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News Briefs: Congressmen: forget ‘Plan B’

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

“It is our hope that at the conclusion of the talks, the two governments and the political parties will have achieved a deal that will lead to the swift restoration of devolution and a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland,” four representatives said in a statement addressed to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The signatories are Friends of Ireland chairman James Walsh and three of the co-chairs of the Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs, Reps. Richard Neal, Peter King and Joe Crowley.
“We sincerely hope that all participants will minimize the prospects of a ‘Plan B,’ ” they said.
The four said they remained committed to the full implementation of the Good Friday accord.
“And at this critical moment, we continue to believe the agreement is the appropriate context in which to resolve the outstanding issues,” the four said.
They added that while the outstanding issues were well known, the path to a comprehensive and conclusive agreement was less certain.
“We have confidence that an agreement can be reached . . . and we encourage all participants to continue on the road toward peace and reconciliation,” they said.

ENGEL BEATS
CHALLENGER
Rep. Eliot Engel beat back the challenge of a former New York City firefighter in last week’s 17th congressional district Democratic primary.
Engel, whose district covers part of the Bronx and Westchester County as well as Rockland County, faced a stiff challenge from Yonkers native Kevin McAdams.
Engel was supported in his primary campaign by a number of Irish-American activists in the New York area including Belfast man Malachy McAllister who is currently battling deportation proceedings against him and his children.

BUSH NOMINATES
BREHON LEADER
President Bush has nominated Paul A. Crotty to the federal bench. Crotty, if confirmed, will be assigned to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Crotty, currently a vice president of Verizon Communications, is on the board of the Brehon Law Society.
A former corporation counsel for New York City, Crotty is also a graduate of Notre Dame University.

WORSE THAN
GUANTANAMO
Former IRA man Ciaran Ferry is in poorer legal shape than even prisoners taken during the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, according to his lawyer.
“Ciaran Ferry is now in a worse position than enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay,” said attorney Eamonn Dornan.
Dornan said that his client was being denied bail and due process of law while being held in a Colorado jail.
“The Department of Homeland Security has failed to meet its lawful obligations,” Dornan said.
Ferry, a Belfast native, is appealing against a decision by the Virginia-based Board of Immigration Appeals to deport him to Ireland.
Ferry has been jailed since Jan. 30, 2003. He was detained when he turned up for a green card interview accompanied by his wife, a U.S. citizen.

McCAIN FOR DUBLIN
Sen. John McCain is lined up to speak at the world’s oldest
student society, the University Philosophical Society of Trinity
College Dublin.
According to society president Patrick Cosgrave, the popular but often controversial senator from Arizona will be speaking at the society on
Nov. 14, just a few days after the presidential election.
In his biography, “Faith Of My Fathers,” which was published in 1999, the onetime Vietnam prisoner of war wrote of his Irish American roots in County Antrim.

TWO MORE FOR BARRY
Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Rep. Martin Meehan of Massachusetts are the latest cosponsors of a joint congressional resolution recognizing Wexford-born Commodore John Barry as the first flag officer of the United States Navy.
The resolution, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Arlen Spencer of Pennsylvania, and in the House of Representatives by Rep. Peter King of New York, now has eight co-sponsors in the Senate and 47 in the House.
On Sept. 13, the state of Pennsylvania marked its annual Commodore John Barry Day.

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BLUE AND
GREEN FOR KERRY
A group of Democrats calling themselves the “Blue Staters” are planning to mount campaigns in conjunction with the Irish American Democrats lobby group in areas of the country that voted in 2000 for the GOP.
As an initial fundraiser, the group will host a lecture on grassroots political organizing at the Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st St. in Manhattan on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. the lecture will be followed by a performance of “Women on the Verge of H.R.T.”, starring Joan Slavin. Details from Judith McGowan
at Jemcgowan@aol or (718) 884 6853.

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