Like so many others, I try to read an article by Fintan O’Toole whenever one appears. But who can keep up?  I discovered him when he wrote mostly about drama; now he writes as a public intellectual – one of the top 300 in Britian according to the Observer—and he has acknowledged that he has “very few unpublished thoughts.”

She once heard that it may take time to “chisel” something into an Irish Setter’s mind, but once the dog learns it, the lesson stays there. Their official breed standard describes them as having a “rollicking” personality, a word both women agreed captures them perfectly. Irish Setters are enthusiastic, affectionate, playful and frequently silly. “They have a lot of human-like qualities,” Lindeman said. “You honestly could just sit on the couch and watch them.”

We Urge All Americans to Join This Appeal

On Saturday July 25, the Cleveland Irish American community had a very special reason to celebrate as Alphonsus “Al” O’Leary marked his 100th birthday, honoring a remarkable century filled with family, faith, service, friendship, Irish heritage and, of course, music, at the West Side Irish American Club.

Excitingly, state politicians from Ohio are members of the American Irish State Legislators Caucus, founded in 2021 at the height of Irish American lobbying about the effects of Brexit on Northern Ireland. State House member Lauren McNally of Youngstown used her American Irish State Caucus connections to pass Ohio law establishing the Ohio Ireland Trade Commission in August 2025. A great place to refresh Irish American political advocacy further is to ask our legislative representatives to join their appropriate Irish Caucus. In Columbus this past St. Patrick’s Day, Mayor Ginther and City Council both announced declarations calling on the Irish Republic to actively prepare for a possible Re-Unification vote in Northern Ireland. Our Congressional legislators at both the State and National level should also be educated on the issues and importance of America’s role as protector of the Good Friday Agreement.