Message from Ambassador Declan Kelly

The visit by President and Dr McAleese from the 19th to the 22nd of June will remain in my memory for a long time to come. During those glorious few days, we got to witness, once again, the vibrancy and energy of the Irish community in Toronto and also saw why Toronto is considered to be one of...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 534 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Eoin O'Duffy and the march of the Blueshirts

Adolph Hitler. Benito Mussolini. Francisco Franco. Eoin O'Duffy? For some, it is a stretch to link all four men together, with O'Duffy being the odd man out. For others, it makes perfect sense.  O'Duffy did admire all three, and even fought for Franco. But to write him off as simply Ireland's...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 753 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Enterprise Ireland & Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce Co-host Lunch for President McAleese

When Enterprise Ireland set up its office in Toronto in October last year, the Presidents visit was the first significant visit on the horizon around which was planned a business event for Irish companies that are clients of Enterprise Ireland and their Canadian partners. We were delighted to be...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 326 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

President Mary McAleese opens Ireland Park, Toronto - A Place of Memory - June 21, 2007

As Editor of the Toronto Irish News I had been getting the “sceal” about Ireland Park in one form or another for the last 10 years. I knew it was coming and the intensity of the project over the last 18 months especially, heralded the fact that the opening day was indeed coming on the summer...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 896 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

The Burren - An Antidote for Displacement

The Burren, located on Ireland's western coast, was severed from Newfoundland as the earth's core expanded. Scoured by slow-moving glaciers and battered by oceans as it moved into the northern hemisphere, it bears mute witness to that most ancient of narratives: the story of Creation. Situated in...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 629 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Derek Keaveney - 60 years in Canada with no regrets

As an immigrant myself, I have always had a great interest in those who have come to these shores before me, whether they were the diaspora of Black '47 or those of more recent vintage. On learning that my good friend Derek Keaveney was celebrating 60 years in our adopted land, I knew that here was...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 708 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Robert Kearns - Take A Bow

Sixty years ago upon leaving school in Dublin I knew relatively little about the Irish Famine. Later I was to learn that in Ireland many topics tended to be glossed over in the teaching of Irish history, among them the 1916 Rebellion and subsequent Civil War, and the Potato Famine. It’s only...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 596 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Colm O'Brien - The Long Note Man

Discerning Toronto radio listeners know that the choice 8 o'clock Sunday evening spot is CKLN FM 88.1. That's the home of The Long Note, Colm O'Brien's inventive hour of music in the Celtic tradition. Now in its 22nd year, The Long Note is a rare bird indeed, a programme that answers only to the...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 655 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more