By Ray O’Hanlon
Leading Irish-American businessmen will be acting as observers in Drumcree on July 4.
But a number of members of Congress are delaying a planned visit to Northern Ireland until July 5, the day after Orange Order marchers are expected to attempt to march along the nationalist Garvaghy Road in the town.
The later arrival date is due to the fact that congressmen are expected to attend Fourth of July celebrations in their congressional districts.
However, a significant number of U.S. observers are expected in Drumcree on the fourth. They will include Bill Flynn, chairman of Mutual of America, and the company’s president and CEO, Tom Moran.
Both Flynn and Moran will be traveling to Northern Ireland under the auspices of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Flynn is chairman of the committee and Moran is a member of its executive committee.
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The New York-based National Committee has hosted a number of conferences in the city which have included representatives of virtually all political shades in Northern Ireland.
Flynn told the Echo that he expected to be in the Drumcree area for several days and would likely be accommodated in a house on the Garvaghy Road.
"The National Committee’s relations with both sides has been helpful in the past and may well be again," Flynn said Tuesday.
Two congressional delegations are expected in Ireland immediately after Drumcree weekend. One of them, led by GOP Reps. Ben Gilman and James Walsh, is linked to the Ireland-U.S. interparliamentary exchange program. The delegation will visit both Dublin and Belfast. In Belfast, the group is expected to meet with leaders of the Garvaghy Road residents.
A separate group of reps. led by New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne is expected to head for Drumcree that same week. Payne is a member of the Gilman-chaired House International Relations Committee.
Investigate British spy agency: King
The work of the British foreign intelligence service MI6 in the United States should be the subject of an investigation, Congressman Peter King believes
King was reacting to the recent two-part report in the Echo regarding the activities of MI6 in the U.S. and the degree of cooperation MI6 enjoys on American soil with the Central Intelligence Agency.
"It raises serious questions," King said in reference to the Echo story. "It certainly should be investigated and looked at."
The Long Island Republican stressed his belief that the present British government "seems much more cooperative and decent" than previous administrations.
"But no matter how close an ally is, they should not have that kind of power over American citizens," he said.
King’s assertion was made in reference to the report’s detailing of MI6 activities in the context of legal political activities undertaken by Irish Americans.
No rabble rouser Hume
The late Cardinal Basil Hume, spiritual leader of Catholics in England and Wales, was less prone to "rabble rousing" than his Irish predecessor, according to an obituary in the New York Times.
Cardinal Hume, who died from cancer last week, was portrayed in the obituary as a prelate who stood out from the rest of the British Catholic hierarchy around him and before him.
"The modern Catholic Church’s influence [in Britain] was tainted," according to the obituary, because "many members of its hierarchy like Cardinal Hume’s predecessor John Cardinal Heenan were of Irish origin and prone to rabble rousing."
Hume, who was a Benedictine abbot when made cardinal by Pope Paul V1, "changed all that," the obituary added.
The lengthy account of Hume’s life and work also mentioned the fact that he was active on the issue of securing "the release of those wrongly accused of carrying out attacks for the Irish Republican Army."
Fleadh the people
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade gets a huge chunk of Fifth Avenue, but Rocky Sullivan’s bar on Lexington Avenue is settling for a block this coming Sunday, June 27, when it stages "The People’s Fleadh" outside the premises between 28th and 29th streets. Musical attractions at what is a free festival include Morning Star, Rogue’s March, the Patrick McGuire Ban and Seanchaí. The fleadh starts at 1 p.m.