Intelligencer

The Arrogance Of Being Egan

WE reported last week how the former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Richard Egan had warned our sister publication Irish America magazine that they had better “think twice” before daring to comment on the 2004 presidential election.

Now it transpires that the Irish Echo newspaper was also similarly attacked by Egan for publishing a story recently on Karl Rove’s idiotic comment comparing al-Qaeda to the IRA.

Egan went after Irish America when the magazine had the temerity to publish both John Kerry’s statement on Northern Ireland and that of President Bush. Egan apparently took grave offense that the publication would dare to include such subversive material in its publication.

Egan certainly owes everyone an explanation for his interventions, but the former ambassador has refused to comment on his allegations and threats. Indeed, The New York Times has tried apparently on several occasions to speak to Egan about them, but he has not been forthcoming.

All of which is pretty surprising for an incredibly successful businessman who nonetheless made a very unimpressive ambassador to Ireland.

Egan himself admitted that he was bored during his time in Dublin and at the first opportunity he came back to this side of the ocean, where he has been a leading light in the Bush campaign, raising huge amounts of money.

Obviously his all-out support for Bush has blinded him to minor issues such as the First Amendment which guarantees the right to free speech. His opinions count, of course, but trying to silence the opinion of others is very dangerous stuff in this day and age. Both Irish America and the Irish Echo deserve an apology.

Barker’s Passing Means Changes

THE death of Jim Barker, one of two head honchos of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York, had been widely anticipated as he had been sick for some time.

His death will set off a flurry of speculation about who will move up in the parade hierarchy now that Barker, who was an utterly dominant presence, is gone.

John Dunleavy remains chairman of the parade, but it would be safe to say that Barker turned it into the ideological and unyielding narrow Catholic event it has become.

Barker brooked no argument, and issues such as pedophilia in the church and open debate about its future cut no slack with him. He was an unreconstructed hard-line Catholic, and the parade reflected his opinions.

Whoever Dunleavy picks as his new running mate might well have a major impact on the parade itself. Someone like John Lahey, president of Quinnipiac College and a former grand marshal would certainly represent a different direction.

A figure like Lahey, with built-in public relations skills, could take the parade out of the dreadful hole it has dug for itself in terms of the national and international media. 

Finally finding a way to resolve the gay marchers issue would be an incredible achievement, as well as making the parade more open and inclusive.

It is also time to revise the rules for who can become grand marshal. After all, it is ridiculous than men like former Congressman Bruce Morrison, founder of the Morrison visa program, and former Senator George Mitchell, who single-handedly delivered an enormous chunk of the peace process, can never be acknowledged by the wider Irish community as grand marshals, simply because they are not Catholic. With Barker’s passing perhaps such changes are now possible.

A Lesson From Flynn

IF the parade ever wanted a lesson in inclusivity they could have attended the recent luncheon of the Committee on American Foreign Policy headed by Mutual of America Chairman Bill Flynn, also a past grand marshal.

Flynn’s luncheon featured American envoy to Ireland Dr. Mitchell Reiss talking about the peace process. At the event sitting at the same table were Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey and Sinn Fein chairman Mitchell McLaughlin. It was the kind of example of what working across party and religious lines can produce.

Flynn also announced that the Democratic Unionist Party, led by Ian Paisley, had finally agreed to send a representative to address the foreign policy group — an amazing development. 

Flynn, of course, was closely identified with the parade for years before Barker took grave exception to his modernizing views. He would have made an incredible difference if he had stayed on.

The Cobra In Ireland

MAUREEN Dowd, nicknamed the Cobra by the Bush White House, was in Ireland last week to sell her new book Bushworld, which is a collection of her columns dealing with this White House.

Dowd, whose father hails from Co. Clare, is probably the most influential journalist writing these days, and she received enormous press coverage in Ireland.

Dowd is an equal opportunity offender, though. She lashed into Bill Clinton over the Monica affair, making people believe she was anti-Democrat. Now she is doing the same to George Bush, which is probably the hallmark of a great journalist.