Jim Sheridan In America!

Dear ALL THINGS IRISH Readers,
Happy New Year to Everyone. It has been a great year
for me and McDonough Media.
Thank you all for your continuing support and readership.
We just got this information and thought we might pass it on.
We just missed the cut-off for the
Irish News USA Irish E-Missive
and the event is in early January.
Here is a link to the latest E-Missive #11:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/IRISHNEWSUSA #11


THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE 
PRESENTS...

JIM SHERIDAN IN AMERICA

Co-presented by the Irish Film Board 
and the L.A. Irish Film Festival
January 8 & 9
At the Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue, 
Santa Monica, CA
 
Six-time Academy Award nominee Jim Sheridan burst onto the international film scene with his 1989 masterpiece MY LEFT FOOT, which announced him as a major talent. He continued to move audiences with powerful dramas set in his native Ireland (IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE BOXER) as well as America (IN AMERICA, GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'). All of his films are profoundly character-driven yet broad in scope, examining the geographical, cultural and economic factors that influence how we live.
The Cinematheque will present some of Jim Sheridan's best films alongside his latest powerful work, BROTHERS, with Mr. Sheridan live in-person.
Series compiled by Grant Moninger and Gwen Deglise. Program notes by Jim Hemphill.

Friday, January 8 - 7:30 PM                              JIM SHERIDAN
Jim Sheridan In Person! Double Feature: BROTHERS, 2009, Lionsgate, 110 min. Dir. Jim Sheridan. When Sam (Tobey Maguire) is reported dead in Iraq, his brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), pitches in to help Sam's widow and high school sweetheart, Grace (Natalie Portman). Their mutual mourning brings Tommy and Grace closer together - a situation that becomes extremely complicated when Sam returns from Iraq, alive and well (physically, if not mentally).
IN AMERICA, 2003, Fox Searchlight, 103 min. Dir. Jim Sheridan. To begin all over again is a classic American dream, Irish émigrés Johnny and Sarah (Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton) discover it’s hard to do when they hit the streets of modern-day Manhattan, their two spunky young daughters in tow, and emerge into a realm as comical and adventure-filled as it is strange and terrifying. Discussion in between films with director Jim Sheridan.
Saturday, January 9 - 7:30 PM                                   JIM SHERIDAN
Double Feature: MY LEFT FOOT: THE STORY OF CHRISTY BROWN, 1989, Miramax, 103 min. Dir. Jim Sheridan. In an Oscar-winning performance, Daniel Day-Lewis plays Christy Brown, a painter with cerebral palsy who can only control his left foot. In spite of his disability, Brown becomes an important writer and artist in this heartbreaking yet profoundly inspirational tale.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, 1993, Universal, 133 min. Director Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day-Lewis reunite for the true story of the Guildford Four, a group falsely convicted of an IRA pub bombing.  Pete Postlethwaite and Emma Thompson co-star in this drama that beautifully combines character study and political history to create a modern classic. 

Looking to the New Year!

2010
Goals and Dreams and Morbid Reality
or the IRISH Life Tour Continues...
for the next week, I will be writing about and expanding
on three topics of Irish Interest;
RIVERDANCE, THE CHIEFTAINS and
VISITING IRELAND THIS YEAR.

I think it is my Irish Catholic fascination
with the Shamrock that makes me think of
THREE things in clusters at one time.
I like to come up with three of everything!
TRIADS!
To get your year off to a great start, may I suggest a variant
that suits you of my idea.
Sit down and write down some goals of a personal, family
and business nature.
Think of some of your dreams or loftier ambitions for your life;
put them on paper; tell someway; make them real!

Then throw in a balance---
consider the world and what part you play in it and
what small course correction that you might take to make it a better place;
volunteer, donate some money or time or both and maybe just be nicer...
something positive.
If a large number of us would think in these terms; the aggregate
effect would make a difference for the common good.

Now, the THREE IRISH POINTS of INTEREST...
Riverdance is on its final tour.
One of the stops is 16 performances at the
Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Chieftains are coming to the states and this wonderful group,
known as Ireland's Musical Ambassadors to the world will be palying at the
Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Southern California.


Finally,  this is a great year to go to Ireland!
The recession has lowered rates a bit and there are some good deals on airfare.
We will be expanding on this a lot over the next few weeks.

More soon:
meanwhile we invite you to sign up fr our FREE
Weekly Irish E-Missive.
Here is a link:
http://archive.IrishNewsUSA #9


Your comments and questions are always appreciated.

See Box Below...

Jim McDonough
Manhattan, Kansas

Merry Christmas to All!

First Up...Here is a Link

to IRISH NEWS USA #10

Good stuff here on 

Irish Christmas Traditions

and A Christmas appeal 

for Wells of Life.

Please have a look...

http://archive.IrishNewsUSA #10

This is shaping up to be a great 
Christmas Season for me and 
I am exceptionally blessed and lucky.  
It is amazing how much
more energy and focus I have. 
I give myself high marks for finally getting 
into the habit of long walks, 
a lot less drinking, 
no smoking and slightly improved diet.  
My renewed faith in God and
my own strange allegiance to my
Irish Catholic heritage has
helped a lot too. 
The biggest blessing I have is my family. 
My son Mark has also been a great help 
to me. He is big in the moral support area
and he has helped a lot with the business
by running errands and helping  
with the books. The other incredible turn 

of tides is that I am also living an almost stress 
free existence thanks to my son Matt 
and his wife, the best daughter-in-law 
in the world, Chasity.

Last year at this time, I was so ill and miserable 
that I thought it was probably going to be 
my last Christmas. 
I was seemingly old, stressed and worn out.
The biggest stress that I now have is publishing 
the Irish News & Entertainment.  
My paper has not been a financial success for many years 
and my son and his wife think I'm nuts
and stupidly stubborn for doing it still.

Stress is a killer and it appears that the correlation to 
being a publisher of an Irish paper and stress is high! 
Unless, I can fix that fairly soon, 
my print publishing days are numbered. 
Any input from any of my readers on this 
topic will be appreciated. Now back to Christmas!!


I've had time this year to send out a few cards, a few gifts 
and have actually bought a few presents for my sons early; 
first time ever for that. 


The so called War On Christmas amazes me.
What the heck has happened
in America that makes people so snide and
cantankerous. I am all for Christmas in all 
its many forms and traditions.
I think Bill  O'Reilly and his
WE SAY Merry Christmas slogan
is not just silly but obnoxius.
Say Merry Christmas by all means,
but for God's Sake don't
do so in a pugnacious manner.
The other idiots who complain about the 
separation of religion and the state are 
even higher on my Eat Coal list! 
In the words of that wonderful and 
often misunderstood American, Rodney King,
"Can't we just all get along!"

Hope you all are enjoying the 

Winter Solstice with your

Glorious Christmas!

Jim McDonough,
Manhattan, Kansas
12/23/09

 

2.3 Million Euros for Irish Arts Center - Budget Lesson from Ireland

 

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Announces  
€2.3million Towards Construction of 
New Irish Arts Centre in New York 

Global Irish Economic Forum
detailed by Mr Micheál Martin, T.D.

                    Speaker Christine Quinn and                        
                    Micheál Martin, T.D. 

 The Minister for Foreign Affairs,  
Micheál Martin, T.D.,  
today announced a major grant for a landmark 
Irish project in New York.  
Minister Martin said that a total of €2.3 million will be 
provided immediately towards the construction of a
the Irish Arts Centre in Manhattan.

The Minister said one of the main themes to emerge from 
the attendees at the Global Irish Economic Forum 
was the importance of Irish Culture to the image Ireland abroad and in particular in the USA. 
He noted that this was also an important conclusion of the 
Strategic Review of Ireland US Relations, 
published by the Taoiseach last March.   
Minister Martin said he was extremely impressed by the arguments 
made at Farmleigh by members of the business and cultural sectors alike.

Announcing the grant from the Emigrant Support Programme 
managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Minister said:

“The allocation of such significant funding is a clear demonstration of the Government’s strong commitment to the building of the new Irish Arts Centre in New York.  This funding is a response to the extraordinary gesture of the City of New York in making a site, valued at $12 million available for the project, along with a further $8 million in capital funding.

The construction of the New York Irish Arts Centre is identified as a priority in the revised 
Programme for Government and I would like to pay tribute to 
Minister Martin Cullen for his longstanding support and commitment to the project.

The new Centre will project a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America across the US; it will facilitate extensive Irish-related cultural, business and community programmes; will showcase quality contemporary Irish theatre and art; and will also provide an invaluable resource for the Irish emigrant community in the US”.  

The Minister paid warm tribute to New York City Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Christine Quinn for their exceptional support for the initiative. He also thanked Gabriel Byrne for his support for the Arts Centre and for his longstanding work in promoting Irish culture throughout the US.

Minister Martin said that this major initiative demonstrates how seriously the Government views the outcome of the Farmleigh Forum: “Everybody at Farmleigh said that the success of the Conference could only be judged by the quality of the follow up. Today I have begun to demonstrate that despite the difficult budgetary situation, we are determined to continue investing in our unique resource- the Irish Diaspora and its cultural heritage.

This is just the beginning and I will be making further announcements in the New Year.

Other ideas which are being actively progressed include: a new Global Irish Network; the establishment of an Irish innovation centre in Silicon Valley; the Gateway Ireland portal, which would serve as a key online focus for promoting Ireland abroad and engaging with our global community; expanded educational exchange and scholarship programmes to increase engagement with younger generations; and a new Farmleigh Overseas Graduate Programme.  I am aware that a number of other Departments are also taking forward initiatives suggested at Farmleigh. I am similarly encouraged by the fact that significant work has already been undertaken by participants themselves on a number of projects that are more suitably advanced by the private sector. These will have the support of the Government.”

He pointed out that at its meeting on 13 October, the Government considered a comprehensive report prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Management Institute.  
The full report contains a detailed list of the main themes and specific proposals 
to emerge and is available at:
www.dfa.ie 
More at:
www.globalirishforum.ie 

Even Ireland Suffers Budget Crunch
The Celtic Tiger is going to be forced to take its belt in a notch
according to a story in the Irish Times of yesterday
(Monday, December 7);
The Irish government will announce details this week to
curtail and cut government spending across the board.
This is quite interesting in view of the grant that the
Irish Government just made to the Irish Arts Centre.
However, it also proves a point;
the Irish cut spending across the board so that
no part of the spending cuts hurts one department more
than any other. Again a lesson we could learn from the
better balanced Irish politicians!
See the entire story at:
irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/

Lesson To Be Learned...
We need to take heed of the Republic of Irelands actions
and insist that our local,state and Federal government act in a similar fashion.
The elitist professional politicians and
entrenched bureaucrats that are running things now
are not going to go gently into the good night.
We have a real fight on our hands!
Bill O'Reilly came up with an interesting idea on his show late
last week; the Fox News Commentator proposed a
Federal Sales Tax of 2% on EVERYTHING 
sold in the US except food.
Two stipulations were called for:
First that the Emergency Sales Tax be temporary
---for five years maximum.
and that it go along with a freeze in government spending.
O'Reilly claims that competition in the marketplace
would ease and absorb the disruptions caused by the tax.

I could support this if the federal government was mandated
to not just freeze spending but to also cut spending by 3%.
The combination could make a significant dent in the
Federal Deficit over Five Years.
If we do not do something of this magnitude immediately,
we are going to totally ruin the economy and leave a legacy
of total economic chaos to our children.
I think this plan and the plan outlined in my
Economics of Chaos blog of a few weeks ago to put
Congress into the Social Security program and
take away the ridiculous pensions that they have voted
for themselves would go a long way toward returning
us to some fiscal sanity.

We do indeed have a real fight on our hands;
this is absolutely the Second American Revolution.
I also believe that it we do not elect a slate of
real conservatives and independents to office in 2010
that our American Democracy and our very way of life
will be lost to the Lovers of Big Government
and Big Corporations.
TheTime is Ripe
This is a clarion call to save America!
Start now by considering a run for office yourself
as an independent fiscal conservation.
We need patriots.
Find others like us and work and support to elect
people who love America and its tradition of freedom.
We need to empty the public trough from which these pigs
who claim they are public servants feed.  
Together, it can be done.
God Bless America. 
May 2010 be a year of change that we can trust. 
Change that we can control. 
A change to return sovereignty to the people.

Slan agus bennacht,
Jim McDonough
12/7/09