The national leadership of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) was recently astounded to learn that their 2008 national convention, set for New Orleans in late July, was being planned and organized in the "Intelligencer" column of the Irish Voice. I know, I know, I know! "Intelligence", or any derivative of the word, is not what one typically juxtaposes in one’s mind with the anti – American, leftist weekly. However, within said propaganda sheet, it was announced with great fanfare that ILIR vice chairman and Sinn Fein representative, Ciaran Staunton would be the key - note speaker at the convention. The only problem was that no one thought to inform the AOH national leadership or the convention organizers.
As a result of the Voice’s self - generated "scoop", the AOH has now been put in a very embarrassing position. The Order had received requests from many different entities to speak on a range of subjects, including immigration, but time being no man’s friend, it was circumscribed in the number of speakers it could accommodate. Apparently, ILIR did contact the convention organizers, hours before the Voice’s deadline, requesting speaking time but was told that as minutes were precious, and the roster of speakers was choc – a - bloc, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to accommodate it.
In addition to being the largest Irish American organization - although in recent years ILIR has incredibly laid claim to that mantle! - the AOH is, of course, a Catholic, feverently patriotic, pro American, traditionalist organization. Accordingly, over the years, it and the values it represents, has been the subject of countless hysterical, irrational attacks by the Irish Voice. So, aside from the actual difficulty of obtaining said publication of ever decreasing circulation - apparently the illusory 50,000 undocumented Irish are not subscribing - you will appreciate that obtaining a weekly copy is hardly a priority for most AOH members.
Thus, it took an E mail from one of the AOH’s New York leaders to alert the national leadership to the fact that the Voice/ILIR had taken it upon itself to reorganize the New Orleans convention. This AOH honcho was particularly miffed at the way the "Intelligencer" article endeavored to dismiss the essential role that the order, and, in particular, National President Jack Meehan, had played in the successful immigration reform campaign of the 1980s.
According to the column authored by Staunton’s brother - in - law, Niall O’Dowd, Ciaran’s appearance at the convention would be the first time "that the conference will hear from a speaker on behalf of the undocumented" and represents a major "break through for the AOH". The implication, of course, being that the AOH has been AWOL over the decades in the endeavor to resolve the Ted Kennedy manufactured Irish immigration predicament. And so to the E Mail:
"Gentlemen:
"I have attached a piece from today’s Irish Voice that incorrectly claims that Ciaran Staunton will be the first time a representative of the undocumented Irish will speak at our convention. It states his appearance is a 'major breakthrough in itself'.
Jack Irwin, former AOH National Immigration Chairman and Pat Hurley, Div 3 NY County, both leaders of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, spoke at our 1988 National Convention. At that convention, a resolution was passed to support the IIRM’s efforts, according to author, Linda Dowling Almeida on pgs. 72-75 of Irish Immigrants in New York City, 1945-1995.
Representative members of the IIRM, EIIC, IIC and other Irish immigration organizations have continuously worked with our Order and have continued to speak to our state and national conventions thereafter.
I don’t need to remind you that our National President, and I, remain active in our undocumented communities through work in the EIIC, IIC and other Coalition of Irish Immigration Center member organizations. Through the executive officers and immigration chairs, both State and National, this Order continues to keep immigration a high priority at all times.
This piece rings back to the past revisionist tactics employed by this paper to diminish our Order’s good work. Perhaps a strong reminder of factual history and current events would benefit the Irish Voice’s editorial staff."
The 1965 Immigration Act had not even been enacted when the United Irish American Immigration Committee, a derivative of the AOH, was alerting all who would listen of the potential adverse consequences for legal Irish immigration. As a result of their efforts, Irish American politicians, like Tip O’Neill, dependent on their receiving a green light from the then Irish Government, were prepared to insert a clause into the legislation, which would have protected Irish interests. However, as O’Neill related in his auto biography Man of The House, the phone call from the Irish Embassy never came.
The United Irish American Immigration Committee would continue its lonely valiant efforts, well into the 1980s, to redress the discriminatory effects of the 1965 Act. The challenge would then be assumed by the IIRM and, subsequently, a reconstituted National AOH Immigration Committee.
From the early Sixties to the early Eighties, Ireland was experiencing Celtic Tiger #1 - yes, we have been there before! – and successive Irish governments of the era encouraged the notion that Ireland would never again see a poor day and that the specter of emigration would never again hover o’er the land. It seems that visionaries like Donagh O’Malley were more the exception than the rule. In the 1980s, thousands of young Irish would pay the penalty for that vision less buffoonery. They would squander the potential of their youth as illegal aliens because of the phone call that was never made. Are the nepotistic political dynasties of Andrews, Barrys, Coughlans, Deasys, Haugheys, Lenihans, O’Malleys, Ryans, etc., who run Ireland, capable of any vision? Do they have any concept of Ireland’s true place in the world? Or, is Ireland condemned to continually repeat the mistakes of the past?
The IIRM was the fuse that launched the immigration reform campaign of the 1980s, but without the essential contribution of the AOH legislative victory would not have been achievable. Of course, that was the pre 9/11 world and the dynamics were totally different.
Both National President Meehan and the AOH NYS President Matt Neligan have articulated that the Order will only advocate for legislation that advances U.S. cultural, economic, intellectual and security interests in the context of which, a resolution can be found for the Irish problem. The AOH’s refusal to support ILIR, the Celtic Tiger Government, and extreme leftist groups like La Raza and ANSWER, in the furtherance of their anti - American, massive amnesty agenda by no means equates to the Order being absent in the immigration fight. In any case, the Dublin establishment, its surrogate ILIR, or, indeed, any element of the U.S.-bashing Irish Left, do not define the Irish American agenda. That is the prerogative of, well . . . Irish Americans. Indeed, the radical, riotous campaign pursued by ILIR, Dublin and their leftist allies has done serious damage to the cause of resolving the Irish immigration problem. At the very least, it has probably set any resolution back by several years. Recent comments made by Taoiseach Brian Cowen indicate that reality may be slowly dawning in Dublin. But, the word from the Hill is that it is probably too little, too late.
The United Irish American Immigration Committee, the AOH Immigration Committee, and the IIRM never championed an anti - American, leftist philosophy. Nor, indeed did they ever reduce the immigration fight to a mere gravy train of self promotion and commerical enhancement.
ILIR, and all its trappings, is an illusion fabricated by a collaboration of Sinn Fein and the Dublin 4/Iveagh House establishment, united around their shared anti-Americanism. Vice Chairman Staunton, as well as wearing his ILIR and Sinn Fein hats, is also, as mentioned above, the brother – in - law of Irish Voice publisher, Niall O’Dowd. O’Dowd, of course, is frequently referred to in stories - of the utmost objectivity and carefully researched fact, of course - on the pages of his own publication as the "Chairman" of ILIR. And in fairness, he does, when convenient, don that chapeau of opportunity.
The "executive director" of ILIR, Kelly Fincham (was/is???) an Irish Voice employee. And yet another key executive member may also punch an Irish Voice time card. Indeed, it is hard to know where the Irish Voice ends and ILIR begins, or vice versa. As a Glenflesk man said to me recently, "The corporate governance scholars would have their work cut out sorting out that tangled web." By the way, anybody keeping count of the number of journalistic canons that have been violated, thus far? Words like accountability, conflict of interest, transparency, etc. invade our stream of consciousness. All the more so, considering that empirically at least one of the main beneficiaries of the largesse which has flown into ILIR’s coffers, has been well . . . the Irish Voice!
We recall, back in the 1980s when there really was an immigration crisis, as a member of a group of exhausted, overwhelmed zealots operating on a shoestring budget AKA the IIRM - that "quasi terrorist" organization, which was held at arms - length by the Dublin establishment - being constantly harried by O’Dowd’s arrogant pompous editorials and "Frank Barry" columns demanding accountability, transparency and, specifically, audited accounts of the disbursement of IIRM funds – often monies we took from our own pockets. And, you know what – you’d better sit down gentle reader - although his motives were questionable, O’Dowd was right. Any organization soliciting financial contributions from the Irish American community, or, indeed, receiving Irish tax payer funds owes a frequent public audited accounting of disbursements.
Although, it was onerous at the time, the IIRM did produce audited accounts. The "Movement" had nothing to hide. At the end of the campaign, individual members, after years of personal sacrifice may have been richer in the intellectual, moral and spiritual sense but were certainly not so financially.
Doesn’t ILIR owe the same accounting? Doesn’t it owe an explanation to the community as to how, say, that next battery of full page adverts will advance its purported goal of legalizing the Irish. And what of the largesse from the Celtic Tiger Government? As we were told so often back when there really was an immigration crisis , the Irish Government, as a foreign government cannot allow its money or resources to be be used for lobbying. But, perhaps the situation has changed and those restrictions no longer apply. However, don’t the taxpayers of the Celtic Tiger have a right to know how their hard - earned tax Euros are being expended? And shouldn’t we Irish Americans, as U.S. Citizens, be confident that Irish tax payers’ money is not being used to advocate legislation and policy, which would severely degrade the standard of living of the hardworking, tax - oppressed middle class and, which would emasculate the economy and security of the nation that adopted us and of the homeland of our children and grandchildren ?
But we digress. Fodder for another day!
The word now is that in the spirit of magnanimity and in keeping with "Friendship, Unity and Christian Charity", the AOH will now endeavor to squeeze Vice - Chairman Staunton into their choc – a - bloc program, possibly two or three minutes at an off- line working committee. Believe me, after all the mean – spirited, hysterical, irrational Irish Voice attacks on the Order over the years, that is definitely "Christian Charity". They’re better men than we!
Patrick Hurley is a past president of the County Cork Association of New York. In 1987, Hurley was a co-founder of the Irish Immigration Reform Movement, which went on to secure thousands of Green Cards for Irish and other European immigrants to the United States. Active in GOP and Conservative Party politics, he is a former candidate for political office in NYC. Patrick Hurley is a 1985 graduate of University College Cork.
