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LONDON (AP) – Ireland is poised to get its youngest-ever premier after Simon Harris secured the leadership of the Fine Gael party on Sunday, replacing Leo Varadkar who announced his surprise resignation last week. The 37-year-old Harris, who is the government’s further and higher education minister, was the only candidate to put his name forward to succeed Varadkar, who had been Ireland’s previous youngest prime minister, or what Ireland calls its taoiseach.

Biden hosts papal nuncio Christophe Pierre, Fr. James Martin at White House St. Patrick’s Day brunchPapal nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre, homosexual Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, and left-wing Jesuit Fathers James Martin and Thomas Reese joined President Joe Biden at the White House yesterday for a St. Patrick’s Day brunch.Pierre, who as papal nuncio is the pope’s ambassador to the U.S., delivered an invocation and led grace before the meal.“We gather on St. Patrick’s Day to pay tribute to the Catholic leadership in this country, especially the fields of charity and social engagement. And so, we give thanks to God...

Ireland has “no plans” to suspend funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the Tánaiste has said, after other nations have announced they are suspending funding. It comes after Israel’s foreign minister said the country will seek to stop UNRWA from operating in Gaza after the war after it accused several of its staff of involvement in Hamas’s 7 October attack. Australia, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands and Canada have decided to suspend financing of UNRWA, while Britain and the US will temporarily pause future funding. In a post on X, Micheál Martin said he has “full confidence” in Commissioner-General...

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government is cracking down on people coming to Ireland illegally. However, he said that legal immigration was being dealt with in a fair and welcoming way. He told reporters that immigration had served the country well. Mr. Varadkar said the Government was seeking to assess international protection applications as quickly as possible to determine whether people have a right to stay in the country. …

The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has thanked Ireland for its “moral leadership” on the crisis in Gaza. During a press conference with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus reiterated his call for a humanitarian ceasefire. Both Dr. Ghebreyesus and Executive Director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program Dr. Mike Ryan were in Government Buildings for a discussion on a “range of global and domestic health areas”. They also spoke about an international treaty to provide for “timely and coordinated management” of future pandemics. Earlier, Dr. Ghebreyesus and Dr. Ryan met President Michael D. Higgins in Áras...

On Friday, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar made a commitment to take strong action against individuals with racist views who engaged in violent confrontations with riot police. He described this as a pivotal moment for a country that was ill-prepared to tackle the increasing hostility toward immigrants within its working-class communities.The previous night's riots, driven by anti-immigration sentiments, were sparked by an Algerian man stabbing three, one critically, young children and an adult caregiver outside a school in central Dublin. (snip)The Irish public television, RTE, conducted a poll which found that only 19% of the Irish public were in support of...

El Rushbo used to talk the NFL a lot he went to games sat in the boxes and all that so I guess I got to start with the NFL. On Thanksviging Dad and I along with my son taking in the game after the dinner. The Dallas Cowboys versus the: "Washington Scaffold Commanders"... My Mom told me the story of a young man... "We are at sort of a crossroads right now. There's not enough for me in the UK to justify the effort that I put in. When I go to China I play in great venues, great...

Ireland's prime minister pledged to modernise laws against hatred in the coming weeks after 34 people were arrested for rioting in Dublin on Thursday night. "We will pass new laws in the coming weeks to enable the Gardai (police) to make better use of the CCTV evidence they collected yesterday, and also we will modernise our laws against incitement to hatred and hatred in general," Varadkar told a news conference on Friday. "I think it's now very obvious to anyone who might have doubted us that our incitement to hatred legislation is just not up to date. It's not up...

The Taoiseach has told farmers that climate change is the biggest threat facing Ireland today and it is not clear what type of agriculture we will have in 20, 30 or 40 years time. Speaking at the AGM of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Leo Varadkar said the climate is getting warmer and drier, and in order to rise to the climate challenge, openness to significant change will be needed. He said farming income can be protected with other things like forestry and carbon farming. He said the agri-sector will not be asked to take a disproportionate part...

The Taoiseach has said that what is happening in Gaza is not just self-defense on the part of Israel, but it “resembles something more approaching revenge”. Leo Varadkar’s comments come as Israeli ground troops are encircling Gaza City this morning. He said that it is very important that people “never forget where this started”, adding that this phase of the conflict started with a Hamas attack on Israel where 1,400 civilians were killed, including one person who was a dual Israeli-Irish citizen. “I strongly believe, like any state, Israel has a right to defend itself, has the right to go...

President Joe Biden is set to host Ireland’s prime minister on Friday, after the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled the longstanding St. Patrick’s Day meetup two years in a row. Leo Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner, Matthew Barrett, will attend a breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff. Then they will head to the U.S. Capitol for a lunch with congressional leaders and Biden before the two leaders convene. […] Biden, who often speaks of his Irish heritage and is fond of quoting Irish poets, declared March Irish-American heritage month. The White House is even...

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said mistakes were made on all sides in the handling of Brexit, but vowed to be “flexible and reasonable” when attempting to solve issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol. He conceded that the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol is “too strict” and said he understands unionist concerns that the treaty has made them feel less British. Mr. Varadkar, who became Taoiseach for a second time in December, has become deeply unpopular within some sections of unionism and loyalism who claim he was an instrumental figure in the creation of the contentious protocol. His name and image have...

As thousands of members of our LGBQT+ community poured into Dublin for a joyful celebration of diversity, it was hard to believe what was unfolding on the other side of the Atlantic. A second day of protested and riots erupted in cities across the US as news sank in of the Supreme Court's overturning of the landmark Roe VS Wade case which, for the past 50 years, has delivered abortion rights to woman. Donald Trump may have failed in his pledge to make America Great Again, but he has been true to his word protecting the unborn. He filled the...

All schools, colleges and nurseries will be closed across Ireland with outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people banned amid a growing coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar made the dramatic announcement in a speech given outside Blair House in Washington DC today, where he later met with Donald Trump. He added that under the emergency measures, which will take effect from 6pm today until March 29, teaching will be completed online and museums, galleries and other tourist destinations will also close as a result of the action. The UK has yet to announce similar measures despite eight deaths due...

Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper announcing the deployment of 1,800 additional US troops to Saudi Arabia.... The move comes hours after explosions were reported on an Iranian oil tanker..... Iran hailing the notion of mediation in its relations with Saudi Arabia..... Intense fighting in northeastern Syria as the Turkish military continues its attack to take Kurdish controlled territory..... Citing a Kurdish source and one at the Pentagon "Newsweek" reported today that some US Special Forces got caught in the Turkish shelling..... In Syria Friday one Russian soldier and two Syrian soldiers wounded when an improvised explosive device exploded..... The Russian...

Chasten Buttigieg attacked Mike Pence's lunch with an openly-gay Irish leader, saying just because the two shared meal doesn't mean the vice president is 'any less homophobic.' Buttigieg, the husband of Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg, criticized a tweet on Monday from deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere, who wrote anyone who thinks Pence is 'anti-gay' should look at his lunch with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his partner.

London (AFP) – A no-deal Brexit could lead to a united Ireland as more people in Northern Ireland would “come to question the Union” with Great Britain, Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has said. His comments came after new British prime minister Boris Johnson said the current Brexit deal was unacceptable and set preparations for leaving the EU without an agreement as a “top priority” for his right-wing government. Tension around the withdrawal deal centres on the so-called Irish backstop — a mechanism designed to keep Northern Ireland in the bloc’s Single Market and prevent a customs border between it...

Politicians and activists in Ireland have pledged to protest against Donald Trump when he visits in November. On Friday, the White House announced the visit to Ireland would take place as part of a European tour that would also see the US president travel to Paris for a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armistice after the first world war. A White House statement said Trump’s visit would “renew the deep and historic ties between our two nations”. The Irish Labour party, Greens and Solidarity – People Before Profit all pledged to organise protests surrounding the visit, within an...

LEICESTER, United Kingdom - In the wake of Ireland’s May 25 referendum legalizing abortion in the country, the Irish Labour Party has started a petition seeking a referendum to end religious schools in the country.Unlike in the United States, the government funds religious schools in Ireland, and about 96 percent of elementary schools in the country are under the patronage of a religious group, and approximately 90 percent of these schools are run by the Catholic Church.“It’s time for a national conversation about how we achieve a modern, secular and equality-based education system for the Ireland of today, and what...

We don't think this will go down well. The Taoiseach has said he sympathises with Donald Trump’s criticism of the media. The comments were made by Leo Varadkar on Monday. According to the Times, Varadkar made the remarks at a private lunch in New York hosted by Irish consul general Ciaran Madden. The Taoiseach was asked what he thought of Trump and specifically the US president’s attacks on the press. He said the media was not interested in the truth but in the story, sources told the Times. Apparently, his biggest target was the political press. He claimed political journalists...