Echoes of ’99

January

The year that would witness profound changes in the political landscape on the island of Ireland began with an economic twist as Ireland, now well and truly branded the Celtic Tiger, entered the Euro currency area. In the North, the marching season was still months away but tensions were already rising in Portadown, scene of the long-running dispute between Orangemen and residents of the Garvaghy Road. In New York, the world of journalism was saddened by the death of Pulitzer Prize winner Mike McAlary of the New York Daily News.

The new U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Wyoming’s Mike Sullivan, was packing his spurs and cowboy hat. He wasn’t the only one packing. Early indications pointed to a bumper travel year on the transAtlantic air routes. The New York Mets struck out in forking over a mere $855 to the Jeanie Johnston Famine ship project. The K-Club in Ireland got the good news that it will host the Ryder Cup in 2005. British Northern Secretary Mo Mowlam was hoping for a power sharing executive in Stormont before St. Patrick’s Day. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was being pulled closer to the financial scandals rocking Ireland. Loyalists firebombed Catholic homes in the North.

February

Irish rugby got a huge boost as Ulster captured the European club championship. The RUC was to be put under the microscope by the Patten Commission. As Ireland became seemingly awash in allegations of political and financial sleaze, it emerged that Charles Haughey may have received about £2.5 million in cash gifts during his political career. Former IRA man Eamon Collins, who revealed his secret past in a book called "Killing Rage" was the victim of one. His battered body was found on a roadside near his native Newry, Co. Down.

Ireland’s rugby team couldn’t match Ulster’s prowess and went down by a single point to France at Lansdowne Road. Reports indicated that President Clinton is poised to intervene in the troubled peace process. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern caused a storm with comments suggesting that the IRA must start decommissioning before Sinn Féin can enter a power-sharing executive. Gerry Adams, meanwhile, predicted Irish unity in 15 years. Ireland’s rugby team beat Wales.

March

The trial of New York Police Officer Richard Molloy, accused of murdering Derry-native Hessy Phelan, opened in a Bronx courtroom. A man was charged in Dublin in connection with the Omagh bombing. the U.S. Postal Service unveiled the long-awaited stamp depicting Irish immigration during the famine era.

Profound shock and anger followed the murder by car bomb of civil rights attorney Rosemary Nelson near her home in Lurgan, Co. Armagh. Thousands subsequently attended her funeral. St. Patrick’s Day celebrated from coast to coast. Screen legend Maureen O’Hara headed the parade in New York as Irish gays once again protested their exclusion from the event. Ireland’s Five Nations rugby championship hopes fell apart as the team went down to Scotland. In soccer, the Republic’s Euro-qualifier against Macedonia was threatened because of NATO bombing in Kosovo. The IRA indicated where nine bodies are buried. As the Good Friday Agreement unraveled, George Mitchell said he was ready to return to Belfast. Singer Sinead O’Connor, embroiled in a child custody battle, reportedly tried to commit suicide in a Dublin hotel room.

April

The GAA suspended former Wexford football manager J.J. Barrett for two years after he punched a referee. The latest Irish sensation on Broadway, "The Weir," dazzled audiences and critics alike. The new GAA season opened in the U.S.

Both Sinn Féin and the IRA rejected the joint Irish-British government Hillsborough Declaration as it pertained to decommissioning. Irish-American groups, including Americans for a New Irish Agenda, were also unhappy with the declaration. A Bronx Irish-American family was left grieving after Brendan Ryan was killed by a speeding car after his own bachelor party.

Richard Molloy was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Hessy Phelan. Gerry Adams said the Good Friday accord was in "free fall." New York’s Gaelic footballers drew with the Irish Army in the Battle of Gaelic Park. Sean McCague was elected the new president of the GAA in Ireland. After a 71-year wait, former Garda and now New York resident William Geary was cleared of charges that he was an IRA informant in the 1920s. Aer Lingus was poised to go into partnership with an as yet unidentified U.S. airline. Ulster Unionists rejected a John Hume plan to break the political stalemate.

May

The Irish government said it suspects collusion in the 1989 murder of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane. The McAllister family from Belfast is turned down for political asylum by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. British Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined his political vision for the North in an Echo op-ed. Cork beat Dublin to take the National Football League title. The Sinn Féin Ard Fheis took place in a mood of anger and frustration. UUP leader David Trimble met with Garvaghy Road residents. Tipperary toppled Galway and captured the National Hurling League title. New York’s Gaelic football team geared up for an historic football clash with Mayo in the Connacht senior football championship. Richard Molloy was given four to 12 years for killing Hessy Phelan. Protesters gave UUP leader David Trimble a chilly welcome when he received an honorary degree at Boston College. As a list of alleged British spies is published on the internet by a disgruntled former intelligence officer, The Echo explored the matter of British spying on Irish America. A gallant New York Gaelic football team went down to a strong Mayo side in Castlebar.

June

As Euro and local elections approached, pundits predicted problems for Sinn Féin as the fiasco continued over failure to find the "disappeared" bodies of IRA victims. The Irish government pulled the plug on a Euro soccer qualifier in Dublin by refusing visas to the Yugoslav team. New York cops turned out in huge numbers to mourn Thomas Brennan, the Mayo-born assistant police chief. Irish swimmer Michelle Smith de Bruin failed in her bid to overturn a four-year ban resulting from a failed drugs test. Despite gloomy predictions, Sinn Féin did well in elections on both sides of the border. A row erupted in Boston over jobs at an hotel. Was it a case of only Irish need apply? Ex-IRA informer Martin McGartland was shot and wounded at his home in England. The first body believed connected to the group of IRA victims known as "the disappeared" was discovered in County Monaghan. After being banned at Drumcree, Orange Order protesters began a "long march" from Derry to Portadown.

July

Serious clashes were expected at Drumcree but the now annual confrontation over marching rights versus resident’s rights passed off relatively peacefully. Political tensions, however, continued to rise with unionists seemingly poised to reject the timetable for a power-sharing executive including Sinn Féin. Rep. Peter King was involved in a blazing row with an anti-agreement unionist during a reception at Stormont. The Ulster Unionists ultimately rejected the executive, failing even to show up for its opening session. The executive thus collapsed after a lifespan of two minutes. President Clinton reacted angrily and the SDLP’s Seamus Mallon tendered his resignation as deputy first minister designate. George Mitchell, meanwhile, returned to Belfast.

The world is stunned by the tragic death of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife and sister-in-law in a plane crash off Martha’s Vineyard.

Seven arrested in a Florida-based gun smuggling plot. The guns were sent to Ireland but the question as to which paramilitary group remained unanswered.

August

The world were reminded of the shocking but also inspiring story of Damian Brennan, a boy from Portadown, Co. Armagh, who suffered severe burns after other boys doused him with paint thinner and set him alight while calling him "a Fenian bastard." Damian had been receiving skin grafts at a hospital in Boston for several years.

Questions arose as to the handling of money by Charles Haughey intended to cover the costs of a liver transplant in the U.S. for his late friend and political ally Brian Lenihan. The future of the Great Irish Fair in Brooklyn was in doubt as new development plans unveiled for its traditional venue, Steeplechase Park.

A row erupted in Boston over the display of shamrock designs in public housing projects. The shamrock was described as a "bias indicator" and compared to the Confederate flag. Following an uproar, the city housing authority said it was all a misunderstanding and shamrocks were fine. A year after a car bomb destroyed much of the town center, the victims of Omagh were remembered. The Apprentice Boys got the nod for a march on the Lower Ormeau Road in Belfast. The resulting march led to serious clashes between the RUC and residents. Golfer Christy O’Connor Jr. was burning up the senior tour. His latest win was in Michigan. Irish journalist Ed Moloney faced possible prison after refusing to hand over his notes from an interview of a leading loyalist. The case cast new light on the Pat Finucane murder. The Cavan women won the New York LGAA football title yet again.

September

Leaked details of the Patten Commission report into the RUC indicated considerable reform might be on the way. Unionist angered by what the leaks reveal.

The Irish soccer team’s hopes soared with a victory over Yugoslavia, but the prospects of qualification for the European Championships took a quick nosedive when Mick McCarthy’s men subsequently lost to Croatia by a single last-minute goal. George Mitchell, in Belfast, began to review the stalled Good Friday agreement.

Cork overcame the challenge of Kilkenny to win the All-Ireland hurling title. The Patten report on policing was released to severe criticism from unionists. Nationalists reacted with caution. A report revealed a huge increase in the number of Irish gift stores across the U.S. New evidence into the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry cast further doubt on the Widgery Tribunal report. Kerry native Patrick John O’Doherty survived a crane collapse in Manhattan that killed a co-worker. California passed the MacBride Principles into law.

George Mitchell threatened to quit his Good Friday Agreement review if parties didn’t give ground. There was no Cork double; Meath beat Cork in all-Ireland football final.

October

The political crisis in the North deepened. George Mitchell warned that the peace process was "under great stress." Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams scaled back a trip to the U.S. Playwright Brien Friel made a triumphant return to Broadway with "Give Me Your Answer, Do!" Ireland heavily defeated U.S. in rugby World Cup opener. Irish Euro soccer hopes dimmed after 1-1 draw with Macedonia. Ireland now in a playoff.

North talks moved to London as crisis reached new level over guns vs. government impasse. Boston celebrated the opening of new Irish cultural center in Canton. Singing legend Joe Locke died at 82. Gerry Adams came to New York and raised half-a-million dollars at a fund-raising dinner. Ireland mourned the passing of former Taoiseach Jack Lynch. Kerry won New York football title by beating Donegal. Ireland out of rugby world cup after being defeated by Argentina. The North talks saw just a glimmer of hope.

November

As North talks reached climax, David Trimble courted strong criticism by flying to the U.S. for a speaking engagement. The director of movie about the Irish San Patricio Brigade lashed out at MGM for killing off his movie despite strong reviews.

A confidential document presented to George Mitchell by the IRA indicated that the Provos considered shooting war to be now over. Talks began to make progress and a political settlement suddenly appeared possible. If talks succeed, President Clinton might visit Ireland. Turkey put an end to Ireland’s Euro soccer hopes. The Echo, in a four-part series, examined the state of Irish immigration to the United States at the millennium.

After months of uncertainty, Ulster Unionists backed a power sharing executive including Sinn Féin. Agreement started a chain of events leading to formation of a Northern Ireland governing executive based at Stormont. The Irish government implemented changes to Articles 2 & 3 of the Irish Constitution previously approved by voters in a referendum.

December

The North’s Executive met for business. Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness got the education portfolio while Bairbre de Brun now in charge of health and public safety. Aer Lingus was formally welcomed into a transAtlantic alliance by American Airlines. Monty Maloney won his third two-year term as New York GAA president. A 2000 St. Patrick’s Day parade planned for Queens, N.Y., is to include gay groups. Dr. Kevin Cahill chosen as grand marshal for the Fifth Avenue parade. The North-South Ministerial Council met for the first time in Armagh. It was revealed that British military intelligence had been bugging a car used by Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Hillary Clinton, campaigning for the U.S. Senate, caused a stir when she expressed interest in taking part in the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The event is boycotted annually by some leading Democrats because of the parade’s refusal to allow the participation of the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization. The world now awaits what the new century and millennium will bring.

——- Compiled by Ray O’Hanlon