Video- President Obama and Taoiseach Cowen

SPOOF: Sarah Palin's Irish cousin disowns her

By GottaLaff

We were so punk'd!

Niall O'Dowd of The Irish Central has commented that Irish Central was taken in by a spoof.

Original post:

The original Irish Central' article seems to have been scrubbed, but here is what Democratic Underground managed to salvage:

Sarah Palin has one living Irish relative – and he wants nothing to do with her.

Neither does CPAC.

Reverend Simon Lathrop is a Church of Ireland pastor living in the midlands of Ireland, and recently Palin campaigners have contacted the cleric seeking to enlist his support for her future endeavors. Lathrop, however, dislikes his cousin's politics and is rather embarrassed by his link to Palin. In the past he has even attended anti-American rallies, according to newsfromireland.com.

"In the last few months, I have been inundated with calls from genealogists who said they were acting on behalf of an American family trying to trace their roots,” Lathrop told the site.

“The intensity of it got me curious and when I probed further I discovered that the people who are searching were connected to the Palin campaign.

"They told me that they were trying to establish some Irish credentials for her in the build up to the campaign, but I have told them that I have no interest in being used as some sort of electoral pawn.”

Apparently the Irish are a lot sharper than the Tea Tantrumers and many Rushpublics. They won't be played for fools, and they haven't even met her yet.

As I mentioned, the full article is no longer available. Wonder who got to 'em?

Here's a little more via PalinQuestions:

Lathrop does not intend to help his relative achieve her political ambitions.

Lathrop went on to tell the newspaper, "I wish the lady all the luck in the world, but if she is in favor of hunting and shooting and warmongering, then I for one will not be welcoming her and will not be encouraging the Irish to vote for her if she runs in 2012," he said.

Lathrop is gracious, however, and is willing to have tea with Palin.

Ouch.

Well, you know what they say: You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your relatives.

But you sure can quit 'em. It must run in the family.

I feel a new Spurny McJilted Facebook post coming on....

Barack Obama's Irish Ancestors Reformed 19th Century Health Care

Dude, I'm telling you people I've got to be related to Obama, Kilkenney is like 30 miles from my family's ancestral home. (Castledermot)

President Barack Obama's Irish American ancestors were pioneers in 19th century health care reform.

Film-maker and historian Gabriel Murray, who found Barack Obama's great-grand uncle's tomb in Kilkenny, Ireland, uncovered the surprise links while he was researching his new documentary, "Obama's Irish Roots" (visit www.olympia-films.co.uk for more information).

One of Obama's Irish American cousins Jackson Brown Baxley (1814-1896) founded the Maryland College of Pharmacy and succesfully lobbied for the registration of pharmacists.

He was the first commissioner appointed and the first president of the Maryland Board of Pharmacy.

(snip)

So, Obama's (other) ancestors pushed for new public hospitals funded by the state to provide cheap health care for the poor.

In total 22 members of the Baxley dynasty practiced in Maryland as doctors, chemists, and health reformers.

Obama's cousins would also go on to push for other improvements in medical care.

They lobbied for the introduction of clinical medical education and practice which gave students first-hand experience in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Pic via Reutters.

Two Gitmo Detainees Headed to Ireland

Yeah!!! Good on the land of my ancestors.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs announced this morning that Ireland today announced it will accept two Uzbek detainees transferred from Guantanamo Bay.

“I know they wanted to be helpful, and we appreciate their willingness and ability to do that,” Gibbs said of the offer from the Irish government. “These were detainees that were ruled to be able to be transferred without further detention.”

(snip)

Irish justice minister Dermot Ahern said in a statement that “In making this decision I am conscious of the intention of the United States to close the center at Guantánamo Bay, in part by transferring detainees, no longer regarded as posing a threat to security but who cannot return to their own countries, to other countries willing to accept them.”

Ireland grants rights to same-sex partnerships

Not good enough, but better than we have. And in Ireland no less.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland recognized the legal rights of same-sex couples for the first time Friday in a civil partnership bill that gave people in long-term relationships many of the statutory rights of married couples.

But it stopped short of recognizing civil marriage. There are strong rights conferred to marriage under the constitution of the traditionally Catholic country, which was amended to lift a ban on divorce in 1995.

"This bill provides legal protection for cohabiting couples and is an important step, particularly for same-sex couples, whose relationships have not previously been given legal recognition by the state," Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said in a statement.

The legislation provides a range of previously denied rights including maintenance obligations, protection of a shared home and succession. "Balance is achieved by maintaining material distinctions between civil partnership and marriage, in particular between the rights attaching to both, while at the same time reflecting the equality rights protected by the constitution," Ahern said.

President Obama enjoys St. Paddy's Day

Happy St Patricks Day!

I love Ireland, but I love Dublin more.

A numerical look at things Irish-American-related

• 36.5 million: Number of U.S. residents claiming Irish ancestry in 2007
• Over 4 million: Population of Ireland
• $56,966: Median income for households headed by an Irish-American in 2007, over $6,000 higher than for all households
• $26.2 billion: Value of U.S. imports from Ireland between January and October of 2008
• $7.4 billion: Value of U.S. exports to Ireland during that same time period

Sen. Kennedy to be knighted

Not sure about the company he'll be in, but at least Teddy deserves it.

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) will be awarded an honorary knighthood, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to announce during his speech to both houses of Congress on Wednesday.

Kennedy, who is suffering from a malignant brain tumor, is receiving the honor because of his work in the Northern Ireland peace process and toward British-American relations in general.

(snip)

Previously political recipients of the knighthood include former President George H.W. Bush and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Up to 120,000 people march in protest over Irish economy

Note the highlighted bit. I'm good with street protests, how about you?

Up to 120,000 people have marched in Dublin in protest at how the Government is handling the economic crisis. The march, which was organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), took nearly one and a half hours to make its way from Parnell Square to Merrion Square.

Ictu maintained that the protest today was the first step in a campaign in support of a fairer way to achieve economic recovery.

Addressing the demonstration Ictu general secretary David Begg said that “a business elite” had destroyed the economy and had not yet been held to account for it in any respect.

Obama's Irish ancestoral home may become heritage centre

In case this happens and you need someone dedicated to work there, I am still looking for employment....

THE HOMESTEAD of US president-elect Barack Obama’s Irish ancestors has been withdrawn from sale with a view to being developed as a heritage centre.

The one-acre site in the centre of Moneygall is owned by Offaly County Council and was on the market for social housing for the last two years.

Mr Obama’s great-great-great grandfather on his mother’s side, Fulmouth Kearney, was born and grew up on the site before emigrating to the US in 1850.

Though Kearneys have not lived there for generations, the site was known until recently as “Kearney’s Gardens”.

Irish eyes keep on smiling, according to latest research

I'm telling you wotching, one of these days I'm just going to show up on your front step. Their secret? IMHO, it's all the damn walking they do.

IRISH PEOPLE are among the happiest and most optimistic in Europe and believe themselves to be the healthiest, according to a major new survey.

Ireland also ranks third out of 27 countries on an index of mental health contained in the quality of life survey carried out by an EU agency.

Only Norway and the Netherlands scored higher in the index, which measured how calm, active, rested and interested in life respondents were.

Some 83 per cent of Irish people said their health was good or very good, higher than in any other European country, even those like France with much-lauded health systems. Yet more than one-third reported difficulties accessing health services, in terms of waiting times for appointments, waiting times to be seen and the cost of medical treatment.

There's no one as Irish as Barack OBama

Sounds like a pub drinking song to me. Damn, now I'm craving Guinness. h/t Oliver.

Bookie Paddy Power pays out early on Obama victory

Yeah!!! Paddy Power people were super nice to me when I was in Ireland, giving me all sorts of Paddy swag.

The general public may still be weighing up who came off best in the concluding US presidential debate last night but Irish bookmaker Paddy Power today said it is to pay out early on Barack Obama becoming president.

The bookmaker said this morning it is to pay out in excess of €1 million to punters who have bet on the Illinois senator taking over the world's top job in three weeks time.

More than 10,000 bets have been placed on the 2008 presidential election with Paddy Power in Ireland, with the majority placed in support of Mr Obama over the past 12 months.

(snip)

“We declare this race well and truly over and congratulate all those who backed Obama, your winnings await you. Although the Senator seemed a little off sorts in last night's final debate we believe he has done more than enough to get him across the line on November 4th. The overall betting trend has shown one way traffic for Obama since the start of the summer and punters seemed to have called it 100 per cent correct," the bookmaker said in a statement.

Sarah Louise Palin lied about her Ireland trip

By GottaLaff

AmericaBlog says Caribou Barbie has even less "foreign policy"experience than we even thought, if that's even possible:

She didn't visit Ireland, which is what the McCain-Palin campaign claimed to Politico's Ben Smith on Saturday. She had a short refueling stopover, which means at best her extensive Irish diplomacy amounted to buying a sweater and a beer mug in the Shannon airport. [...]

Sarah Palin, in an effort to bolster her non-existent national security expertise, claimed she had visited 3 countries: Germany; Kuwait; and Ireland. Now we find out that one of those three, 33% of her experience, was pretty much a lie.

To be fair, Politico also said she has visited Canada. That's better. I'd now feel so much better knowing she has all that experience, should she ever be in charge of our nuclear arsenal.

Irish folk singer Ronnie Drew dies at 73

One of my mom's favorites.

Ronnie Drew, the legendary Irish folk singer and musician, has died at the age of 73, his family has announced.

Drew, the founder of The Dubliners, had been battling ill health for some time.

In a brief statement, his family confirmed he passed away at St Vincent's Private Hospital in Dublin at 1400 BST on Saturday.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen said Drew will be remembered in Ireland and across the globe for his music.

"Ronnie Drew was an iconic figure in Irish music over the last five decades," he said.

"I met him and admired his music, his unique singing voice was loved by so many people.

"Ronnie, whether as part of The Dubliners or during his solo career, will also be remembered for his promotion of Irish music both at home and around the world."