Consul General Will Be Missed

The just announced imminent departure of Tim O’Connor, Irish consul general in New York, is a huge blow to the community.

O’Connor, 54, has been given a major promotion and will head up the office of Irish President Mary McAleese. It is one of the top jobs in the Irish civil service and is richly deserved.

Even though he will have spent less than two years in New York when he departs after the March St. Patrick’s festivities, O’Connor has had a lightning rod impact on the community.

Blessed with an eternal air of optimism and an indefatigable constitution, he made the Irish government a huge force for good in the community.

His stamina was legendary as he appeared to attend every single Irish event within hailing distance of the city. Many Irish organizations which had not seen an Irish government representative for years found themselves once again on the radar screen.

But it is O’Connor’s role as a catalyst for change in the short time he spent here that is most indelible.

He took a leadership role in the establishment of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, realizing soon after he was here that helping undocumented Irish citizens was a major part of his work.

A patron of the arts, O’Connor initiated and drove the discussion behind a new cultural heritage building for the Irish. The discussion reached its logical conclusion last week when actor Gabriel Byrne hosted 24 Irish American leaders from business and community at the Irish Consulate to set in motion the creation of such a landmark Irish building in Manhattan.

Last weekend over 200 young Irish professionals gathered in downtown Manhattan for a mix and meet, another O’Connor initiative to spark a network among young Irish professionals under 40. The network has so far proven highly successful and sets the stage for the next leadership group in Irish America.

He also arranged for Irish government support to chronically under-funded artistic and community organizations. He realized that it was time for the Irish government to give back to a community which over the centuries has given so much to Ireland.

Those are just a few of his remarkable accomplishments, and there are so many more. Suffice to say that we may never see his likes again. He will be sadly missed.

Niall O’Dowd

Lake Joins Obama

Tony Lake, former National Security advisor in the Clinton administration, is an interesting recruit for Senator Barack Obama in his race for the White House.

Lake was a key point man on Northern Ireland for President Clinton and did powerful work convincing the president in the first place that Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams should receive a visa to come to America.

Also working with Obama is Irish-born Samantha Power, the Harvard lecturer on human rights who has taken a leave of absence for the last year to work with the Illinois senator.

Power was actually born in Dublin but moved to the U.S. at the age of nine. She has written a Pulitzer Prize winning book on genocide.

Another Irish connected Obama advisor is Jim Steinberg, a senior official at the National Security Council in the Clinton era who was also very active on the Irish question.

All of which seems to indicate that when it comes to Irish issues, Obama will be well briefed and have competent advisors around. It will be interesting to hear when he first begins talking about the subject.

Who Will Kennedy Back?

Now that Senator John Kerry has announced he will not seek the Democratic nomination for president, Senator Edward Kennedy no longer has to stick by his Massachusetts colleague and endorse him for president.

Kennedy’s support is vital for any Democrat hoping to win the nomination. Last time around he campaigned with Kerry in Iowa and is widely credited with turning the stuttering candidacy around. He even loaned his own staff to Kerry and made the set-up far more professional.

Now, however, with Kerry out of the race, the support of the liberal lion is up for grabs.

He has good relations with all the contenders, though in the end it would be very hard for him to pass over his best friend of long standing, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who announced his run this year. Insiders also say that Kennedy has a real soft spot for former Senator John Edwards, whose economic populism strikes a real chord with him.

It may be that Kennedy will stick with Dodd, and if the Connecticut senator drops out he will then make a hard choice as to who he will support. There is no question his selection will be eagerly awaited.

Hillary Nixes Ireland

Senator Hillary Clinton’s proposed trip to Ireland this spring has been definitely postponed because of her presidential run.

Plans for the trip were going ahead until it became obvious that the presidential campaign was about to kick off a full year before previous contests began.

Clinton is receiving over 1,500 requests a week to speak, according to aides, a phenomenal number. Indeed, even major events in other states are being shunted aside as she focuses everything on the key states she must win to launch her campaign next year.

With the winning candidate expected to spend up to $500 million, it really has become a mad dance.