Irish America 250   

Every American learns of the inspiring story of Francis Scott Key, who wrote his poem as the Brit Army and Navy savaged the City of Baltimore in September of 1814. Ft. McHenry, in Baltimore Harbor, bore the brunt of the Brit bombardment.

This was only a couple of weeks after his Majesties forces had ransacked the American Capitol and burned the Whitehouse and U.S. Capitol (so much for the “special relationship” sic) and moved up The Chesapeake Bay towards Baltimore.

Ft. McHenry was named after James McHenry, a native of Ballymena, County Antrim. McHenry was a surgeon, whose first study of medicine was at Trinity College in Dublin.

Ft. McHenry was named in honor of James McHenry, who served as a high aide to General George Washing

ton and The Marquis de Lafayette during the American Revolution. He also was a signatory to the U.S. Constitution and served as President G. Washington’s Secretary of War.

McHenry was captured as a prisoner of war during the fall of New York City to the Brits early in the Revolution and later released. McHenry led American forces during critical revolutionary battles, including the crossing of the Delaware River with Gen. Washinton on Christmas Eve.

Upon his death in 1816, his wife wrote that he was most proud of his service to the fledgling American Nation and that he was an intimate and trusted friend of Washington, la Fayette and Hamilton. Take a moment to visit Ft. McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore and honor one of the many Irish American contributions to the American Revolution.

Good Irish Connections

Renee Good, poet and mother of three, was familiar with the Emerald Isle. As a teenager, Ms. Good traveled to Ireland with her church youth group on mission trips to better understand the troubles in the North of Ireland and bring a faith filled messages of hope. The Belfast Newsletter talked with Rev. James Hyndaman, who remembered Renee as “quiet-natured and compassionate.” 

He stated: “She loved to build relationships, and I suppose she was here experiencing what life in Northern Ireland was like, and for young people in Northern Ireland giving them an idea of what life was like in other places, that kind of intercultural experience. She still has friendships here right across Northern Ireland, people who remember and would still be in touch with her, and I think everybody’s just deeply, deeply shocked and stunned at the tragedy of all of this.” A tragedy directly born out of the dTrump/Vance regime’s demonization of immigrants, the normalizing of violence and employing fear as a weapon in their cause of despotism.

The Wonder

The Wonder is a movie drama mystery set in Ireland’s Midlands in 1862, within recent memory of The Famine. The pace and cinematography have period-piece written all over it.

The movie is based upon Irish Canadian writer Emma Donaghue’s book by the same name. Her earlier book “Room” was also adapted on to the silver screen, with much acclaim.

I am not a fan of psychological thrillers, but the setting and time frame pulled me in. It is based upon the lead actor, an English nurse, sent to observe an 11-year-old girl who has not eaten in four months. It sets up some dark, but thought provoking, tensions between faith and science, and their established bias.

Quite a plot twist with the viewer returning to review one’s own bias without a clean, neat resolution. Worth checking out during your cold February streaming surf. On Netflix.

Onward to Victory & Mass

While the University of Notre Dame du Lac, a little school in northern Indiana founded by the Brothers of Holy Cross (home of The Fighting Irish), did not repeat a visit to the national championship this year, it continues its many storied football traditions regardless. One tradition is a Saturday Vigil Mass at ND’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which starts right after any home football game, regardless of the time.

In recent years, Fr. Pete McCormick, C.S.C. has added to that tradition by issuing a live invite to the post game mass from the Basilica, at the end of the third quarter. His 90 second video sermon is streamed live on the stadium’s jumbo screen to encourage all to attend mass.

Students and ND fans erupt in cheers as loud as for any touchdown. Fr. Pete concludes his 90 seconds by asking all to share a sign of peace with each other. Suffice it to say, this would seem highly unusual at any football stadium outside of South Bend.

Fr. Pete is a beloved Holy Cross teacher who connects with his on-campus flock and serves as the chaplain to the ND basketball team. We could use a few more Fr. Pete’s.

Irish Unity

Ireland will assume the Presidency of the European Union in 2026. While largely an honorific position, it does provide a stage to shape and lead the agenda of the largest market of the world and home to 450 million people. The current Dublin Government continues to fail to lead as to the cause of Irish Unity and will likely fail to advance this cause during its EU presidency.

Sen. Conor Murphy (County Armagh), issued a statement on behalf of Sinn Fein:

“The Irish Government’s Presidency of the European Union must make Irish unity a central political priority. Polling by Amárach Research for the European Movement shows strong majority support, North and South, for a united Ireland within the European Union. It confirms that people want change, and they want a future back in the European Union. These figures reflect a growing understanding that the cost of Brexit – economically, politically, and socially – has been detrimental for the North of Ireland. The European Council’s 2017 statement in the context of Brexit stated that in the event of a united Ireland the state will automatically be within the EU. As we shortly approach the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, we must recognize that the journey is moving now from one of peace to unity. What is needed now is leadership and preparation from The Taoiseach Micheál Martin on the issue. A border poll and referenda on Irish reunification cannot be ignored. It is essential that the groundwork begins now to avoid uncertainty and ensure a peaceful, democratic transition to a united Ireland within the European Union. A united Ireland within the EU must be a central political and policy priority of Ireland’s EU Presidency in 2026.”