EIIC
Press Release: Tánaiste Welcomes US Immigration Legislation As Good News for Irish in the US
Tánaiste Welcomes US Immigration Legislation As Good News for Irish in the US
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Eamon Gilmore T.D. , has welcomed the publication of a draft Bill for reform of the US immigration system.
The legislation – which was drafted over several months by a bi-partisan group of eight US Senators – includes provisions that would help resolve the plight of thousands of undocumented Irish people who are living illegally in the US.
It also provides for future flows of legal migration between Ireland and the US.
Welcoming the draft legislation, the Tánaiste said:“This Bill is a very positive development which, if adopted, would help to end the great hardship and uncertainty faced by undocumented Irish in the US and their families here in Ireland.
The inclusion of a new provision to allow several thousand Irish citizens to legally avail of employment opportunities in the US every year is also particularly welcome.
Both of these issues have been a key focus of my ongoing engagement with political leaders in the US, particularly during my visit to Washington D.C. over St. Patrick’s Day when I discussed them with Ireland’s key friends on Capitol Hill and in the Administration.
I am conscious that the overall issues involved are complex and sensitive ones within the US political system and that much further debate is likely to be required before the final shape of any overall legislation becomes clear.
I would like at this stage to express on behalf of the Government our deepest appreciation to the bi-partisan group of US Senators who have spearheaded this historic initiative. The Government will continue to liaise closely with them and other key stakeholders in Congress and throughout the Irish-American community.
This draft Senate Bill is another significant step towards an ultimate outcome that has been long-sought by generations of Irish migrants to the US and their families”.
Press Office
17 April 2013
Press Office | Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade | Iveagh House, 80 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
press.office@dfa.ie | (01) 408 2275 / 2276 / 087-7788835 | www.dfa.ie
Press Release: Irish Famine Tribunal, April 20-21, 2013
Press Release March 27, 2013
For further information please contact Owen Rodgers owenrodgers@mindspring.com.
The Irish Famine of 1845-1852 (also known as the Great Hunger or An Gorta Mór) is one of the most catastrophic famines in modern history. It is estimated that over one million people died, two and half million emigrated within ten years, and almost 300,000 smallholdings disappeared.
On April 20-21, 2013, Fordham Law School will be hosting the Irish Famine Tribunal to examine the responsibility of the British Government, under international law, for the tragic consequences of this period. Was it the case, as John Mitchel famously (or infamously) asserted, that “the Almighty, indeed, sent the potato blight, but the English created the famine”?
The Tribunal will consider whether the British role during the Famine amounted to either genocide or a crime against humanity. Prosecution and defense teams, including law students from Fordham Law School and Dublin City University, will present their cases before an international panel of judges: Judge Fidelma Macken, recently retired from the Supreme Court of Ireland and the first female judge to sit on the European Court of Justice; Judge John Ingram, a renowned New York Supreme Court judge who has presided over many high profile criminal trials; and, Judge William Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University in London, chairman of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway, and widely considered the world’s leading authority on genocide.
Joining them will be authors Tim Pat Coogan (“The Famine Plot: England’s Role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy”) and John Kelly (“The Graves Are Walking: The Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People”), along with historians Dr. Ciarán Ó Murchadha (“The Great Famine: Ireland’s Agony 1845-1852”) and Dr. Ruan O’Donnell, Head of the Department of History at the University of Limerick.
In 1997, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that “[t]hose who governed in London at the time failed their people through standing by while a crop failure turned into a massive human tragedy.” Does that failure, however, give rise to liability under international criminal law?
Amongst the other questions that will be asked:
- Were the repeated, devastating failures of the potato crop beyond the power of any government, in the context of the time, to effectively manage?
- Was Ireland particularly vulnerable to famine and, if so, why?
- What relief efforts were made?
- How responsive was the government in London to reports from relief officials in Ireland?
- How influential were laissez-faire and providentialist ideologies?
- Did British policy makers take advantage of the Famine to “reform” Irish society?
- Was it only the British government that stood by while Ireland starved?
- What part was played by landlords, merchants, big farmers, shopkeepers and, more generally, the Irish middle classes?
To RSVP please go to http://www.irishfaminetribunal.com
For further information, please contact us at: info@theirishfaminetribunal.com,
The Irish Famine Tribunal will be held at Fordham University Law School, 142 W. 62nd Street, New York City
April 20: 10:00 am and April 21: 11:00 am
Meals on Wheels Volunteers Needed
Emerald Isle Immigration Center
Meals on Wheels Volunteers Needed
We are seeking additional volunteers for our Meals on Wheels program.
The program runs Mon-Fri, 11:00am-12:30pm
and the commitment is 1 day per week.
Drivers are especially welcomed.
For more information please call Lisa at 718-324-3039 ext 102
Book Launch Invitation – Sun, April 14
Emerald Isle Immigration Center & AOH Div. 5
Cordially invite you to attend the book launch of
“Bishop John J. Hughes, His Church
and the Coming of Age of New York’s Catholic Irish”
By: Richard D. McCann
