Kilkenny's Aidan Fogarty under pressure from Conor O'Brien and Conor O'Mahony of Tipperary (INPHO)

Allianz Hurling League Division I Final: Kilkenny 2-17 Tipperary 0-20

Kilkenny retained their Allianz Hurling League Division I crown with a three-point victory over Tipperary in a tough and very tight game on Sunday afternoon.

Michael Fennelly scored two goals in the first 21 minutes for the Cats, who led by 2-7 to 0-11 at the break, and they just about edged the second half to claim league honors and score a crucial win over their great rivals in front of their own fans at an electric Nowlan Park.

Both sides finished with 14 men after Lar Corbett and JJ Delaney were shown straight red cards following a 45th minute incident.

In a game played at championship pace, Kilkenny defended superbly, with Delaney performing well before he was sent off and Jackie Tyrrell and Paul Murphy keeping the Tipperary attack at bay. Tipperary scored 14 goals in their six league games this spring, but they barely got a sniff here.

Just like they did in the Allianz League final against Cork last year, Kilkenny made a remarkable start. Lester Ryan had the hosts ahead with a sweet point from play within seconds of the start, with Eoin Larkin adding another from a free soon after.

Then, on three minutes, the Cats put a big dent in Tipp's confidence. Michael Fennelly, operating from centre-forward, scored a trademark goal with a run through the heart of the Premier County defence, before finishing smartly past Darren Gleeson, the Tipperary goalkeeper. The Cats were 1-2 to 0-0 up before anyone in the 21,447 crowd had a chance to draw breath.

Unlike Cork last year, Tipperary showed great character to pick themselves off the floor after that early barrage. Eoin Kelly opened their account with a free on five minutes and they gradually started to get on top in midfield. Brendan Maher had a great first half - a great game overall in fact - and slotted over a couple of scores from play as Eamon O'Shea's side reeled the champions in and had the gap down to a point, 1-3 to 0-5, when Séamus Callanan hit the target on 20 minutes.

And then Michael Fennelly struck again. Picking up a loose ball, he powered his way to the endline before unleashing a shot high to the roof of Gleeson's goal.

Tipp responded well once again, with Brendan Maher grabbing his third of the half from play and with Kelly adding another. Patrick Maher, though, missed a gilt-edged chance to punish the Cats when he beat Delaney to a high ball into the danger area.

However, with the goal at his mercy, his shot was half blocked and dribbled tamely at Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy.

Two Kelly frees reduced the gap and then Noel McGrath had Tipperary level with a very smart score, his second of the half from play, with two minutes to go to half-time.

However, Kilkenny hit two points in added time to lead by two at the break. Lester Ryan knocked over a second from play before Michael Fennelly adorned a brilliant first half display with another score and brought his total to 2-3 with the final point of an absorbing 35 minutes of action.

Tipperary kept Kilkenny waiting on the pitch at the start of the second half, and when the game finally did resume, it was tough, uncompromising stuff.

The sides shared equally the first six points of the second half before Delaney and Corbett came to blows on the edge of the square, with referee Barry Kelly deciding to send both off.

Tipp were level by the 50th minute thanks to scores from Callanan and a fourth from play from Brendan Maher.

He, Kieran Bergin at Noel McGrath were Tipp's best performers on the day. However, Kilkenny reacted by scoring three of their own without reply, with Richie Hogan and Killian Buckley both opening their accounts in that spell.

And that was it in truth. Tipp tried desperately to force their way back on top in the closing stages, but the Kilkenny defence held firm.

Richie Hogan had a chance to kill the game with two minutes to go, but he shot straight at Gleeson, before Michael Rice struck the Cats' insurance score in added time.

Kilkenny have now won the league title for a 16th time and will certainly enjoy keeping the trophy on Noreside for another year, but the true value of this victory was knowing that they were more than able to take everything a resurgent Tipperary side had to throw at them and still come out well on top. ]]> http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/07/cats_claim_16th_division_i_hur.html http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/07/cats_claim_16th_division_i_hur.html Sports Sun, 07 May 2013 13:04:05 -0500

Paper Tiger definition: n, nation, etc., that has the appearance of power but is actually weak and ineffectual.

That description perfectly describes our country today. Global chaos reigns today, Nations are crumbling, others are going bankrupt, radical Islamists are waging deadly battles and instead of facing these dire developments, this administration, that represents the world's remaining super power, blusters and throws out empty threats to hostile forces. It first establishes a red line that Syria must cross before we take action and when that line was crossed, it simply redefined the red line.

One of our ambassadors and three others State employees are brutally murdered and the White House stonewalls all inquiries and calls reasonable questions about the incident political posturing by Republicans. We suffer a devastating homeland attack in Boston, the first since 9/11/2001 and later learn how preventable it was if we had a Homeland Security Agency and an FBI that actually did their jobs. How did this great nation get to such a level of governmental incompetence and spinelessness?

It's understandable that the nation's paranoia level is ratcheting up dramatically.

People are heading for the hills because they feel that there are puppet masters controlling their lives and taking away their freedoms and the means to defend themselves. They point to the secrecy of the Bilderberg Group - that meets annually at a billionaires' lair to perhaps plot global incidents. They watch films like 'Zeitgeist' that documents conspiracy theory-based ideas from the crucifixion to 9/11 and nod their heads in agreement that someone is pulling strings. Best selling novels about The Illuminati, the Masons, the Skull and Bones and other groups feed the mistrust. Those not inclined to take up survival options cave in to their despair and the suicide rate is at an old-time high.

I do not share their suspicions but I can't dismiss the fact that there are people making billions off the disorder around the world and it's not whom we're being led to believe is responsible. It's become routine to blame the oil companies and evil corporations for most of the machinations behind the world turmoil but the only way to unveil the real villains is to follow the money. It's not George Bush. He may be wealthy but he's no billionaire.

When crises erupt around the world, stock markets crash but the cunning somehow bet short and make billions. Either they are omniscient or somehow manipulating the crisis. It takes money to buy arms, explosives, travel documents, airplane tickets, identities and other resources to foment violence and overturn stable governments. It takes money to finance campaigns to place compliant politicians in office that will pass legislation to benefit their sponsors.

Mr. Smith went to Washington and found that the long termers in Congress stayed there thanks to big money. It takes money to pay big salaries to media personalities who distort the news or simply ignore news that the public needs to know for its own national security.

Jay Leno used to have a segment on the Tonight Show that spotlighted the ignorance of college students who didn't know simple facts, e.g. "Who's the Vice President of the U.S.?" I wish he would ask them whether they know what happened in Benghazi or "What is the 'Fast and Furious' scandal"? Meanwhile our president is in Mexico trashing his government with this statement: "most of the guns used to commit violence here in Mexico come from the United States." Not only is this not true, he failed to mention that some of those guns came from our own ATF and the Department of Justice in the 'Fast and Furious' scheme which failed to track the guns it gave to drug smugglers.

We have an Attorney General, Eric Holder, who may well be the worst one in our history due to his failure to respect the Constitution. He's been quoted as saying that "people need to be brainwashed into thinking negatively about guns." Forget about the Second Amendment, folks, while he's in charge.

We had a former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who's being groomed to run for president who neglected to provide good security for the consulates in the Middle East in spite of having been warned of potential danger on 9/11/2012. Rumors claim that the Libyan militia group that the State Department hired to defend its embattled diplomatic mission in Benghazi had clear al-Qaida sympathies, and had prominently displayed the al-Qaida flag on a Facebook page for months before the deadly attack.

Sounds unbelievable but don't expect to get a straight answer from the White House.

Sharp questions at a press briefing annoyed Obama spokesman, Jay Carney, who expressed how tiresome these queries are when he said, "Benghazi happened a long time ago." For the past eight months survivors of the Benghazi attack have not been able to tell their story. Why? Because it conflicts with the original tripe the White House threw out about an anti-Muslim video causing the attack when it knew full well it was Al Qaeda related.

Fast forward to the Boston marathon bombings that killed three people, wounded and mutilated hundreds and we learn that the bombers were on a terrorist watch list which apparently means nothing if you're on an FBI protected group - the Muslims. Our most important law enforcement institution has been radicalized but no one in Congress cares except a few Republicans and they don't count.

We have a Vice President who seems to have trouble remembering if he's a Veep or the Prez or what city he's in; a president who doesn't appear to be all that concerned about red lines, WMDs, the economy, but does know how to croon an Al Green tune. We have the secretary of Homeland Security who regards domestic terrorists more of a threat to us than foreign jihadists. Yet she acknowledged to a Senate panel Tuesday that her department was aware of Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev's trip to Russia in 2012. The FBI lost track of him because his name was misspelled on a flight manifest.

Who puts these people in office? Not me. I vote for a person based on his/her record and competence regardless of party affiliation. However, there is a large segment of voters who insist that they will never vote for a Republican because the Democrats are for the people and the Republicans are evil who only care about making money. Who put that chip in their brains? Who passed out the Kool-Aid?

I do not despair because while there might very well be godless billionaires responsible for some of the world's disharmony, we live in a country blessed by God with a Constitution that if upheld can help us survive all attacks. There are also God-fearing billionaires that love this country and will use their resources to save it.

Is it any wonder that half the staff of the LA Times threatened to quit if the ultra-conservative, tea party funders, the Koch brothers, succeed in buying the paper and seven others including the Chicago Tribune? These reporters and the unions, both wings of the Democrat Party, are terrified of losing their power to brainwash the public.

Conspiracy buffs need to cherish and desire the unvarnished truth not feed into the deliberate fear-mongering by the mainstream media. Their goal is to stifle informed participation in creating good government by the election of worthy representatives.

It is to all our benefit that we utilize the tools our Founding Fathers gave us to repair our broken government and replace this paper tiger for a real one with teeth.

Alicia Colon resides in New York City and can be reached at aliciav.colon@gmail.com and at www.aliciacolon.com]]> http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/07/how_did_america_become_a_paper.html http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/07/how_did_america_become_a_paper.html Opinion Sun, 07 May 2013 13:06:07 -0500

Inspired by the journey of Leopold Bloom through Dublin on June 16th, 1904, Leopold's Day have released a carefully designed map of Dublin city formed purely from the people, premises and places cited in Ulysses.

This is the first time a map has been created which captures the landmarks and actual people who featured in the famous text. 

The map, a marriage of typography and cartography, is a labour of love which has been nurtured by Dublin based designer, Rachel Kerr for the last three years.

The map's directory includes over four hundred landmarks and businesses which formed part of the fabric of that monumental day when Leopold Bloom journeyed through the city.

Every detail has been carefully selected to capture the essence of the time; the feature typeface is a modern version of the original used in the first edition of Ulysses.  

"Ulysses provides such an amazing insight into Dublin in a bygone era that I felt it was the perfect lens through which to map the city," Rachel said.

Lithographically printed on premium paper at an impressive 1000mm wide x 700mm high, this map is sure to capture the imagination of Joyceans, Dubliners and those with a passion for design, typography and cartography.

A limited edition print, it comes in a postal tube for €125 so can be posted worldwide. A miniature version has just been released measuring a neat 240mm x 240mm. This is a foil blocked crop of the city centre on a stunning 700gsm turquoise board, inspired by the first cover of Ulysses.

Both the map and the miniature are available on leopoldsday.com 

Leopold's Day is a collection of beautifully designed pieces inspired by Leopold Bloom's journey through Dublin in June 1904.

It was founded in 2012 by Dublin born and based graphic designer, Rachel Kerr.

Trained in Ireland, Rachel has worked for award winning design studios in Dublin, London and Melbourne.

If you would like to find out more e-mail rachel@leopoldsday.com or visit www.leopoldsday.com. ]]> http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/leopolds_day_offers_unique_per.html http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/leopolds_day_offers_unique_per.html Arts Sun, 14 May 2013 01:12:35 -0500

What is most intriguing about this latest Obama scandal is not that the IRS was targeting conservative groups like the tea party for audits in 2012 but that it has apologized for doing so. White House spokesman, Jay Carney tried to mitigate the agency's alleged misconduct by blaming Bush. At a press conference he said, "The individual who is running the IRS at the time was actually an appointee from the previous administration."

That makes no sense because the Bush appointee was, Douglas Shulman, who is not a registered Republican and has donated to the Democrat Party. So why the apology? Could it be because it was the right thing to do? What a concept.

More than likely it's because Barack Obama didn't cover his tracks as well as Bill Clinton did when he was president. Last year, charges of misconduct were brought on behalf of the Landmark Legal Foundation, an organization that Mark Levin heads, requesting an investigation. Mr. Levin told Jeff Poor at The Daily Caller that his organization had litigated similar complaints of political audits during the Clinton administration and specifically referenced the Heritage Foundation as one of the tax collector's targets at the time. This statement reminded me of my own connection with this conservative think tank.

In 2000 I wrote a column for the Staten Island Advance about how Clinton was worse than Richard Nixon in using the IRS to target enemies of his administration. Soon after it was posted online I received an email from a VP at the Heritage Foundation informing me of the heavy costs the organization endured to fight these attacks by the agency.

What I discovered in my research at the time was that charges of misconduct were dismissed by the IRS which was then headed by Charles O. Rossotti, an appointee of the Clinton administration who served from 1997-2002. Needless to say no apology was issued for any misconduct. The Heritage Foundation was not the only target of course. Conservatives like Bill O'Reilly and other Clinton critics were audited more than the average taxpayers as well. In fact, Clinton's enemies list dwarfed Nixon's and they were subjected to continual audits by the IRS meant to cost these 'enemies' financial and emotional hardships.

A senior IRS official, Paul Breslan told Judicial Watch, the Washington -based legal watchdog group, "What do you expect when you sue the president?" The group had filed 50-plus legal actions against the Clinton administration and subsequently found itself a prime target by the administration.

Judicial Watch was not alone, of course and witnesses bearing damaging testimony against the president who were singled out for audits include: Clinton paramours Gennifer Flowers and Liz Ward Gracen, sexual assault accusers Paula Jones and Juanita Broaddrick, and fired White House Travel Office Director Billy Dale.

Conservative groups beside the Heritage Foundation included: The National Rifle Association, National Review, The American Spectator, Freedom Alliance, National Center for Public Policy Research, American Policy Center, American Cause, Citizens Against Government Waste, Citizens for Honest Government, Progress and Freedom Foundation, Concerned Women for America and the San Diego Chapter of Christian Coalition.

Although Richard Nixon has the reputation of going after his enemies by using the IRS, he was actually not very successful at it. In fact, I wrote, he was a piker compared to the Clinton administration and that was because the commissioners in charge of the White House during his presidential years were decent Republicans and were not inclined to do his dirty work.

Bill Clinton made sure he had the backup for his misdeeds but Barack Obama did not and while he made jokes about auditing his critics, failed to remove all Bush appointees at the IRS Although a probably Democrat, Shulman was appointed Commissioner of the IRS by George W. Bush and served from 2008-2012. He has been succeeded by his Deputy Commissioner, Steven T. Miller who is now acting Commissioner. After the IRS's admission and apology, time will tell if Obama decides to make his position permanent.

The IRS has actually been performing decently for the past few years in that it has been attacking the outright fraud against taxpayers. Currently the agency has opened 800 criminal investigations and Mr. Miller, says it has stepped up efforts to prevent fraud and service identity theft victims.

He also reported to a Senate panel that the agency has expanded the number and quality of its identity theft screening filters and has suspended or rejected more than 2 million suspicious tax returns this filing season, Miller said. In all of last year, the agency stopped 5 million suspicious returns.

Besides the apology issued for auditing the tea party and other conservative alliances, the IRS was forced has to apologize for spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to film a Star Trek parody costing $60,000. In its apology to Congress, the IRS determined that the video, which was played for a leadership conference, did not have enough educational content to justify its cost. On the other hand, it defended a Gilligan's Island video which was an introduction to a 12-hour training series. The commissioner defended the video as part of a campaign that saved an estimated $1.5m in 2011, which it would have otherwise spent in personal training.

The Internal Revenue has always been perceived as the bane of law-abiding and long-suffering taxpayers. It can also unfortunately be a punishing henchman of a corrupt administration. In the past it has allowed itself to be used to punish critics and enemies of a despotic government more totalitarian than democratic. News that the Obama administration had requested the hiring of thousands of new IRS to enforce Obamacare only confirmed fears that the IRS was being used once again to do an administration's dirty work.

It may be too soon to view these recent apologies and admission of misconduct as a sign that the agency may not be willing to sacrifice its original mission to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly, and that we know and understand all our rights.

Targeting tax fraud and identity theft is a step in the right direction. But instead of going after conservative patriotic groups that love this country, it would better serve the nation by removing the 501 tax exempt status of organizations that foment terror and anti-American activism.

Alicia Colon resides in New York City and can be reached at aliciav.colon@gmail.com and at www.aliciacolon.com]]> http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/biggest_question_about_irs_sca.html http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/biggest_question_about_irs_sca.html Opinion Sun, 14 May 2013 01:26:05 -0500

Photo by Erin Baiano

By Gwen Orel

When you're sick and old, you spend a lot of time sitting around.

We first meet Patricia (Anita Reeves) in Deirdre Kinahan's play "These Halcyon Days," which is set in a nursing home in Dublin, as she wrestles with a sticky door in the conservatory.

Kinahan's play runs at the Irish Arts Center through Sunday, June 2.

Patricia would rather not just sit around, but unable to get outside, that's what she does. Soon her attention is drawn to Seán (Stephen Brennan), sitting quietly in a wheelchair. Bored, sharp and somewhat shrill, she draws him out almost against her better judgment, muttering derogatory comments about him when he takes too long to answer. He offers her tea, though the nurse hasn't brought it yet. "What are you in for?" she says, which gets a laugh.

Once he quotes Shakespeare at her, though, in a gentle, breathy way, she realizes he was once an actor, a film actor even, an actor who even worked with Michael Caine, and is thrilled. Patricia was a schoolteacher and lived with her sister, to whom she expects soon to return, although, it's a given in plays like this, that she's sicker than she thinks and probably can't go home. She has a liver condition, and has had strokes, which keep her hand from working properly. One of the play's funnier moments is when she insists that her liver condition is not brought on by drinking, which is what everyone always assumes. Illness does have a funny side.

In the course of Kinahan's gentle two-hander, these two aging, damaged people find a connection that is meaningful, heartwarming and literally invigorating. They bring each other back to life. Patricia is sick, but not really all that old. Seán is older, but doesn't really need the wheelchair, and an incident early on that suggests "sundowning," or a dementia-like confusion, never repeats. He might instead just be deeply depressed over the abandonment of his long-time lover, Tom, and in need of a little more company. His niece visits, we hear, but she never stays.

There's a bit in the movie "Cloud Atlas" where a group of old people break out of a home, which is extremely funny, and also rather touching. "These Halcyon Days" is not that action-packed - there are no pub fights - its action takes place in the hearts and souls of the characters onstage, and in the audience.

Patricia is slow on the uptake about Tom's homosexuality, but that's just part of the story, not the point. Whether she goes home again or whether he can walk if he tries, similarly, are part of what's at stake, but not the center of the play. Although the play appears naturalistic, it isn't exactly; in a real world, some of the issues touched on would have to be explored further. Sadly, a person with dementia usually can't live at home; a person who has blackouts can't be cared for at home either. Unsurprisingly, a nursing "home" doesn't feel like home.

But "These Halcyon Days" is a love story, if not of romantic love, and like the Shakespeare Seán quotes, explores what it means to be human. And how to live with dignity. These are important questions. The story is a little predictable, but the story isn't the point.

As always, Kinahan infuses sharp observations into her naturalistic dialogue. When we first meet Patricia, she grumbles about there being a yoga class for the infirm in the day room. Later, she tells Tom they should put him in the brochures: "You'd draw more people in than the incontinence chairs. Sean says a bit less, but what he says has poetry in it, particularly when he talks about his family's home in the country (that word again: home). It had nine fields, he says, and lists them:

"Clancy's Field. Hay Field. The Callows. Castle Hill. Railway. Split Hill. Baileys Gate. Louie's. The Inch... And home." It's a sonnet.

Reeves' emphatic, bold Patricia beautifully contrasts Brennan's shy then suddenly exuberant Seán. Director David Horan lightly keeps the action going, never allowing it to sink too far into the boredom of the home itself. Maree Kearns' set, one room with a door to the outside, and a few chairs, nicely shows both the grayness and the goldenness of the setting, matched by the rather drab costumes she's put on the characters. Kevin Smith's lights go from institution grey to a more hopeful gold, as well.

"These Halcyon Days" is not a play about old people. It's a play about people. These two find their way home, and into our hearts, when they find each other.

"These Halcyon Days," a Tall Tales Theatre Company/Solstice Arts Centre Production, presented by Irish Arts Center in association with Landmark Productions, runs at Irish Arts Center, 563 West 51st Street, Wednesday to Saturday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 p.m. and Sunday, 3 p.m., through Sunday, June 2. Tickets at irishartscenter.org or by calling 866-811-4111.

Gwen Orel runs the blog and podcast, New York Irish Arts.]]> http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/these_halcyon_days_review_mayb.html http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/these_halcyon_days_review_mayb.html Features Sun, 14 May 2013 01:29:36 -0500

'Rational Church Debate'?

By Charley Brady

I do love it when all of my favourite types of people are at each other's throats. I don't know, it just kind of cheers me up to see the clergy and the politicians not even pretending to tolerate each other anymore. And in this case the politicians are represented by our beloved Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who is visiting your shores this week in order to get his clammy, sweaty little hands on an honorary award being presented to him in Boston College; and the Holy Men of God are being represented (in opposition) by the Cappuccino Bishop himself, Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

The 'Cappuccino Priest'... this apparently is not a reference to his favourite beverage but in fact is a 'witty play' on the Order - Capuchin - to which he belongs. Ah, the knee-slapping, gut-busting humour of Christians. It never ceases to make me laugh until I stop.

So: in the Blueshirt Corner we have Enda Kenny, maintaining a reasonable silence, as he tends to do when he gets confused and realises that some people just don't like him. And in the Red Prada Shoes Corner we have Cardinal O'Malley, a man who never came across a list of alleged paedophile priests that he didn't try to keep the plebeian hordes in the dark about.

Now let me tell you, Cardinal Sean O'Malley does not have Enda at the top of his list of 'Statesmen I'd like to Hang Out With' at all, at all. In fact that good man is just downright peeved altogether. Like a bould child at school he has thrown a bit of a hissy fit and decided that he doesn't want to play with any of his friends who are playing with Kenny. He has stamped his foot and said that if they talk to Kenny then they can't talk to him.

I think, from what I recall of school, that this is what they call a 'rational Church debate'.

Kenny will be addressing the Boston College graduates and receiving, as I said, an honorary degree. But O'Malley says:

"I am sure that the invitation was made in good faith, long before it came to the attention of the leadership of Boston College that Mr. Kenny is aggressively promoting abortion legislation."

Such a short paragraph to have so much wrong with it. Look at that condescending "sure the invitation was made in good faith". Could you be more obvious when it comes to subtle threatening?

"Long before it came to the attention of the leadership..."? Oh, Cardinal; I am quite sure that you were in touch with them as soon as some of our own extreme anti-abortion lobby were in touch with you.

Don't be telling those little white lies now; you know that's a venial sin and you could get a few Hail Marys for that bit of slipperiness.

As for poor auld Enda "aggressively promoting abortion legislation..."? Are you sure we have the same Dame Edna Kenny? This would be the "special relationship with farm animals" Kenny? The one who is afraid to engage with tough journalist Vincent Browne in case he gets a pasting? That Kenny?

Ach here, now: you can say a lot of things about our Enda (and some of them might not even be libellous) but to say that he is a fella who has "aggressively promoted" abortion is just not true. Jeez, Enda would have been happy if circumstances hadn't thrust this on him at all. It's less than a year since he was stating categorically that it was an issue that did not need to be addressed at this time. He had forgotten of course that a year is a long time in politics.

Cardinal, Cardinal, Cardinal... (If I said that two more times would O'Malley appear in the mirror behind me, threatening Hellfire?) What the hell, here goes: "Cardinal, Cardinal".

Nope. Nothing so far. Does this mean that Santa Clause doesn't exist either?

In fact, Cardinal, since Enda has gotten into power on the back of a trolley load of lies and reneged-on promises, he has done his best just to stay quiet and let his pet flunkey, the well-and-truly-housebroken Tánaiste Eamon ('Tiny') Gilmore take the flak on his behalf.

It seems that the bishops of America have asked (asked?) Catholic institutions not to confer any honours on politicians who aren't playing for the team. In any case, Cardinal O'Malley went on to say:

"Since the university has not withdrawn the invitation and because the Taoiseach has not seen fit to decline, I shall not attend the graduation. [It is my] ardent hope that [Boston College] will work to redress the confusion, disappointment and harm caused by not adhering to the Bishops' directives".

Directives: were they supposed to read that as being 'orders'? 'Orders that must be obeyed at all times?'

Seriously, who the hell does this guy think he is? I mean, it makes no difference to me except to give me a good laugh, but are Catholic Americans actually still listening to the dictates of these self-righteous chancers? Over here the reaction was pretty much along the lines of: "What? He's boycotting Kenny? He's probably just pissed off because so many are boycotting his churches since they found out that their collection money went to moving paedophile priests around the country."

As to "because the Taoiseach has not seen fit to decline..." WHAT? I know I'm not his biggest fan but tell me just why the hell should he? He has been invited in good faith and he has accepted in good faith. And if O'Malley spent more time studying his enemies than he supposedly does in speaking to his Big Invisible Bearded Friend in the Sky then he would know that Enda would turn up at the opening of an envelope if he thought that it was a photo opportunity. I swear that man hasn't been the same since he got his mug on the cover of Time magazine. But leaving that aside why should he listen to some Cardinal anyway, when Boston College obviously aren't paying him any heed?

Actually, come to think of it, is this the same Cardinal O'Malley who has spent most of the last few years in cleaning up for the Vatican following their many abuse scandals? And not in a way that seems to have sat well with a lot of people. It took him long enough to provide a list of accused priests in the first place, despite the fact that a lot of his colleagues were complying. Indeed he held out until August 2011 and only showed one because the names by that stage were in the public domain. And when he did finally come up with a list that most observers found unexpectedly short he then had almost half of them cleared, something that flew in the face of what was happening in other parts of the country.

On another occasion, when he finally produced a list of 21 priests before he left Fall River, Massachusetts, the Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh asked: "Why didn't he release these names to us ten years ago?"

Why indeed? But what do you expect? These guys have always looked after their own. It's this kind of behaviour that has led many former Church members to now (perhaps going over the top) see the Church as the world's biggest and best organised paedophile ring.

In the interests of fairness I will say that Cardinal O'Malley did probably have to focus himself, whilst in Fall River, on the notorious Father James Porter, who was accused of raping children in five different States. He finally pleaded guilty to 41 counts of molestation in 1993.

With so much Church skullduggery going on in Ireland, however, I have no great desire to find out what is happening in the States. Indeed, I'm still a little flabbergasted to find Cardinal Sean Brady of these here parts testing the waters when he mouths out of him in regards to the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill. He had the good sense to keep it pretty much zipped last year during the Eucharistic Congress. But now he has come out swinging a little too prematurely, I would have thought. We haven't yet forgotten his despicable and bullying behaviour back when he was a simple priest and Canon Lawyer who terrorised two victims of the ghastly Brendan Smyth into swearing themselves to secrecy. And who then conferred with neither the parents of the two boys or the appropriate authorities.

It was a case of 'boys' mouths closed; matter hushed up; Vatican orders obeyed'. But you know that this one really isn't going to go away.

[I've just read over the previous paragraphs. I would like to say in regard to the 'kept it zipped' line: that was referring to the fact that Cardinal Brady did not open his mouth during that period to regale us with his many pearls of wisdom. It is in no way meant to be construed as a dig at the perceived inability of certain priests to keep their trousers zipped. Heh.]

Ming the Merciless of Mongo does Marrakech of Morocco

Ah, the world would indeed be a duller (though possibly saner) place without that loveable, in his own eyes, rogue Luke 'Ming' Flanagan - our dope-smoking, tale-telling, all-around hypocritical Independent TD and advocate for the 'Do as I say, not as I Do' Party.

You may recall Ming from a previous article where he kept us on tenterhooks as to whether he did indeed get penalty points for driving whilst on the phone. Did he or did he not? He loves me, he loves me not. It all got very confused and I have no intention of re-hashing (geddit?) the sad saga of how - according to Ming - he set out to entrap a cop and found himself a bit of a laughing stock instead. If you check up on it I would, however, find out what Ming smokes and light up some of it first. I'm not saying that it will make his story any more coherent but it will probably lighten the pain of following it to the end. I checked it out and wrote it substance-free and I'm not the better for it yet, I can tell you.

Ming and a few of his buddies from the Dail Hall of Chancers were in the news again this week when it turned out that a few months back they had clocked themselves in as 'present' in Leinster House despite being on a freebie - sorry, junket - sorry, fact-finding mission of the utmost importance to... uh... Marrakech, Morocco. Wait a moment, just let me check that. That can't be right.

[DEAD AIR FOR A MINUTE.]

Yes, that seems to be right. Let's see: Ming and Fine Gael Senator Imelda Henry were 'present' in the Dail or Seanad at the same time that they were flying from Paris to Rabat Airport. Light me up there, baby, because this is a new one on me!

It turns out that it is perfectly legal through a 'little known law' (read: one which they've kept damned quiet) for a politician to clock in - or even to have someone clock him/her in, an act that warrants dismissal in any place that I've ever worked - if he/she is away on government business. And I can't keep it in any longer: in the main we poor saps now see that as a euphemism for - yes, you guessed it - 'freebie' or 'junket'.

Look, there's more than Flanagan doing this, but he's the one that I'm focussing on because he is one of the creeps who told us that when he was voted in everything would be shiny and new.

I find myself reminded of a section in the great Gore Vidal's autobiography "Palimpsest" where he talks about what happens when you get into power. He said that you honestly think that you can change things when you're in there but what you find out is that everything is so hermetically sealed that nothing CAN be changed.

I gave up on believing in the Church as soon as I could reason things out for myself. But, idiot that I am, I didn't give up on politicians until I was into my thirties. That's more than two decades ago.

These days, if a politician tells me that Hell is black at midnight I will not believe it. If they tell me that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west I will be checking it out for myself.

As I write this today (Monday afternoon) Fianna Fail actually had the pure brass neck, balls as hard as a jockeys, to be hustling for money in collection boxes outside of churches yesterday in Galway.

Yes, you read that right: Outside of churches where people had already been hit with a guilt trip (hey, we're Catholics, we love guilt) a bunch of saps were being hit by these scumbags trying to line their coffers for the big come-back.

On a purely pragmatic level I am so bloody glad that I don't ever visit Holy Mother Church.

Between giving hand-outs to the Vatican in order for them to pay off child abuse victims and look after all of the children that our oh-so-holy priests have fathered; AND feeding the unholy coffers of the Fianna Fail Party... well, I don't think that I could afford it.

You can vent your spleen on me at chasbrady7@eircom.net or upset yourselves further by visiting my very politically correct blog on www.charleybrady.com]]> http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/tell_them_to_put_those_rattles.html http://www.irishexaminerusa.com/mt/2013/05/14/tell_them_to_put_those_rattles.html Features Sun, 14 May 2013 02:15:25 -0500