9/11 Ceremony in Ireland
Posted by Jim on July 29, 2026
Ireland announces €125 million package of bilateral support to Ukraine
Posted by Jim on July 26, 2026
Ireland’s new support package “will help Ukraine defend itself from these attacks and save civilians’ lives,” the Taoiseach says.
IrishCentral Staff
@IrishCentral
Jul 23, 2026
JTaoiseach Micheál Martin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. July 23, 2026:
The support includes a €100 million allocation towards the provision of priority non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine, the Department of the Taoiseach said in a statement on Thursday.
It also includes a €25 million allocation to support the restoration and protection of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, with a focus on energy ahead of winter.
Over €670 million in support
The Department of the Taoiseach said on Thursday that, as well as hosting very significant numbers of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, Ireland has also provided substantial support of over €550 million to Ukraine since February 2022.
This includes over €254 million in humanitarian and stabilisation supports (including €27 million in energy supports), over €200 million in military support, as well as €94 million in non-lethal military support to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility (EPF).
This is in addition to equipment provided by the Irish Defence Forces, such as radar systems, vehicles, and satellite communications systems.
The decision, the Department said, to provide an additional €125 million in bilateral support builds on support provided to date and will bring Ireland’s support for Ukraine to over €670 million when disbursed.
The Department added that the military funding provided is fully in line with the Government’s position of providing non-lethal military support to Ukraine, and our support for Ukraine’s right to self-defence under the UN Charter.
Taoiseach in Kyiv
The new package was announced the same day the Taoiseach arrived in Kyiv “to express the Irish people’s solidarity in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression on Ukraine.”
During his visit, the Taoiseach will engage with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian authorities on “how Ireland and the EU can respond to Russia’s aggression and support the country’s current, and future, needs.”
“Support for Ukraine is a top priority for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU”
Speaking from Kyiv on Thursday, the Taoiseach said: “The people of Ireland stand with Ukraine and its people in the face of Russia’s immoral and unprovoked war of aggression.
“It is devastating to see first-hand the impact of Russia’s campaign of aerial attacks targeting Ukraine’s towns and cities.
“The support announced today will help Ukraine defend itself from these attacks and save civilians’ lives. It will also help Ukraine prepare for the winter to come, protecting and repairing energy infrastructure.
“Support for Ukraine is a top priority for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU and we will continue to work with our EU and international partners towards a just and lasting peace, and security for Ukraine, based on the principles of the UN Charter, with justice and accountability at its heart.”
Minister McEntee added: “Ukraine is a central focus of our EU Presidency. We will work to strengthen our support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to end its brutal war of aggression.
“Russia continues its indiscriminate attacks against Ukraine’s towns and cities. Tragically, civilian casualties are now at their highest since the full-scale invasion began. Our support will help defend Ukraine from these brutal attacks.
“Russia is also once again cynically targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure ahead of winter. Last winter, millions were left without heat or electricity in temperatures of -20°C. Our support will help repair that damage and will assist efforts to build resilience ahead of the coming winter.
“We are committed to supporting Ukraine’s EU accession path.”
“It makes a difference”
In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said in part: “I thank Ireland and all our partners across Europe, in America, and around the world for their tangible support – and for a new support package from Ireland. It makes a difference. I thank all the people of Ireland for caring.”
Irish American killed in 9/11 honored in new GAA Museum exhib
Posted by Jim on July 25, 2026
Damian Meehan’s GAA tops and medals are included in a new exhibit dedicated to his memory at the GAA Museum in Dublin’s Croke Park.
Kerry O’Shea
Jul 24, 2026
Irish American Damian Meehan was 33 years old when he was killed in the 9/11 attacks.Irish American Damian Meehan was 33 years old when he was killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Damian Meehan, an Irish American who was killed in the 9/11 attacks, has been honored with a new exhibit that was unveiled at the GAA Museum on Thursday, July 23.
Meehan, the son of immigrants from Co Donegal, was raised in the Inwood section of Manhattan. He grew up playing Gaelic football, first for Good Shepherd and later for New York GAA’s Donegal club.
A trader at Carr Futures, Meehan was on the 92nd floor of World Trade Center’s Tower One when it was struck on September 11, 2001. The 33-year-old was survived by his wife, fellow Irish American Joanne, their young son, and a daughter who was born after his tragic death. The family was living in Glen Rock, New Jersey, at the time.
Damian’s brother Mike told the Irish Examiner in 2002 that Damian’s body was found intact less than a month after the attacks in a stairwell with dozens of firemen.
“He was on his way down,” Mike said at the time, “he was found with his good friend Denis McHugh.”
His funeral at Good Shepherd drew thousands.
Meehan’s family later donated one of Damian’s GAA medals commemorating the All-Star team he played on in 1997 to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in NYC.
The GAA said the exhibition unveiled this week includes Meehan’s New York senior football team jersey from the 2000 season, his New York U21 football championship medal, his 9/11 missing poster, and a 9/11 memorial etching.
It also includes a framed memorial sculpture by the artist Nicola McClean, whose husband Paul McCormack, a former NYPD Inspector, is a good friend and former teammate of Meehan’s. McCormack is also the Executive Director of Ground Zero 360, which honours the sacrifice of the victims and their families of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Ground Zero 360 said McClean’s American flag sculpture incorporates wood from Gaelic Park in New York, Croke Park in Dublin, and Sean MacCumhaill Park in Donegal. Its star is crafted from steel recovered from the World Trade Center and holds Damian’s Under-21 Championship medal, “symbolising the enduring bond between Ireland, New York, and the spirit of remembrance.”
McCormack said on Thursday: “Damian was one of the nicest gentlemen you could ever meet in your life.
“He always had a big smile on his face, he was a tremendous sportsman, a tremendous family man, a wonderful friend, just a tremendous human being.
“It means a lot to have Damian honoured on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 by having his items now on permanent display in Croke Park. There’s just no better place for it.”
Speaking on behalf of the Meehan family at the unveiling, Damian’s first cousin Seóg Campbell said: “It’s a privilege and a pleasure to be here on such an occasion, and we’d like to thank Paul [McCormack] and everybody else who helped pull this together.
“My Uncle Mike emigrated to New York in 1961 along with Auntie Peig to make a better life. They had 10 children, eight of them boys, and Mike’s big focus was always GAA, and he was heavily involved in New York GAA.
“Damian was such a lovely lad with a big smile and to do this for him and for us as a family is just tremendous. Uncle Mike in particular would be smiling from ear to ear. Auntie Peig is 93 now, and she’s very grateful.
“We’re all just so thankful that Damian is the person chosen to represent all the other Gaelic footballers and people with connections to this wonderful organisation who were lost on 9/11.”
Jarlath Burns, President of the GAA, was also in attendance for the unveiling. He thanked the museum staff for the exhibition.
“We are commemorating one person out of over 3,000 who lost their lives in 9/11 and as long as we remember that one person we remember every person,” Burns said.
“Damian loved the GAA and was somebody who wanted always to give back, and the GAA is the place where we all belong. It is about giving, it’s not about taking. That’s what’s so special about the GAA and that was what was so special about Damian. He never wanted to be famous, he would never have wanted this, all he wanted was to play GAA, represent his county, and to work for his family.”
US Ambassador to Ireland Ed Walsh, Guest of Honour at the exhibition unveiling, commented: “Today we remember not just tragedy but also celebrate a remarkable life.
“Damian Meehan embodied the very best of both America and Ireland. He was a proud son of Ireland and gifted Gaelic footballer and a cherished member of New York’s Irish community.
“Through the GAA, he carried with him the traditions, friendships, and values that connected him to home even while building a life across the Atlantic. There’s something especially fitting about remembering him here at Croke Park. This is a place that celebrates community, identity, and belonging.
“For so many Irish immigrants, the GAA became a home away from home. It gave them friendship, purpose, and enduring connections with places and people they loved. Damian lived that story.
“His life reminds us that the bond between Ireland and the United States are not just measured only in diplomacy or trade, they are measured in people, families, and the shared traditions of communities that span the Atlantic.”
A public inquiry is needed to establish the whole truth
Posted by Jim on July 24, 2026
Statue of Mary outside a building.
By The Irish News
July 24, 2026 at 6:00am BST
We have had many previous major inquiries into clerical child abuse, which helped to establish the full appalling scale of the issue, but the latest report released earlier this week is among the most harrowing to date.
It is absolutely essential that the document called Investigation Into Experiences of Victims and Survivors of Historical Clerical Child Abuse, written by Prof Tim Chapman, helps to ensure that the appalling errors of judgment made by a range of institutions in the past can never be repeated.
The initiative was based on the oral accounts of 37 survivors – 24 men and 13 women – with 25 of them linked to the Catholic Church, ten from a Protestant background and two with no present religious affiliation.
It noted that, while public awareness of the wider scandal had been predominantly within Catholicism, the research confirmed that clerical abuse was an institutional issue across most religious denominations.
Some profoundly shocking individual accounts were detailed, including the case of one woman who was subjected to serious sexual and physical abuse by a Protestant pastor who was described as having a particular interest in young girls.
He was said to be associated with “demon culture”, told her she had the “spirit of Jezebel”, and beat her so badly when she resisted his advances that she feared she had suffered broken ribs.
A Catholic woman was subjected to years of grooming by a priest, with the perpetrator offering to support her therapeutically, as part of an overall experience she regarded as “soul murder”.
The authors of a related report on safeguarding measures said progress had been made through the development of policies for faith-based organisations, but some “notable challenges and inconsistencies” still remained.
It is positive that first minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly have spoken of their commitment to engaging with victims and survivors, and strengthening safeguarding protections in faith settings, but much more needs to be done.
The Northern Ireland Survivor Council has specifically said that it is calling for a new era of safeguarding reform, “built on collaboration, accountability, and shared responsibility”.
Attention will now switch to the prospect of a public inquiry, an option which will plainly need to be urgently considered by the Executive Office in the coming months.
Similar previous exercises have not always delivered credible and comprehensive outcomes, but the victims and survivors have clearly indicated that this is the direction in which they want the authorities to go.
In all the circumstances, there will be an expectation that a public inquiry, with firm and appropriate terms of reference, will be confirmed with the minimum of delay.
IRISH REPUBLICAN NEWS
Posted by Jim on July 23, 2026
100 years of the Irish national anthem
Amhrán Na bhFiann was officially adopted as Ireland’s national anthem 100 years ago this week. Aontú councillor Peter O’Donoghue calls for the song to be made a compulsory element of the school curriculum.
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This is the 100th anniversary of the official adoption of Amhrán Na bhFiann as our national anthem, and it is fitting that we do all in our power to ensure it is taught in primary and secondary schools.
It is a fabulous anthem and gained major traction as a marching song during the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence, not least here in Cork, where the mountains reverberated with the sound of it as brave men and women sang it passionately.
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolising a country’s history, culture, and values. It fosters unity, instils national pride, and serves as an official sonic representation of a state. National Anthems are sung with pride in countries throughout the world.
Living in Alberta, Canada, and working with a construction company which was contracted to do maintenance work for public buildings in the province, I often worked on jobs in schools which were open and operating as schools as maintenance works were carried out. When working in these schools, the first thing that would happen every Monday morning was that the National Anthem of Canada was sung by all the pupils. It was a very powerful experience.
I spoke to cousins of mine in New Zealand, and they told me that they sang the New Zealand National Anthem every Friday in school.
A friend of mine living in Kenya, Derry Desmond from Watergrasshill, who operates the Charity, Le Cheile Africa, sent me a message this morning of a picture of 400 Kenyan children singing their national anthem this morning. They sing it every Monday and Friday morning. Fantastic to see.
Many other countries across the world make it mandatory for students to sing their countries’ National Anthem every week, including The United States, Mexico and India, to name a few.
As a result of students having to sing their national anthem every week, the people in all these countries, from young students to the elderly, know their national anthem off by heart and as a result sing it with pride and gusto.
Unfortunately, we cannot say the same here in Ireland. Many Irish people don’t actually know their own national anthem and therefore don’t understand the significance or meaning of it and unfortunately can’t sing it.
The Irish state is actually failing by not ensuring that every Irish citizen is taught Ireland’s national anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann, in Irish classrooms. This has to change!
In the future, all children who attend primary and secondary school in Ireland should be taught our national anthem, Amhrán Na bhFiann. The best way to do this, in my opinion, is for every student to sing it at least once a week in school, and the best year to make this a compulsory part of our schools’ weekly education programme is this year, 2026, the 100-year anniversary of our official adaptation of Amhran na BhFiann as our national anthem.
HISTORY
‘The Soldier’s Song’ was first published in the Irish Freedom newspaper in 1912. It gained more popularity when it was sung by the Volunteers in the GPO in 1916. Following the Easter Rising, it replaced “God Save Ireland” which had been the unofficial anthem of Irish nationalists.
The English lyrics were written by Peadar Kearney. He was a brother of Kathleen Behan and an uncle to renowned Irish writers Brendan Behan, Dominic Behan and Brian Behan. He was a co-founder of the Irish Volunteers and took part in the Howth and Kilcoole gun runnings in 1914. During the Easter Rising, he fought at Jacob’s biscuit factory under Thomas MacDonagh, one of the seven signatories of the Irish proclamation.
Patrick Heeney composed the melody for The Soldier’s Song on a melodeon as he was unable to write music. He died in 1911 aged just 29 years of age. He is buried in Drumcondra Cemetery, where a plaque on the wall honours him.
Liam Ó Rinn translated the song into Irish as ‘Amhrán na bhFiann’ . He took part in the Easter Rising and the War of Independence and was interned in Frongoch in Wales. He was an accomplished linguist; he had a command of Russian, French, Spanish, Welsh and German and translated works from several European writers.
Only the chorus of the Irish language version is used as the Irish national anthem.
The following is the full text of Amhrán Na bhFiann, in both English and in Irish:
English version:
I
We’ll sing a song, a soldier’s song
With cheering rousing chorus
As round our blazing fires we throng
The starry heavens o’er us
Impatient for the coming fight
And as we await the morning’s light
Here in the silence of the night
We’ll chant a soldier’s song
[Chorus]
Soldiers are we
Whose lives are pledged to Ireland
Some have come
From a land beyond the wave
Sworn to be free
No more our ancient sireland
Shall shelter the despot or the slave
Tonight we man the maw of danger
In Erin’s cause, come woe or weal
‘Mid cannons’ roar and rifles’ peal
We’ll chant a soldier’s song
II
In valley green, on towering crag
Our fathers fought before us
And conquered ‘neath the same old flag
That’s proudly floating o’er us
We’re children of a fighting race
That never yet has known disgrace
And as we march, the foe to face
We’ll chant a soldier’s song
[Chorus]
Soldiers are we
Whose lives are pledged to Ireland
Some have come
From a land beyond the wave
Sworn to be free
No more our ancient sireland
Shall shelter the despot or the slave
Tonight we man the maw of danger
In Erin’s cause, come woe or weal
‘Mid cannons’ roar and rifles’ peal
We’ll chant a soldier’s song
III
Sons of the Gael! Men of the Pale!
The long-watched day is breaking
The serried ranks of Inisfail
Shall set the tyrant quaking
Our camp fires now are burning low
See in the east a silv’ry glow
Out yonder waits the Saxon foe
So chant a soldier’s song
[Chorus]
Soldiers are we
Whose lives are pledged to Ireland
Some have come
From a land beyond the wave
Sworn to be free
No more our ancient sireland
Shall shelter the despot or the slave
Tonight we man the maw of danger
In Erin’s cause, come woe or weal
‘Mid cannons’ roar and rifles’ peal
We’ll chant a soldier’s song
Leagan Gaeilge:
I
Seo díbh a chairde duan Óglaigh,
Caithréimeach bríomhar ceolmhar,
Ár dtinte cnámh go buacach táid,
‘S an spéir go mín réaltógach
Is fonnmhar faobhrach sinn chun gleo
‘S go tiúnmhar glé roimh thíocht don ló
Faoi chiúnas chaomh na hoíche ar seol:
Seo libh canaigí Amhrán na bhFiann.
[Curfá]
Sinne Fianna Fáil
Atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua
Thar toinn do ráinig chugainn.
Faoi mhóid bheith saor,
Seantír ár sinsir feasta
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráil
Anocht a théim sa bhearna baoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil chun báis nó saoil
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar
Seo libh canaigí Amhrán na bhFiann.
II
Cois bánta réidh, ar arda sléibhe,
Ba bhuach ár sinsir romhainn,
Ag lámhach go tréan faoin sárbhrat séin
Tá thuas sa ghaoth go seolta
Ba dhúchas riamh dár gcine cháidh
Gan iompáil siar ó imirt áir,
‘S ag siúl mar iad i gcoinne namhad
Seo libh, canaigí Amhrán na bhFiann.
[Curfá]
Sinne Fianna Fáil
Atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua
Thar toinn do ráinig chugainn.
Faoi mhóid bheith saor,
Seantír ár sinsir feasta
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráil
Anocht a théim sa bhearna baoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil chun báis nó saoil
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar
Seo libh canaigí Amhrán na bhFiann.
III
A bhuíon nach fann d’fhuil Ghaeil is Gall,
Sin breacadh lae na saoirse,
Ta sceimhle ‘s scanradh i gcroithe namhad,
Roimh ranna laochra ár dtíre.
Ár dtinte is tréith gan spréach anois,
Sin luisne ghlé san spéir anoir,
‘S an bíobha i raon na bpiléar agaibh:
Seo libh, canaigí Amhrán na bhFiann.
[Curfá]
Sinne Fianna Fáil
Atá faoi gheall ag Éirinn,
Buíon dár slua
Thar toinn do ráinig chugainn.
Faoi mhóid bheith saor,
Seantír ár sinsir feasta
Ní fhágfar faoin tíorán ná faoin tráil
Anocht a théim sa bhearna baoil,
Le gean ar Ghaeil chun báis nó saoil
Le gunna-scréach faoi lámhach na bpiléar
Seo libh canaigí Amhrán na bhFiann.