Intelligencer

GOAL Founder’s Controversial Remarks

It is “inappropriate for us to send money,” said GOAL founder and chief executive John O’Shea

on Irish radio, commenting on the Irish government announcement that they would send Œ1 million to New Orleans to help with the tragedy there.

GOAL is one of the largest aid agencies in Europe and has been first to the scene in many Third World tragedies, including the current one in Darfur.

O’Shea called the idea of Ireland sending aid as “ludicrous as having a collection for Bill Gates.” He stated that the 30 members of the Irish defense forces that were being sent to the Gulf coast area to help with rescue efforts was also a bad move.

O’Shea charged that efforts to have Irish forces sent to other trouble spots for disaster relief around the world had been resisted.

His comments, given the fact that GOAL gets major U.S. government funding and has large Irish American fundraisers, has many of his supporters here incensed.

O’Shea has never been known for his diplomatic tact, but this particular time has crossed a line with most people over here. Given the massive sums invested in Ireland over the years by the U.S. the Irish government donation towards relief efforts is very small beer in comparison, but extremely welcome nonetheless.

O’Shea’s organization, which does incredible work in the Third World, has long held a very successful dinner in New York to raise funds. O’Shea himself has had a remarkable career, making a profound difference to the lives of millions in the Third World through his single-minded efforts.

The attack on the Irish government funding, however, will hit deep over here. While the amount is relatively insignificant it does represent a goodwill gesture from a country which has closer ties to the U.S. than almost any other country in the world.

It seems churlish in the extreme to take issue with this act of friendship.

Katrina Tops The News

Not surprisingly, the Hurricane Katrina story has been the focus of major headlines in Ireland in all the newspapers there, though some of the angles are intriguing to say the least.

One report was headlined “Cannibal Claims Amid Growing Racial Tension,” a reference to a discredited report that survivors had “begun eating corpses to survive.” Never let the truth get in the way of a good headline, though. Headlines like “Anarchy” and “Rape Horrors” were also widespread.

There was also an amount of grim satisfaction evident in the Irish reporting, glee at the fact that the America of President George W. Bush had received a very bloody nose in its own back garden.

The unpopularity of the Bush administration is extraordinary, according to one colleague who recently retired and moved back to Ireland. The war in Iraq in particular has sent his stock plummeting in Europe from its high right after September 11.

Ambassador Still Popular

Despite President Bush’s unpopularity in Ireland his ambassador there, Chicago businessman James Kenny, is one of the most popular to ever hold the post.

That seems paradoxical, but after a string of unimpressive envoys, most notably the last one, Richard Egan, Kenny has made a huge effort to get to know the Irish people.

Indeed, Kenny is so well liked that he is a major “get” at any event he attends there, and seems to have a great ability to get on with friend and foe alike. He has certainly impressed those who have seen him up close in the job.

Quiet Man Revealed

If you have seen The Quiet Man — and who hasn’t? — you will know that the theme song the “The Isle of Inisfree” is replayed no fewer than 11 times in the movie which stars Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne.

The song was originally a huge hit for Bing Crosby in 1952. The sheet music sold over 150,000 copies in Ireland and Britain at the time, an incredible amount.

So was “The Isle of Inisfree” another Hollywood creation, penned by some composer who wanted to make Irish Americans misty eyed about the old country?

Not really. In fact the writer and composer was Richard Farrelly, an Irish policeman who wrote the tune while sitting on a bus between Kells in Co. Meath and Dublin, about a 30-mile trip.

The fascinating tale is retold in the sleeve notes of a new CD called Legacy of a Quiet Man compiled by Farrelly’s son Gerard Farrelly and Sinead Stone.

The collection was brought together after Gerard found literally hundreds of songs his father had composed in an old attic. The result is a beautiful CD, featuring “Inisfree” as its lynchpin.

You can order it from seoltarecords@ireland.com or from Dara Records in New York.

Judge Running

One of the more interesting candidates for election this month is Judge Kristin Booth Glen, who is running for Surrogate’s Court judge of New York County.

Glen has long been active on Irish issues and is a former New York Supreme Court Justice.

She has much backing in the Irish community, including from the law firm of O’Dwyer and Bernstien, where she recently met with Irish community leaders. She is in a tough battle and is appealing for Irish American support.