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Take a step back in time and learn more about the streets, people, and places that shaped the course of history during the 1916 Dublin Rising. Walk through Dublin with this video tour created by Google, seeing Dublin as it is today, and join us in commemorating one of the most historic moments in Irish history, during the 100 year anniversary of the 1916 Rising!

Click here to start the tour!

Labeling seems to be something we as Americans do more of these days.  I know I am as guilty as anyone but the consequences can be dangerous and lead to inaccurate perceptions which can lead to false realities.  I think that referring to Ireland as a “tax haven” falls into this category.  Aside from the fact that Ireland does not meet the standards of a so-called tax haven, as defined by the OECD, (see here) there remains those who irresponsibly and cavalierly label the country as such.  This issue has yet again raised its head with reports of the massive deal between Pfizer and Allergan and the anticipated move of Pfizer’s operations to Ireland where Allergan is headquartered.  On Monday the Irish Times reported, “A deal, structured as a tax inversion, would see Pfizer move its tax base to Ireland where Allergan is based, allowing the company to avoid US tax bills on more than $128 billion of profits earned overseas.”

The deal has reignited an on-going debate about US companies based in foreign countries for the sole purposes of evading US tax.  Ireland has been front and center as many major US corporations call Ireland their legal home where there is a 12.5% corporate tax rate.  The arguments, however, too often put the focus on other countries’ practices and sets blame on them for offering an unfair advantage. An alternative, that would unfortunately require Congress to come together on something, would be a frank and substantive discussion about the problems with our own tax code and ultimately a comprehensive legislative package to address the effect of corporate taxation on international business. After all, our own corporate rate has been a whopping 35% for some time and Ireland did not set its corporate tax rate yesterday.

American politicians are no strangers to this debate.  In 2004, Congress passed a law (26 U.S. Code § 7874 – Rules relating to expatriated entities and their foreign parents) that, among other things, took aim at corporations engaged in “corporate inversions” – which is basically reincorporating in a foreign country that has a low corporate income tax rate allegedly for the sole purpose of avoiding US tax on that income.  The term “expatriated entity” was born in this law.  President Obama supported the initiative and specifically mentioned Ireland as a target country.

Former US Sen. Carl Levin who was extremely vocal in his characterization of Ireland as a tax haven – supported only by his own “common sense” test, expressed his outrage with Apple, referring to its strategy as “the Holy Grail of tax avoidance” (Washington Post 5/20/13) – using what became known as the “Double Irish” tax.  Sen. Bernie Sanders has added his voice to the mix in his run to win the Democratic nomination for the Presidency, which is no surprise as he considers himself a socialist – although I doubt there are many Americans who can appreciate what true socialism is.

In an effort to preserve its tax rate and appease critics from the US and Europe, Ireland eliminated the so-called “Double Irish” tax, coined as such because companies would establish 2 subsidiaries in Ireland – one that collects profits and another that moves those profits through a separate entity headquartered in a country with a lower rate than Ireland’s.

Although legal, are these tax schemes unfair to America?  There is certainly a strong argument in favor, but in the interests of transparency and honesty, there is also a strong argument that the classification of Ireland as a so-called tax haven is not only false but also grossly unfair.  All too often, politicians and others attribute a company’s presence in Ireland solely to avail of its corporate income tax rate without looking deeper and considering the many other benefits the country has to offer to help business thrive.

To suggest that a 12.5% corporate tax is the sole consideration a company gives in moving to or expanding into Ireland is, in my opinion, either naive or manipulative.  Is the rate attractive? Of course it is, particularly given the fact that the bottom line purpose of a business is to make a profit.

Lest we forget, Ireland offers:

• a highly talented and skilled workforce,
• outstanding and competitive schools and universities (1 of top 10 countries globally),
• competitive cost of living,
• stable labor costs,
• 5 hour flight from the east coast,
• English speaking,
• excellent quality of life,
• proximate gateway to Europe for US companies;
• and yes – competitive corporate tax rate at 12.5%

In none of the recent reporting on either side of the Atlantic that I have read or listened to has there been any discussion of the above referenced benefits or, for example, the R&D and regulatory advantages which are available in Ireland and the EU – particularly for biotech, life sciences and medical device companies.

Also, for anyone to suggest that the US is losing significant jobs to Ireland is inaccurate.  Due to a lack of jobs, Ireland has seen hundreds of thousands (89,000 in 2013 alone) emigrate from its shores since the Great Recession (many in their twenties) in search of work to places like Canada and Australia.

Let’s not forget Northern Ireland which is home to many blue chip American companies – as I made reference to in this blog last year.  AllState, Liberty Mutual, CVS, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, NY Stock Exchange, Intel, Concentrix, and Citi to name but a few.  These companies, however, pay the UK corporate tax rate of 20% and are indeed happy as I learned first hand visiting Liberty Mutual in Belfast last September.

In 2018, there will finally be the devolution of tax powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly from Westminster and the corporate tax rate as proposed is 12.5% – consistent with the south.  Are they the next haven?

Aside from being outright false, the danger here is that Ireland, in the context of business, becomes a euphemism for tax haven.  For all that the emigrants of that country have done for ours and for the incredible business partnerships that have been developed between our countries, it would be shameful for that to happen.  Ireland deserves more than soundbites and labeling.

Original post by Sean Moynihan- INB President

The 2015 Irish Network USA Annual Conference was held in Boston last weekend, to resounding acclaim from attendees and speakers. The conference coincided with the fifth anniversary for the Boston chapter, a group which has worked to promote an enduring link between Ireland and the United States.

This conference was the third hosted by INUSA, with the first two being held in Washington, D.C. and Austin, Texas respectively. These conferences provide an opportunity for INUSA members to hear from a variety of speakers on topics related to INUSA’s mission.

Irish Network USA, which now has over 20 chapters, with more than 5,000 members, is continuing to grow and its presence and influence, reaching across the US and now also Dublin. This year for the first time, delegates from the new Irish Network Dublin (IN-Dublin) were also in attendance.

In a statement issued by the President of IN-Boston, Sean Moynihan, said the group “has a sincere commitment to engaging the Irish diaspora – including Irish born, Irish Americans and friends of Ireland. Our goal is to celebrate our mutual interests in Irish culture, business, education, and social/community initiatives by providing opportunities and experiences for all of our members. Our network was one of the first chapters to be founded under our umbrella organization, Irish Network USA (IN USA), which is now 20 chapters strong and continues to grow.”

There was impressive lineup of keynote speakers, notably Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, Anne Anderson and Mark Redmond, Chief Executive of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, and Joanna Murphy, CEO of Connect Ireland.

Panels and speakers this year also included Gary Hanley of Invest Northern Ireland, Mark Gallagher of Silicon Valley Bank, Professor Liam Kennedy of the UCD Clinton Institute of American Studies, and Stewart Matthews of the Northern Ireland Bureau.

The conference was also host to the 5th anniversary of IN Boston, and was celebrated in style at the State House. Photos below!

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”30″ gal_title=”2015 5th Anniversary Party”]

The Irish government will maintain the level of support it provides to diaspora communities abroad, Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan confirmed on Tuesday after the Irish budget was unveiled.

“I am also extremely pleased that in line with our recently launched diaspora policy Global Irish, Budget 2016 will see my department maintain its steadfast support for Irish community and diaspora groups in very many corners of the world through €11.6 million in funding under the Emigrant Support Program,” said Flanagan.

The budget also provided funding for ongoing modernization of the Passport Service, and further development of consular assistance capacities.

Flanagan also confirmed that Irish job creation, export growth and promoting Ireland’s attractiveness for investment, tourism and education will remain and develop as key priorities for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Ireland’s network of diplomatic missions. A seven percent increase in Official Development Aid budget has brought the overall budget up to €640 million.

Flanagan also committed to ensuring that Ireland’s consular services abroad remain strong and ready for immediate assistance. He said some 1,600 Irish citizens each year seek consular assistance while abroad – the most tragic in the U.S. this year being the Berkeley balcony collapse that resulted in the deaths of five Irish students and one Irish American.

Maureen O’Hara, who died on Saturday, was Ireland’s first great Hollywood star and appeared in over 50 films.

Ranked among the world’s most beautiful women, she is best known in Ireland for her role as the headstrong Mary Kate Danaher in The Quiet Man – “the sexiest film ever made” according to the director John Ford.

He initially approached her to star in the film in the mid-1940s, but it was not made until Ford, O’Hara and John Wayne first agreed to make a western to satisfy Republic Pictures’ executives. The chemistry between Wayne and O’Hara that was apparent in that film, Rio Grande (1950), was even more in evidence in The Quiet Man.

Her flaming red hair often led to her being cast as fiery-tempered characters and Wayne learnt that she did indeed have a temper.

She was born Maureen FitzSimons on August 20th 1920 in Ranelagh, Dublin, the second of the six children of Charles Stewart Parnell FizSimons and his wife Marguerita.

Her father, a businessman, was a co-owner of Shamrock Roversfootball club, and her mother was a noted couturiere and an accomplished contralto.

A natural athlete, she excelled at sports. She also had a flair for acting and won many prizes at feiseanna.

At the age of 12 she made her broadcasting debut and within two years she was performing with the Dublin Operatic Society. Accepted by the Abbey School of Acting, she looked forward to a stage career.

However, a chance meeting with the film producer Harry Richman led to a screen test in London and to a seven-year contract with Charles Laughton. She had small roles in two British films in 1938, Kicking the Moon Aroundand My Irish Molly.

Laughton suggested that she should change her surname to O’Hara – to better suit cinema hoardings – and cast her as his co-star in the 1939 film version of Jamaica Inn, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Her athleticism enabled her to perform physical feats that few actresses would attempt, from fencing to fisticuffs. She insisted on doing her own stunt work.

The picture of health, she was a natural for the title-role in Lady Godiva (1955) in which she made the famous bareback horse ride wearing only her long tresses. But she was adamant that she would never appear nude in a film, not even for a million dollars.

Subsequent films included Our Man in Havana (1960), The Parent Trap (1961) andSpencer’s Mountain (1963). She was reunited with Wayne in McClintock! (1963), appearing opposite him for the last time in Big Jake (1971). She then retired from screen acting.

Her third marriage, to Charles Blair in 1968, brought her much happiness. A former US air force colonel, Blair captained the last scheduled flight out of Foynes and was the first commercial pilot to fly into Shannon Airport.

The couple ran a commuter seaplane service in the Caribbean. Following her husband’s death in a plane crash in 1978, she took over the business, becoming the first woman president of a commercial airline in the United States. She also published a monthly magazine, The Virgin Islander.

She strongly disapproved of what she termed “permissive” films, describing them as “wrong, downgrading and bad”. And feminism was not really necessary. “Women were liberated the day they were born. Any woman can turn a man around her little finger. Even a little girl can do it to her daddy.”

She was coaxed out of retirement in 1991 to play John Candy’s domineering mother inOnly the Lonely. She stole the show and was nominated for an Oscar. It was her last film and she bowed out of television in 2000.

A long-time resident of St Croix in the Virgin Islands, she was a regular visitor to Ireland and for a time kept a holiday home in Glengarriff, Co Cork. At her insistence the European premiere of Only the Lonely was held in Limerick, and she chose Adare for her 80th birthday celebrations.

She was in 1988 awarded an honorary LL.D. degree by the National University of Ireland. She was further honoured in 2004, both at the Galway Film Fleadh and by theIrish Film Institute.

Her autobiography ‘Tis Herself was published in the same year.

O’Hara was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame at an event in Wexford in 2011 and received an Honorary Award at the 2014 Oscars ceremony.

Her daughter Bronwyn survives her.

The 6th annual Boston Irish Honors luncheon will take place on Fri., Oct. 23, at 11:45 a.m. at the Seaport Hotel/Boston World Trade Center.

The 2015 honorees are: Boston Police Commissioner William Evans and his brothers, Paul, John, Thomas and James; Mike Sheehan, chief executive officer, The Boston Globe; and Margaret Stapleton, retired vice president, John Hancock Insurance and Financial Services, past president Eire Society, and longtime Pine Street Inn volunteer.

Since October 2010, the Boston Irish Reporter has sponsored this annual event. It’s an inspiring luncheon to recognize and celebrate exemplary Irish individuals and their families who share our heritage in Boston and Ireland.

The 35-member luncheon committee will be chaired by Jim Brett, president of the New England Council. Serving as honorary chair are US Senator Ed Markey and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Program moderator will be Boston Red Sox “poet laureate” Dick Flavin.

Other committee members are Breandán O Caollaí, Ireland Consul General, Aidan Browne, William M. Bulger, John Burke, James Carmody, John T. Carroll, Della O’Flaherty Costello, Steve Costello, Jay Curley, Brendan Feeney, John Philip Foley, Bill Forry, state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, Maureen Forry-Sorrell, Anne Geraghty, David Greaney, John B. Hynes III, Edris Kelley, William F. Kennedy, Rev. Thomas B. Kennedy, Mimi and Paul LaCamera, Joe Leary, Bill McNally, Roseanne and Peter Meade, Sean Moynihan, Gil Sullivan, Bobby White, and W. Paul White.

Past Honorees: (2014) Katherine Craven, Mayor Marty Walsh, and the Burke family of South Boston; (2013) State Senate President Therese Murray, John P. Driscoll Jr. (posthumously,) and Gerry and Bob Mulligan & family; (2012) Congressman Richard Neal, Brendan and Greg Feeney, and the Mary and Bob Muse family; (2011) Former Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole, State Sen. Tom Kennedy (RIP,) the Joseph Corcoran family, the James Hunt family and the Thomas Mulvoy family; (2010) Congressman Ed Markey, John Donohue, the Brett family, the Tom & Peg Geraghty family, and the Mayor John B. Hynes family.

World championship is taking place in Glenview, IL on Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th of October

Rob Hogan, a Golf Professional in Ireland is the current Number 1 in World Speed Golf.

SpeedGolf is a growing sport, as it combines the world of athletics & golf and has followings in the US, UK, Japan & Australia. Many of the golfing networks & national media outlets have covered the sport to some degree in recent years.

Rob has gained significant success to date in his short career, claiming the World Championship title in 2013 & Runner up spot in 2014. He competed and succeeded against notable names from within the athletic world, including competitors from the Beijing Olympics. This year the World championship is taking place in Glenview, IL on Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th of October.

While Rob has achieved success on a wider stage his achievements have thus far gone unnoticed at home. Interest in Golf in Ireland is generally limited to the traditional R&A Game & the tourist market.

Rob would welcome any assistance, be it from local media coverage, course knowledge, offers of accommodation or modest sponsorship.

Ultimately, Rob is looking to ensure that he can compete this year with a clear focus on just the sporting challenge.

A “homecoming” celebration of Dublin’s All-Ireland football success will be held on Monday evening in the capital.

The Lord Mayor, Críona Ní Dhálaigh and Dublin City Council will host the celebration on O’Connell Street.

The Dublin team won its 25th all-Ireland title on Sunday at Croke Park, beating Kerry by 12 points to nine.

The event is due to begin at 7.15pm on Monday and will centre on a stage to be erected to the south of the Spire.

The team will arrive on an open-top bus and will be joined in the celebrations by their backroom staff and the Dublin County Board.

Ms Ní Dhálaigh congratulated the team on their great win.

“I would like to pay tribute to the players, management, backroom staff and sponsors, for all their work through the year to bring us to this great day, and to Dublin fans who brought such great passion to the ground,” she said.

“I’d also like to acknowledge the wonderful contribution that the Kerry team and supporters made to what was truly a great spectacle today, where football was the ultimate winner.”

She said she was looking forward to welcoming the Dublin team to O’Connell Street where “we can let them know how much we appreciate their great efforts”.

Public access to the event will be confined to three access points via O’Connell Street Lower, Middle Abbey Street and Lower Abbey Street.

There will be no public access from O’Connell Street Upper or from any other side streets off O’Connell Street.

The local authority said the event will be family-friendly and alcohol-free. It is encouraging people to use public transport to travel and to be prepared for changeable weather.

A “homecoming” celebration of Dublin’s All-Ireland football success will be held on Monday evening in the capital.

The Lord Mayor, Críona Ní Dhálaigh and Dublin City Council will host the celebration on O’Connell Street.

The Dublin team won its 25th all-Ireland title on Sunday at Croke Park, beating Kerry by 12 points to nine.

The event is due to begin at 7.15pm on Monday and will centre on a stage to be erected to the south of the Spire.

The team will arrive on an open-top bus and will be joined in the celebrations by their backroom staff and the Dublin County Board.

Ms Ní Dhálaigh congratulated the team on their great win.

“I would like to pay tribute to the players, management, backroom staff and sponsors, for all their work through the year to bring us to this great day, and to Dublin fans who brought such great passion to the ground,” she said.

“I’d also like to acknowledge the wonderful contribution that the Kerry team and supporters made to what was truly a great spectacle today, where football was the ultimate winner.”

She said she was looking forward to welcoming the Dublin team to O’Connell Street where “we can let them know how much we appreciate their great efforts”.

Public access to the event will be confined to three access points via O’Connell Street Lower, Middle Abbey Street and Lower Abbey Street.

There will be no public access from O’Connell Street Upper or from any other side streets off O’Connell Street.

The local authority said the event will be family-friendly and alcohol-free. It is encouraging people to use public transport to travel and to be prepared for changeable weather.