting. I am sure that is what Davitt would want us to do.”
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