Madam, – Contrary to the occasional misconception, we are a separate organisation to the International Fund for Ireland (IFI). It is publicly funded whereas our income is generated from private philanthropists; it is focused on economic regeneration whereas we support charitable bodies.
However, we both share a mission to support the people of Northern Ireland as they build a new society. The peace process stands as a template for conflict resolution around the world. Beyond its successes, its key lesson is that peace comes dripping slow. The appalling murder of Constable Ronan Kerr proves that the process is unfinished business and needs care and nurturing. The key requirement now is to work on the ground to draw young people away from the lure of dissident thugs and to deliver a peace dividend.
We are playing our part through our Promising Ireland campaign to raise $100 million for charities across the island of Ireland.
We sincerely hope that the IFI can continue its outstanding work during this crucial phase and build upon its record of providing jobs and opportunities. We are happy to go on record as saluting and supporting the IFI. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Trina Vargo (April 7th) writes to quibble with the details of Lara Marlowe’s article (Home News, March 17th) highlighting Ms Vargo’s support for the defunding of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) by a Republican majority in the US Congress. In opposing continued funding for the IFI and in previously declining to support lobby efforts on behalf of the undocumented Irish in the US, Ms Vargo has twice taken positions directly at odds with the interests of Ireland and the Irish people.
But what I, as an Irish-American, find even more puzzling is Ms Vargo’s penchant for downplaying the vibrant relationship between our two countries. For example, in a recent online piece, Ms Vargo writes that there is no “Irish vote” and that Irish Americans “do not vote on the basis of Irish issues – largely because there no longer are ‘Irish’ issues”.
Her comments, while difficult to rebut definitively, do not reflect my experience of politics in standing for local office or in working for candidates for higher office in the Boston area. Moreover, these comments were made just before St Patrick’s Day this year when much of the official business in Washington, DC ground to a halt so that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker John Boehner, other congressional leaders and at least two governors could welcome Taoiseach Enda Kenny to America’s capitol. Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore had a private meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Now, President Obama is coming “home” and will soon put the tiny hamlet of Moneygall, Co Offaly on the world map.
If Ireland and Irish America have as little influence in the US as Ms Vargo maintains, what explains the actions of America’s highest office holders? In the end, what makes Ms Vargo’s positions on the IFI and the undocumented Irish in the US and her pronouncements about our transatlantic relationship so puzzling is the fact that her organisation, the US-Ireland Alliance, pledges to strengthen the bond between our two countries and receives substantial financial support from both governments to achieve its stated objective. – Yours, etc,