Latest news with #IrishPost
Irish Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Post
'Peace, not war' - Bernie Sanders tells Cork on Irish visit
Irish Post commentator PETER KELLY went walkabout with former US presidential hopeful in Ireland's 'Second City' From Cork City Hall to Connolly Hall SIPTU union event with Lord Mayor Dan Boyle IT'S not every day that a US presidential hopeful is seen on walkabout in Ireland's second city. At the end of May Senator Bernie Sanders prompted many a second glance among Cork's residents as he strode through its small streets. The man who vied for the US Democratic Party's presidential nomination both in 2016 and 2020 was on an Irish visit to promote the benefits of union labour, its heritage and to encourage world peace. He gave speeches at union buildings in both Dublin then Cork, and was the keynote speaker at the capital's Tressell Festival, then to a sell-out public audience in the renowned Vicar Street Theatre near the Guinness Brewery. Senator Sanders with wife Dr Jane O'Meara Sanders beneath Shandon Bells Church The 83-year-old veteran US Senator was earlier afforded an audience with 84-year old Irish President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin in Phoenix Park. Their fond interaction went viral on social media and Mr Sanders signed the distinguished visitors book in what is known as the Irish White House. The Vermont native had met President Higgins in 2018 at Dublin's Dalkey Book Festival and this year was joined by his Irish-American wife, Dr Jane O'Meara Sanders. Sláinte! Celebrating labour union icon Mary 'Mother' Jones' legacy However, it was in Ireland's second city that Mr Sanders made the most memorable impression. From cordial fellow train passengers en route to Cork, to the city's lord mayor, TDs and the pro-union audience in its offices, it was a surreal sight seeing Bernie Sanders traverse the small city and streets of the inner city, as locals looked on bemused. The ironic apex of his visit was surely the butchers' shop-stop, where local union labour historians regaled him of tales of Mother Jones, the locally-born union activist who organised workers in the US in the late 1800s is celebrated. The sight of Senator Sanders in historic Cork lanes, behind the counter, flanked by carnivorous staff in aprons prompted his comment that "I've been to many openings and events, and let me tell you this, it's the first time ever that me and Jane have ever been to a butcher's shop,' he joked. 'Thank you, Cork.' Bernie Sanders arrives from Dublin at Cork's Kent Station With an Irish whiskey toast Sanders departed with well-worn wisdom for local Lee-siders, advice to honour long established Irish-American ties. "It's imperative" he said, "that we all stand together to remember our common humanity, and that all the children in the world have a right to live with food, with education, with security. And that we strive for a world of peace and not war." Peter Kelly See More: Cork, Senator Sanders, US Politics
Irish Post
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Ten minutes with Johnny McEvoy
THE singer Johnny McEvoy has just celebrated his 80th birthday. He has marked the milestone with a new album entitled Both Sides — 14 songs and six audio stories recorded and read by the singer. This week he took time our to talk to the Irish Post... Johnny McEvoy has released a new album What are you up to? I'm writing poems, short stories, songs and I'm still touring. Which piece of music always sends a shiver down your spine? There is one piece that does it: Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. It was featured in a 1975 Australian movie called Picnic At Hanging Rock which is actually one of my favourite movies. Which musician or singer has most influenced you? There are two: Hank Williams influenced me a lot in my early years followed by the best of them all in my opinion, Liam Clancy. I believe he was the best singer and storyteller, the while being also very theatrical. What's on your smartphone playlist at the minute? I don't have one. What are your favourite lyrics? Any of Dylan's songs: Desolation Row I believe is his finest. But I could name dozens of other songs from various artists. The Planter's Daughter is an intriguing song that you wrote. What's the story behind it? It's a song I wrote about my wife. It tells the story of how we met, trying to find a decent chat up line, and after many failed attempts she eventually agreed to meet me for a coffee. We were together for 50 years. I'll always love the planter's daughter. What are your Irish roots? My family roots are in Galway, but I was born in Banagher, Co. Offaly. The family left there when I was 6, and have lived in Dublin and surrounding areas since. What is your favourite place in Ireland? A place I would find moving in an historical and atmospheric way would be the Feather Beds in the Dublin mountains. I always find it very calming and it just sits there unchanged in silence looking down over Dublin. What would you say has been your proudest moment on stage over you many decades of singing? Any night can be your proudest night, but the next night can be a disaster. I wouldn't change a thing. McEvoy's new album Both Sides What has been your favourite venue? The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, when I walk into the Gaiety even now 60 years after I first performed there the smell alone brings back a thousand memories. Have you a book that has been a major influence on you? Sean O'Casey's autobiography. Which living person do you most admire? Any man or woman who deals with addiction and comes out on top. Which trait in others do you most admire? I would admire loyalty most. What would be your motto? Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place, would be something I live by. What's the best advice you've ever been given? Do your job and do it to the best of your was from my dad. In terms of inanimate objects, what is your most precious possession? A portrait of Michael Collins that was given to me by my wife the day we got married. What's best thing about where you live? The sea. And the worst? The DART. What do you believe in? I'm growing to believe in myself. What do you consider the greatest work of art? For me Michelangelo's David. Who is the greatest love of your life? Odette, my wife, was the love of my life.
