Official Communication from the UFA

Posted by Jim on February 27, 2021

Official Communication from the UFA

WTC Death

Retired Firefighter Dennis A. Farrell

Ladder Company 59

WAKE

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

T.J. McGowan Sons Funeral Home​

71 N. Central Highway

Thiells, NY 10923

FUNERAL

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

11:00 AM

Saint Gregory Barbarigo Catholic Church

25 Cinder Road

Garnerville, NY 10923

FDNY – WTC Health Program Wellness and Research Updates

Posted by Jim on February 26, 2021

Fr. Sean McManus’ Statement on Death of Norman Houston

Posted by Jim on January 17, 2021

The Irish National Caucus is deeply sorry about the death of Norman Houston, former Director of the NI Bureau in Washington, DC.

 Norman was a good and dedicated diplomat and public servant.

I guess the most important thing we say about others is not what we say on their death, but what we say to them while they are living.

So, let me quote what I wrote to Norman on January 12, 2018, thanking him for the ‘safe place/ambiance’ you have fostered and made bloom at the NI Bureau— defusing controversy and tension…. A real diplomatic achievement, of which you can be proud.”

In particular, I was very grateful to Norman for the respect and solidarity he showed to Raymond McCord, Sr. He met with

with Raymond and me when the Irish national Caucus brought Raymond to Washington in May 2009,to lobby for a Congressional Hearing on the 1997 murder and cover-up of his son Raymond, Jr. We achieved the Hearing which was later held in October 2009. And he met with Raymond, Barbara Flaherty, and me on Saturday, February 15, 2020, when we brought Raymond back to Washington—after Norman had retired from the NI Bureau.

To conclude on a lighter note —as Norman, despite his professional seriousness, liked to laugh— I made a point privately and publicly of addressing him as “Ambassador” (even though he was not) on the grounds that anyone who officially represented County Fermanagh had to be an Ambassador.

He would laugh heartedly at that.

Norman always reciprocated my solidarity, writing on September 12, 2019, “Dear Father Mc Manus: Thanks for all your support over the years. You have always been a gentleman and not afraid to tell the truth.”

God rest you, Norman, and God comfort your family and loved ones.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus
President

TWIN EVILS OF RACISM AND SECTARIANISM

Posted by Jim on January 10, 2021

Those of us who oppose colonialism and imperialism—and their twin-evils of racism and sectarianism—will appreciate this letter by a reader in the Irish Times of Dublin. And, it can be added, of course, sectarianism is exponentially fostered and condoned when enshrined to this moment in a State’s constitution—as in the British constitution, which in effect justifies the anti-Catholic discrimination on which Northern Ireland was founded one hundred years ago. Remember, to this day, all Orange leaders have affirmed their loyalty is not just to the British Crown but to “Protestant succession” to the English throne. Can, therefore, any rational person claim that the sectarian anti-CatholicBritish constitution has no bearing on sectarianism in Northern Ireland?—Fr. Sean McManus.

Ireland – an imperial past?

Alan Titley. Letters to Editor. Irish Ties.

Dublin. Wednesday January 6, 2021.

Sir, – Jane Ohlmeyer’s piece “Ireland has yet to come to terms with its imperial past” (Opinion & Analysis, (December 29th) was interesting insofar as it illustrated Ireland’s involvement in the British imperial project. She did not contend that this was a good or a bad thing, just that it happened. This is not in any way wondrously strange as all conquered people readily delivered up cannon fodder when demanded. Young Irishmen often fought for foreign armies, although we don’t query any longer their support for the French or the Austrian empires.The point about being implicated in the conquests of the British empire is that the Irish at home did not easily support these ventures. Nearly all (and I must be careful here as somebody might pluck up a few exceptions) of the ballads, songs and poems of the ordinary people laughed and mocked at the attempts to recruit the gullible for the slaughter of others or themselves. There are many determinedly anti-recruiting songs from Mrs McGrath to Arthur McBride by way of Johnny, I Hardly Knew You. You would search long and hard for songs of the ordinary people which glorified our participation in the British conquests.One of the more fascinating features of this entangled imperial story is how even though maybe a quarter or even a third of Wellington’s army were Irish mercenaries, many, or even most of our ballads, songs and poetry were in support of Napoleon – The Green Linnet, Welcome Napoleon to Erin, or Ráiteachas na Tairngreacht. Ditto and the same for the pointless Crimean War. While many unfortunate Irishmen were press-ganged into fighting for the British empire either physically, financially or culturally, it happened that the people at home disdained this loyalty with some passion and often with necessary humour.The salient point is that we haven’t forgotten about our participation in Britain’s imperial wars at all, as Prof Ohlmeyerseems to imply. A central plank of the Irish liberation struggles is that we didn’t wish to be part of foreign conquests anymore. We never forgot our enforced imperial participation. We remembered it all too well, hopefully with shame. We just wanted to reject it, once and for all.In a world of old empires dying and new ones being born it would be good if our rulers remembered that, now that we are members of the UN Security Council thanks to our rejection of that imperial past. – Yours, etc,

Women’s Christmas Ireland – Nollaig na mBan

Posted by Jim on January 6, 2021

Women’s Christmas in Ireland

Women’s Christmas is known by many names, including the Epiphany, Three Kings’ Day, Little Christmas or the 12th Day of Christmas.  January 6th was first celebrated as a feast day in the 4th century to commemorate Jesus’ introduction in human form. Here in Ireland the day is used to celebrate the women who have worked so hard to make the holiday season memorable for their families and communities.

All over the world, people celebrate some kind of festival at the end of the year. For Christians the celebration is known as Christmas it is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon.  In Ireland, Christmas is a family affair and it is celebrated throughout the country with all of its traditions being honoured. After the traditional Christmas celebrations on the 25th, the Irish celebrate Nollaig na mBan or Women’s Christmas.

Throughout Ireland, the 6th of January is the day that all the decorations come down and are put away for another year. The old tales say it is bad luck for anything to be displayed after this date.

Epiphany is the Christian celebration of the day on which the Magi arrived with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to honour the newborn Saviour – Jesus. Epiphany is one of the oldest Christian holy days that was adopted by the Western church in the 4th century. ‘Little Christmas’  got its name because, under the Julian Calendar, Christmas day celebrations were held in January, whereas under the Gregorian calendar, Christmas day falls on December 25.

The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

Twelfth Night, which coincides with Epiphany, has been celebrated as the end of the Christmas season for centuries. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, Twelfth Night was one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. Twelfth Night parties were common where participants enjoyed food, drink, and games. A special Twelfth Night cake was always baked and was the highlight of the party, with a slice offered to all members of the household, above and below stairs

In many areas of Ireland, you will see hotels, pubs and bars filled with women and not a man to be seen. This long-standing tradition (particularly in Cork and Kerry) is when women get to celebrate the end of Christmas and the men stay at home. All over Ireland, the ladies get together with friends and family to have a celebration meal and a bit of wine and company.https://297a5cbc48830c9858886824932e84b9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

Little Christmas is sometimes celebrated in areas that have strong Irish ties like Newfoundland in Canada and some US states. In the Highlands of Scotland, it is New Year’s Day, which is known as Little Christmas.https://297a5cbc48830c9858886824932e84b9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

In some areas of England, January 6th is referred to as Old Christmas Day referring to the Julian calendar. In the Isle of Man, January 1st was known as Laa Nolick in Manx (or Little Christmas) but it is also found in other parts of the world including Slovakia, Galicia and Ukraine. In Scandinavia, for example, the evening of 23 December is called Little Christmas, in Norway and Sweden Little Christmas falls on January 13th.https://297a5cbc48830c9858886824932e84b9.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

Some traditions around Ireland’s Women’s Christmas

1. Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, which is when the three wise men arrived to present their gifts to the baby Jesus on the date of January 6th.
2. Ireland appears to be the only country where January 6 is celebrated as Women’s Christmas. The tradition became popular as a way for women to recuperate after all the work of Christmas.
3. In his book The Year in Ireland: A Calendar, Kevin Danaher wrote that while Christmas Day “was marked by beef and whiskey, men’s fare”, on Women’s Christmas ” the dainties preferred by women – cake, tea, wine – were more in evidence”.
4. The day can be variously referred to as Little Christmas, Women’s Christmas or – especially in Cork and Kerry – Women’s Little Christmas.
5. January 6th has become the day that the decorations come down and are put away for another year – it is considered bad luck to keep them up after this date.
6. The tradition of holding a get-together with women friends may descend from the rural tradition of women raising a few turkeys, collecting eggs or creating Christmas fancies to sell off for Christmas. Historians suggest that the small earnings gained by the women selling their products would be used to buy Christmas gifts and food and any leftover monies were spent on themselves on January 6th.
7. On this night there is a tradition of lighting candles in every room of the house to banish the old year and bring in the new with the light.
8. Many hotels and restaurants have special offerings for the ladies on this day so they can get together over high tea or a gourmet dinner, relax and enjoy the company of their women friends.
9. Women’s Little Christmas is now being marked around the country for different reasons: it has become more a celebration of friendship and sisterhood, rather than a customary break from a long period of hard work.

Women’s Little Christmas Nollaig na mBan

Martin O Direain

There was power in the storm that escaped last night,

last night on Women’s Christmas,

from the desolate madhouse behind the moon

and screamed through the sky at us, lunatic,

making neighbours’ gates screech like geese

and the hoarse river roar like a bull,

quenching my candle like a blow to the mouth

that sparks a quick flash of rage.

I’d like if that storm would come again,

a night I’d be feeling weak

coming home from the dance of life

and the light of sin dwindling,

that every moment be full of the screaming sky,

that the world be a storm of screams,

and I wouldn’t hear the silence coming over me,

the car’s engine come to a stop.