memorials

Mayo-born Argentine Navy founder honoured

Thursday, September 28th, 2006

A monument to Admiral William Brown was unveiled by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday in Dublin’s Docklands. The Irish Independent says the Mayo-born founder of the Argentine Navy who died in 1857, has 1,100 streets, 420 schools, six football clubs and two cities named after him in Argentina.
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1695760&issue_id=14694

NY mayor calls for "common sense" in immigration laws

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, speaking at Sligo’s City Hall, pledged to fight for legislation that would help undocumented Irish immigrants in the US. “I know that many Irish-born New Yorkers are caught in the trap of our federal immigration policies,” he said. “If we are going to attract the best and the brightest — and Ireland has more than its fair share — we need to inject some common sense into our immigration laws, and I’m doing my best to make that case in Washington.”
The mayor was speaking as part of his trip, postponed from earlier in the month, to dedicate a memorial to the Fighting 69th, the “Irish brigade� of the US Civil War. The memorial includes metal from the World Trade Center.
http://www.nysun.com/article/38427

Fine Gael TD John Perry made a speech at the monument’s unveiling, in which he said: “This monument represents the unbreakable link between all those who emigrated from Ireland to the United States over the past 200 years. It is a link of dedication. It is a link of service to others. It is a link of sacrifice for others. It is a link of friendship between our two nations. And it is a link of hope for a future that is free and possible.�
The entire text of the speech is available at http://www.irishdev.com/NewsArticle.aspx?id=3608

Topics: US Immigration reform, history

New York mayor to unveil Sligo monument

Thursday, August 17th, 2006

In other news about Irish men serving in forces abroad, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York will visit Ballymote, Co. Sligo to unveil a monument to the 69th Regiment of the American Civil War – also known as the “Fighting Irish�. The monument’s base contains steel from the Twin Towers in memory of Sligo-born Michael F Lynch, a firefighter who died on 9/11.