News Briefs: Dev to be unveiled — again

“Eamon de Valera Place” was first named back in 1989 when a street sign was placed at the junction of 51st St. and Lexington Avenue.
The sign, however, was only a temporary one and will now be replaced with a permanent marker.
De Valera was born in 1882 in a hospital that once stood at the junction of the street and avenue. The site is now occupied by a hotel.
The unveiling ceremony is set for September 15. Ahern will be in New York for a four-day visit during which he will be attending a major United Nations conference and the opening of the U.N.’s General Assembly.

KENNEDY FOR N.J. CARVILL EVENT
Rep. Patrick Kennedy will be the guest speaker at the second annual Frank T. Carvill Dinner Dance in October.
Carvill was killed in action in Baghdad last year while serving with the New Jersey National Guard. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his actions.
Carvill worked for many years as an Irish community activist in New York City and the City Council has cleared the way for a street to be renamed in his honor in Woodside, Queens.
While Kennedy is the speaker at the fundraising dinner, New Jersey acting governor Richard Cody is serving as honorary chairman.
The Garden State’s Senator Jon Corzine will be the first recipient of the Frank T. Carvill Public Service Award while Thomas Giblin will be presented with the Irish American of the Year Award at the dinner on Friday, Oct. 7, at the Landmark Catering Hall in East Rutherford.
With the funds raised at last year’s inaugural dinner, the Friends of Frank Carvill, a non-profit organization, contributed to Project Children and established an annual college scholarship for children of New Jersey National Guard families.
The first recipient of the award was Amber Collins from Thorofare, New Jersey. She and her family will attend the Oct. 7 event, details of which are available from Vicki Kryzsiak at (201) 457-9000.

LOYALISTS THE PROBLEM — IAUC
The peace process and the Good Friday Agreement are being seriously damaged by continued loyalist violence, according to the Irish American Unity Conference.
“The best hope for a peaceful coexistence among the different communities in Northern Ireland is the full implementation of the GFA, which the majority of Irish citizens voted for, north and south,” said IAUC president, Judge Andy Somers.
“However, the British government’s apparent indifference to continuing gangland feuds between rival loyalist groups, as well as sectarian attacks against nationalists, is very damaging to the peace process, and gives comfort to opponents of the GFA,” he added.
Somers said that the IAUC is concerned that all communities, and in particular loyalist communities, were under siege because loyalist gangs continued to hold and use their weapons to terrorize their neighbors.
“We make no distinction between victims, and express our sympathies to loyalist and nationalist victims of violence alike.
“The British government, which has demonstrably conspired with loyalist gangs in the past, not least in supervising the transfer of arms, should use its considerable influence and legal powers to halt these actions immediately,” he said.

THE WRITE STUFF
Brian Doyle knows how to choose his words.
The Burke, Virginia high school student recently won top prize in the Ancient Order of Hibernians National Irish Writing Contest.
Doyle’s essay on Bloody Sunday was awarded top place at local and later Virginia State AOH level before being chosen as national winner in an annual competition that is sponsored by the Ladies AOH.
“You should be proud of your hard work and accomplishment,” Michelle McGuire, Ladies AOH national historian told Doyle in a letter that informed him of his big win.

SWEENEY FOR GUV?
Upstate New York congressman John Sweeney is being tipped as a possible Republican candidate in the race to succeed outgoing incumbent George Pataki.
A column in the New York Post suggested that Sweeney, a co-chair of the congressional Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs, would be a candidate able to build up the GOP’s base and attract enough support to retain the governor’s mansion.
Sweeney, a Troy native, succeeded former congressman Ben Gilman on the ad hoc grouping and though his presence on it has been low key the Almanac of American Politics has opined that his star “is clearly on the rise.”