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Biden’s visit and harnessing the power of global Irishness

IT Sunday: Three-day waiting period for abortion a cause of ongoing debate; four stars for a D6 restaurant; and how New York’s history-makers came together is the real romance story

US president Joe Biden speaks at the official banquet dinner at Dublin Castle on April 13th in Dublin, Ireland. Photograph: Julien Behal/Irish Government via Getty Images

Sun Apr 16 2023 - 08:25

Welcome to this week’s IT Sunday, a selection of the best Irish Times journalism for our subscribers.

Readers of The Irish Times will this week have seen much coverage of US president Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland. Writing in his weekend column, Fintan O’Toole views the trip from a US perspective, where coverage of Biden’s sentimental journey is overpowered by something much more box office – Donald Trump: “This is true even in the liberal media. On Thursday, for example, the New York Times gave a full page to the sitting president’s events in Ireland. It gave the same space to the continuing saga of Trump’s multiple legal cases. And twice that to one of the most profound ramifications of the Trump presidency: the wars over abortion rights and reproduction.”

The visit of the 46th president of the United States to these shores helped to focus our minds on the nature of Irish America – that is according to David McWilliams, who this week explores the power of the diaspora and how global Irishness has the capacity to be the greatest advantage of 21st-century Ireland. “Many commentators lament that the great heyday of Irish American power has passed and that the notion of Ireland held by most Irish-Americans is outdated. So what are we doing to do about it? What is the 21st-century vision of Ireland and our global tribe? Why not use Ireland as the battery to recharge the Irishness of these millions?” asks McWilliams. Read the full column here.

For the first time ever, New York advanced past the first round of the Connacht Senior Football Championship when they stunned Leitrim with a penalty shoot-out victory at Gaelic Park last week. Writing about the game, Ciarán Murphy says the real romance of the occasion was not so much in New York’s achievement, but rather the individual decisions required to get the Irish-born players on that pitch in the first place: “Emigrating is never an easy decision. It’s often made even more complicated by one’s relationship with the GAA. If you’re a footballer or hurler as good as many of the lads on this New York team are, it’s not just their family who might be bitterly disappointed by their decision to leave Ireland.”

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People are intimidated by the prospect of moving bank account but it is easier than you think and there is a code of practice in place, writes Dominic Coyle in this week’s On the Money. From utilities to banks, you could be throwing away money from not switching, he says.

The topic of the three-day waiting period for an abortion is a cause of ongoing debate. This week, our Opinion pages hosted a head-to-head pairing of articles on the issue: this piece, by Eilís Mulroy, campaign manager of the Pro Life Campaign, argued in favour of retaining the measure. Arguing for its removal was Seána Glennon, a lawyer and Chief Outreach Officer at UCD’s Centre for Constitutional Studies and currently a visiting scholar at Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto.

Corinna Hardgrave’s latest restaurant review is the product of a visit to Lottie’s, a new neighbourhood restaurant in Dublin 6. Safe to say it’s a thumbs-up from Hardgrave, whose four-star appraisal is capped with a favourable overall verdict: Bistro food meets affordable prices. Read more here.

This week, Trish Murphy heard from a reader who is having a hard time dealing with the breakdown of a relationship. The reader says she was hoping the break was a temporary one, but their partner of 20 years says it’s over for good and wants to just be friends. “I know I can’t make him love me but he can’t expect me to continue like this. I’m just so sad and empty and feel that if he doesn’t want be my partner, why should he get me as a friend. I’m just so hurt.” Read Murphy’s response here.

Finally, Roe McDermott this weekend hears from a college student in Dublin who has been with their current girlfriend for more than a year, but who can’t stop thinking about an ex-girlfriend. “I love my girlfriend and the person she’s helped me become and I feel guilty that I’m so worried about my ex… any advice?” Read the full query, and Roe’s response, here.

As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest in sport. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.

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