℘℘℘ The Irish have made their mark all over the world. Following the 2011 Global Irish Economic Forum, the Irish government inaugurated the Presidential Distinguished Service Award as a way of recognising their impact on the international stage. Announcing the 12 recipients of this year’s awards, Tánaiste Simon Coveney said: “The contribution of the IrishRead more..
President Michael D. Higgins was in New York in September for the United Nations General Assembly, where he attended many high-level bilateral meetings with other world leaders. While in New York, he also participated in various other events around the city with the Irish diaspora. At the U.N., Higgins delivered Ireland’s national statement to theRead more..
Irish President Michael D. Higgins has been re-elected for a second term after receiving 56 percent of the country’s vote on October 26. He was first elected in 2011 and will now serve another seven years. The inauguration took place Sunday, November 11, at Dublin Castle. This year, the inauguration coincided with the centenary ofRead more..
When I was growing up in the 1980s, a photo of Pope John Paul II hung above many Irish fireplaces. That pope held a special place in Irish Catholics’ hearts, as he was the first and only pope ever to visit the country. He visited in 1979. There wasn’t another papal visit until this summerRead more..
On Monday, September 28th, President Michael D. Higgins gave the 11th Annual Emile Noël Lecture at the New York University School of Law on the subject of establishing economic fluency in Europe. The lecture, “The European Union – Towards a Discourse of Reconnection, Renewal and Hope,” is reprinted here in its entirety with the kind permissionRead more..
Two Irish leaders graced America’s eastern shores this fall – Taoiseach Enda Kenny and President Michael D. Higgins both visited the United States in late September of the year, the latter making his sixth official state visit of 2015. Kenny received an honorary degree from Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University, home of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute. “QuinnipiacRead more..
President Michael D. Higgins praised members of Misean Cara for their selfless work when he delivered the keynote address at the organization’s general meeting at Milltown Institute in Dublin in June. “It is possible to eliminate poverty, it is possible to eliminate disease,” President Higgins said. The president has long been an advocate of theRead more..
President Michael D. Higgins’s Christmas New Year message, broadcast from Aras on Uchtairan on December 31, remembered the Irish abroad, those who assist them, and the communities which have welcomed them. Higgins also encouraged those “who may be feeling distressed or lonely to look beyond the long dark nights, to the promise once again, ofRead more..
Winners of this year’s Presidential Distinguished Service Awards for the Irish abroad included actress Fionnula Flanagan, humanitarian Dr. Kevin Cahill, and activist and founding publisher of Irish America magazine, Niall O’Dowd. “Recognition from Ireland for the Irish abroad is always very special. I feel I am in very distinguished company,” O’Dowd, who was honored forRead more..
July 28 marked the one hundred year anniversary of outbreak of the Great War, and commemorations echoed around the world. Representatives from 70 countries, including Ireland, flocked to Liege and Mons in Belgium to take part in a day of remembrance. Irish President Michael D. Higgins was on hand to attend the many ceremonies andRead more..