irish

One of the most famous songs in the world, ‘Danny Boy’, is 100 years old
this year and to celebrate the occasion, Tyrone Productions is producing an
hour-long television documentary for broadcast on BBC and RTÉ this autumn.
The film is being directed by James Maycock (Bobby Womack: Across 110th
Street; Gershwin’s Summertime: The Song That Conquered the World).

The film will be an intriguing investigation into the musical & cultural
phenomenon that ’Danny Boy’ has become since its birth in 1913, and why
it means so much to people – then and now. The film will reveal why
‘Danny Boy’ has had such an immense impact in Ireland, the UK and USA &
around the world – not just in music, but also sport, religion & politics
– throughout the 20th century and into the 21st.

Do you have a special connection to ‘Danny Boy’? What makes it so
powerful? Do you have a funny, quirky or poignant story about this iconic
song? Perhaps it reminds you of a particular person … an occasion … or a
time in your life?

We want this to be a special film and would very much like Irish
people living abroad and second-generation Irish people to take part in this
film as interviewees, giving them a platform to share their personal,
interesting stories about the song.

We will be filming in the UK, Ireland and the USA over this summer and it
would be a wonderful experience to partake in. We will ensure the filming is
an enjoyable experience and the stories told would be a great asset to this
film. This film will have a worldwide appeal, just like the song itself.

If you have a “Danny Boy moment” which you’d like to share with the
nation, then we’d love to hear from you. Please email your story, plus
your name and address and a contact phone number to
dannyboy@tyroneproductions.com

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