Brehon Law Society

of Nassau County
   

Panel Discussion: "Furthering Ongoing Peace"

 DATE:     Friday, February 27, 2009

TIME:        10:00 a.m.

 PLACE:     Molloy College

 

On Friday, February 27, 2009 the Brehon Law Society of Nassau County and Molloy College will be hosting a roundtable discussion on the peace process in Ireland, including the continuing role of the United States and Irish-Americans.

Molloy College is launching an Irish Studies Institute at its Rockville Centre Campus and has arranged for Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to deliver the Key Note Address at 10 A.M. on campus.

The former Prime Minister will participate in the Brehon roundtable discussion thereafter at 11:00 A.M.  Congressman Peter King and Congressman Joseph Crowley will also honor us as panel members.  Former Brehon President Marty Glennon will moderate the discussion.  We are also securing commitments from other distinguished experts on Irish affairs.

Following the roundtable a VIP luncheon will be held with Bertie Ahern.  A limited amount of tickets are available for purchase to this event; please honor us with your presence. Please contact me if you would like to attend, tickets are limited to the first 100.

A formal invitation will follow, but please mark your calendar for this very special event.

For Information, contact Sean Patrick Riordan
(718) 222-9800, ext. 7925
   
 
 

Our fellow Brehon, General Jim Cullen is pictured here (fifth from the right) as President Obama signs the historic  Executive Order ordering the closing of Guantanamo within a year.

We join President Obama in paying tribute to Jim and the other retired generals who had fought and defended America for also defending its constitution.  Maith go leor, Jim!

 
Brehons back Irish language courts fight
Demonstrators outside the Belfast law courts during the judicial review into the ban on the Irish language in the courts.
 
December 31, 2008 Irish Echo: An influential group of Irish American lawyers is being urged to put the British government in the dock over a ban on the use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland's courts.

Belfast attorney Michael Flanigan, who is championing a high-profile test case to overturn a 1737 British law which forbade the speaking of Irish in courts in Ireland and is effective to this day in Northern Ireland, says the Brehon Law Society could play a key role in highlighting what he called this "civil rights travesty."

In recent years, the Irish language has been a political battleground in Northern Ireland with unionists continuing to block any official recognition for the language, this despite pledges to defend the language in the historic Good Friday agreement of 1998 which ushered in the new power sharing administration.

Ten per cent of the population of Northern Ireland, about 160,000 people, have a knowledge of Irish but that percentage increases sharply in the nationalist community where there has been a stunning turnaround in the fortunes of the Irish language over the past forty years.   "The North of Ireland is the only part of these islands in which the use of the primary indigenous language is effectively banned in the courts," explained Janet Muller of the Belfast Irish language advocacy group, Pobal.

The test case into the validity of the 1737 act was triggered by the request of a Belfast musician, brought up in an Irish speaking home, who applied for an entertainment license through the medium of Irish.  The refusal of that request was judicially challenged over two days in October with the British government resolutely defending the ban. A ruling on the challenge is expected in the New Year.

The manner is which the Crown defended the case, asserting that the legislation was still necessary for the efficient administration of the courts, was surprising, particularly when similar legislation had already been repealed many years ago in England, Scotland and Wales.   Michael Flanigan told the Irish Echo that the legislation was "a cultural Penal law."

"The position of the Crown was all the more surprising considering that we are supposed to be enjoying the fruits of the parity of esteem promised in the Good Friday agreement. The reality is that at the point of contact with the state, on virtually any issue, the only language which can be used by those who consider themselves Irish in Northern Ireland is English," Flanigan said.

"I would encourage Irish American attorneys and the Brehon Law Society to bring their considerable influence to bear on this issue."   Flanigan said that if the case was rejected by the courts in Northern Ireland, he would appeal as far as the European Court on Human Rights, where, ironically, he would be allowed represent his client in Irish as it is a full recognized official and working language of the European Union.

Rob Dunne, newly-elected president of the Brehon Law Society in New York, and an attorney with the law firm of O'Dwyer and Bernstien has pledged to respond to the plea for help on the issue.   "The Irish language ban in Northern Ireland's courts is exactly the type of injustice that Paul O'Dwyer and Frank Durkan founded the Brehon Law Society to fight against," Dunne told the Irish Echo.

"As part of our continuing campaign for equality and justice in Northern Ireland, the Brehons are eager to be engaged in the Irish language issue until it is resolved. The British government has to be challenged for defending a law which is nothing more than a flagrant abuse of civil rights," he said.

   
 

Who are We?

The Brehon Law Society  takes its name from the body of ancient Celtic law that defined and governed legal relationships on the island of Ireland.  From earliest times, Brehon Law was distinguished by its egalitarianism and by its respect for fundamental rights and liberties.  Inspired by the strongly humanitarian tradition embodied in the Brehon law, the members of the Brehon Law Society strive to use their talents to protect, to defend, and to extend human rights, principally - but not exclusively - in the north of Ireland. more>>

The Brehon Law Society of Nassau County participates in the Brehon Council,  comprised of officers of Brehon Law Societies in New York, Long Island and Westchester and a number of prominent public officials.  Its members have been deeply involved in the issues discussed on this site. 
 

Press Releases

These are some recent press releases issued by the Brehon Law Society. You may want to search for topics by keyword. 

 
 
 
 

Our Recent Activities
The members of the Brehon Law Society of Nassau County, N. Y. are a talented and dedicated group. Donating their time, they work hard to turn the promise of human rights into reality.  Their efforts have tangible effects on the day-to-day lives of people.  The projects which the law society pursues in turn enrich the lives of the law society members who participate in them.  Human rights work is work that gives worth and meaning to being a member of the legal community.  Membership in the Brehon Law Society of Nassau County, N.Y. gives you the opportunity to participate in human rights-related projects and to work on them in conjunction with highly skilled and principled colleagues.  Here are descriptions of some our recent activities:
 
  • Pat Finucane Conference  On January 15, 2009 we held a cocktail party in Manhattan in support of the Pat Finucane Conference.
     
  • Consul General Tim O'Connor - Our May 22, 2006 Meeting was addressed by main speaker Tim O'Connor, Consul General of Ireland, and by Malachy McAllister, political refugee who continues to fight deportation, and by Paddy O'Hanlon, a veteran civil rights campaigner.  more>>
     
  • DUP Discussions - On April 5, 2006, a small delegation of Brehon members  had the opportunity to meet with Democratic Unionist Party MPs Peter Robinson, Jeffrey Donaldson and Iris Donaldson during their trip to New York.   The two hour conference provided a rare opportunity for  a frank and wide-ranging exchange of views between that party's representatives and members of the Irish American community.
     
  • Meeting with Gerry Adams - Brehons met on March 14, 2006 with Gerry Adams, following a presentation by the Sinn Fein leader on the relevance of the lessons of the Irish peace process to other international conflicts around the world.  more>>
     
  • Call for Restoration of Good Friday Institutions In January, 2006 we joined other Irish American organizations in demanding that the British government restore democratic institutions in the north of Ireland.  more>>
     
  • Adams Visa Restrictions In November, 2005 we were prominent in criticizing the Bush Administration for imposing visa restrictions  on Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams to the detriment of the Irish peace process.  more>>
     
  • NYS Attorney General Eliot Spitzer joined us for lunch and an update on Irish issues on May 3, 2004.  more>>
     
  • Sean Mackin was the featured guest at our May, 2004 meeting. He is a well known Irish republican, originally from Belfast and has for many years been a resident of New York City.  He is an American citizen who won political refugee status in a landmark decision a number of years ago in the US courts.  Seán was arrested and detained while visiting his family in Belfast during the Easter weekend in a blatant attempt to chill Irish American activism and to derail the Irish peace process.  more>>
     
  • St. Patrick's Day Party Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was our guest of honor at our St. Patrick's Day party in Manhattan on March 19, 2004
     
  • Eamonn Dornan and Malachy McAllister
         On December 9, 2003, Eamonn Dornan Esq. and Malachy McAllister updated us on the struggle of the McAllister family to remain safely in the United States as political refugees from Northern Ireland. 
     
  • Police Reform after the Good Friday Agreement - Potential Unfulfilled?
         On November 10, 2003, Patrick J. Lynch, President of the NYC Patrolmen's Benevolent Association reported to us on the current status of police reform in the six counties.  Click here for Photos
     
  • John McNicholl
    In July, 2003, we lent our support to protest the deportation of political refugee John McNichol.  more>>
     
  • Jeanie Johnston Reception
     On July 10, 2003 The Brehon Law Societies of the NY Metro area sponsored a cocktail party on board the Jeanie Johntson,  a replica of a 19th Century Famine ship when it called into New York harbor, during its historic visit to North America.  more>>
     
  • Eyewitness Parades Report
     On June 23, 2003,  we hosted a  presentation by Dorothy Bukantz and Sean Cahill, veteran Observers in Northern Ireland and the primary  authors of the extremely impressive and well received report Parading Paramiltarism.   more>>
     
  • History of  the Orange Order
    May 19, 2003, historian Christine Kinealy presented an  address covering both the history of the Orange Order and of the Great Hunger of the 19th Century      more>>
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  • Short Strand
    April 21, 2003, eyewitness report from the Colombia Three trial and a resident of Belfast's beleaguered Short Strand.  more>>
     
  • Northern Ireland Roundtable
    On April 5, 2003,  we hosted a symposium led by Sen. Clinton, Reps. King and Crowley of NY and  and Sen. Dooley of Co. Clare at Nassau C.C.  more>>
     
  • Presentation by Martin McGuinness
    On January 27, 2003, Martin McGuinness, MP, MLA addressed a gathering  hosted by  the Nassau and Suffolk Brehon Law Societies and Friends of Sinn Féin.   more>>
     

Some tributes to deceased friends

Contact Information

Telephone
718-222-9800, ext. 7925
FAX
718-222-0179
Postal address
PO Box 9000, 346 Westbury Avenue, Carle Place, NY  11514-9000
Electronic mail
General Information: Sean Patrick Riordan
Webmaster: Robert P. Lynch