A rapid reaction force of 450 Irish soldiers landed in Liberia as part of the U.N.'s 15,000-strong military intervention in the war-torn West African country. The troops will take part in a peace enforcement mission that is expected to last between three and four years. It is the Irish Army's first U.N. engagement since the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon came to a close last … [Read more...] about Irish Troops Land in Liberia
News
Gilligan Case Adjourns
The Court of Criminal Appeal in Dublin adjourned an application by convicted drug dealer John Gilligan. Three years ago the Special Criminal Court acquitted Gilligan of the charge of murdering journalist Veronica Guerin but sentenced him to 28 years imprisonment for drug dealing. It is the longest sentence ever handed down by an Irish court for a drug-related offense. Counsel … [Read more...] about Gilligan Case Adjourns
Irish Family in the U.S. Faces Deportation
The holiday season was a tense one, to say the least, for the McAllister family. Days before Thanksgiving, federal agents raided their New Jersey home in the dead of night. Before Christmas, it became a distinct possibility that all six Belfast natives would be deported. Now, the McAllisters are awaiting a crucial decision from an appeals court in Philadelphia. When that … [Read more...] about Irish Family in the U.S. Faces Deportation
Northern Ireland in Crisis?
The more things change, the more they stay the same, was one cynic's response to the election results in Northern Ireland on November 26, which resulted in overwhelming victories for Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Gerry Adams's Sinn Féin Party. Other, less cynical observers point out that the majority of voters, 70 percent, chose to support pro-Agreement … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland in Crisis?
Immigrant Ghosts on the Street of Ships
There's a row of lead laundry sinks on the third floor of an old building on the Lower Manhattan waterfront where Irish women worked in the 19th century. And beyond the laundry drying racks, Gaelic graffiti appear in ghostly but bold script on the old brick walls. "Erin Go Bragh" is writ large. So is "Faugh a ballagh" (clear the way), a famous battle cry, perhaps recorded by a … [Read more...] about Immigrant Ghosts on the Street of Ships