Fr. Bill Lane, 86, a native of Co. Limerick, died in Tacoma last Saturday. His funeral is Monday at 11 am at Our Lady of Fatima in Magnolia 

Hughie Wallace, 91, whose parents were from Donegal, died in Seattle on September 22

OBIT

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse

IN MEMORY OF SEAMUS HEANEY, BY FORMER SEATTLE RESIDENT KIERAN O'MALLEY

A Naturalist's Death.

There is no poetry in death,

it comes

suddenly,

unexpectantly,

shockingly,

inevitably,

painfully;

Borrowed time becomes becalmed,

Stillness reigns;

no tick follows tock,

no expiration follows the inspiration,

the brain's computer does not re-boot.

Life's stop sign.

We do not always give birth above our graves,

Some, many, of us

forage in the fertile fields of lives' experiences.

There is a certain poetry in immortality,

It is written in the Island's history,

in war, colonial conquests,

political follies, missed opportunities,

flag waving, ballads,

rousing jeers and cheers.

And a lowly pen can create a furrow,

greater and wider,

than a sword or shovel.

Now the District and Circle Line

takes you on a new journey,

from colonial Yeats to post colonial Heaney;

Another Troy is sacked;

A new voice emerges to nurture

Kieran Darragh O'Malley

167 Sandyford View,

Sandyford, Dublin 18

BAILOUT EXIT - Ireland plans to exit the international bailout program on December 15 and expects to then be able to resume normal borrowing on bond markets. The Irish treasury has about $34 billion on hand to pay its bills through 2014. Almost three years after the cost of bank bailouts forced the government to get a $93 billion rescue package from international lenders, negotiations with the lenders are under way as Ireland will still be repaying billions of the bailout money after the program ends. However, Ireland has consistently beaten its deficit-reduction targets since the bailout and the Irish exit from the program is seen as being a key milestone in the euro zone crisis.

BUDGET CHANGES - The Irish government's budget for 2014 includes a wide range of spending cuts and revenue-raising measures rather than any major change in the tax or welfare system. One new program will introduce free doctor's appointments for children under age 5 regardless of parental income. One of the cuts is the axing of the Bereavement Grant, a payment of $1,175 that was made available, without means testing, to those who have ever paid into the compulsory national Social Insurance Fund (equivalent to Social Security in the USA). In certain situations, financial assistance for a funeral can still be provided by a local Community Welfare Officer.

SURPRISE DEFEAT - The Irish government suffered a surprise defeat in a referendum to abolish Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (Ireland's Parliament). Seanad supporters won 51.3% of the votes from a relatively high 39.17% turnout of voters. Of the sixty senators in the Seanad, eleven are appointed directly by the Taoiseach and six by graduates of the University of Dublin and the National University of Ireland, with the remaining forty-three elected from five special panels of nominees (known as Vocational Panels). Historically, the Seanad has provided primarily an advisory role in Irish politics. Famous senators have included many of Ireland's most prominent statesmen, intellectuals and writers, including Douglas Hyde, Conor Cruise O'Brien and poet and Nobel Laureate W.B. Yeats. One of the current Senators appointed by the Taoiseach is Dr. Katherine Zappone, a native of Spokane who grew up in Seattle but who has lived in Ireland for over 30 years.

BOOMING DUBLIN - Elite Business Magazine says that Dublin's booming tech scene is slowly but surely getting Irish eyes smiling again. The story says that the average age of Ireland's population - the youngest in Europe - also presents tech firms with a sizeable advantage, especially when accompanied by a national government that is pro-enterprise and pro-education. The happenings in Dublin have also caught the eye of foreign angel investors and venture capital firms, all of them eager to get a slice of the action.

BOOMING INVESTMENTS - The American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland says "Ireland has become hugely important for the success of corporate America over the past five years." Ireland now ranks as the number one export platform in the world for US affiliates. US corporate investment in Ireland amounted to nearly $130bn over the past five years; roughly 14 times larger than the amount American companies spent in China over the same period. Between 2008 and 2013, US firms invested more in Ireland than in the previous 58 years combined. American foreign direct investment stock in Ireland is now equal to the combined US stock in France and Germany and is nearly 20% larger than the country's combined investment in the so-called 'BRIC' group of emerging nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

IRISH CHIP - The first Intel chipset product designed and developed at the Intel facility in Co Kildare has been unveiled. The Galileo board, which contains the Quark SoC x1000 chip, will carry a "designed in Ireland" trademark. Intel currently employs more than 4,500 people in Ireland and has invested more than €6 billion in its Irish facilities since coming to Ireland in 1989. The Quark SoC is the first product from the Intel Quark family of low-power, small-core products, a technology that is expected to push Intel into areas seen as rapid growth, such as wearable computing and connected devices.

VOTING ABROAD - Proposals to extend voting rights to Irish citizens overseas in presidential elections will be recommended to the government following a recent meeting of the Constitutional Convention. Members voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing Irish citizens resident outside Ireland to cast a ballot. More than 120 countries around the world have provisions for their citizens abroad to cast a ballot, but Ireland does not currently allow emigrants to vote in any elections. The government will decide within four months whether to hold a referendum on the issue.

NI TALKS - Former US diplomat Richard Haass, who is chairing all-party talks on flags and parades and other unresolved Northern Irish issues, has met with politicians from the five largest parties in Northern Ireland, with senior clergy, the Orange Order, business leaders and also with leaders in London and Dublin. This is all part of his plan to deliver recommendations before Christmas on how to deal with contentious issues in Northern Ireland left outstanding from the 1998 Belfast agreement. Last summer saw an outbreak of street violence linked to loyal order marches and protests linked to the Union flag dispute.

BRIDGING DIVIDES - Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson recently attended a Co-operation Ireland dinner honoring the peace-building work of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). As keynote speaker at the event in Queen's University, Belfast, Robinson commended the GAA's involvement in the National Citizenship Program and acknowledged that his presence at the event itself carried a huge cross-community significance.

NEW AMBASSADOR - The new Irish Ambassador to the US, Anne Anderson, presented her credentials to President Obama in the Oval Office on September 17. Anderson is a native of Clonmel, Co Tipperary, and replaces departing Ambassador Michael Collins. She is the first female Irish Ambassador to the US and previously was Ambassador to the UN. Ireland currently has 15 female ambassadors in Irish embassies around the world, or about one in every four.

FRIENDLY REQUEST - Ireland's first female Ambassador to the US, Anne Anderson, has asked America's oldest Irish-American organization to consider changing its name and becoming more inclusive of women. She told the Friendly Sons of St Patrick, an Irish-American fraternal society dating to 1771, that she would "love to see them evolve towards a new title of the Friendly Sons and Daughters of St Patrick". Some Irish-American groups have long-standing traditions of excluding women from St Patrick's Day events. Last March, Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs canceled a visit to Savannah, Georgia, because he did not want to attend a male-only Ancient Order of Hibernians' dinner.

GREEN FIELDS - Met Éireann, the Irish National Meteorological Service, says that as a result of climate change Irish summers will become considerably drier, with up to a 20% decrease in precipitation. But winters will become wetter, with precipitation increases of up to 14%. That could mean that Ireland's famously green fields will lose their lushness in spring and summer months.

POSTAL CODES - Ireland will soon introduce the world's first individual unit locator, a type of postal code which will be a unique identifier for every mailbox in Ireland. Most countries in the developed world have had post codes since at least the 1990s, but in Ireland only Dublin has them. The new postcode will comprise seven digits providing a unique identification for every mailbox. The "unit specific" code will be in the format A65 B2CD with the first three digits relating to the postal district. It is scheduled to be operational in Spring 2015.

CHILD INVESTIGATION - Prompted by tips following a high profile case in Greece, Gardaí (Police) removed two children from a Romanian family living in Dublin after receiving reports that the children were not blood relatives of the couple claiming them as their biological children. However, the children were later reunited with the family after DNA tests proved the couple who claimed to be the parents were telling the truth.

HOMELESS INITIATIVE - Dublin's 50 most persistent panhandlers are to be targeted under a new strategy that involves the development of case management plans for each individual to determine if they require housing services, drug rehabilitation, mental health services or other support. Support funding will be provided by city businesses. Legislation from February 2011 made aggressive begging an offence liable for prosecution, but almost 50% of all behavioral warnings are issued to the same group of people. Convicted panhandlers are generally released after serving an hour in prison where they are sent after being unable to pay fines.

REDESIGNED PASSPORT - The newly redesigned Irish passport features a Borderless map of Ireland to reflect the all-island basis for citizenship, along with imagery of Irish landmarks, such as the Cliffs of Moher, the banks of the River Liffey, Croagh Patrick, the Rock of Cashel, Kylemore Abbey, Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium, alongside drawings depicting Irish music and dance and Gaelic games. It features poems from three of Ireand's finest poets: Nuala ní Dhomhnaill, William Butler Yeats, and James Orr from Co Antrim who wrote in Ulster Scots. The current passport has been in circulation since 2004 and is no longer being issued.

ARMED PLANE - An armed US military aircraft landed at Shannon airport in September after clearance paperwork submitted by the US mislabeled the type of aircraft. Planes carrying weapons are prohibited by Irish government rules from landing in Ireland or flying through Irish airspace. Shannon airport has been frequently used by American military personnel travelling between the USA and Iraq and Afghanistan. No information was released on the type of aircraft or weapon, where the aircraft had flown from or its destination.

ADAMS TROUBLE - Northern Ireland's Attorney General is examining whether Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams acted illegally or improperly when he waited 9 years before notifying police about the sexual abuse of his niece Áine Adams. In the first trial of Liam Adams, Gerry Adams said that in 2000 his brother admitted abusing his daughter on one occasion but that it was not until 2009 that he told the PSNI about this admission.

FAMINE COMMEMORATION - New Orleans will be the location of the 2014 International Irish Famine Commemoration. Following the failure of the potato crop during the 1840s, thousands of Irish people emigrated via ships going directly to New Orleans. Between 1840 and 1860, New Orleans had a higher per capita Irish population than Boston or Philadelphia.

HURLING PRAISE - London's Guardian newspaper recently wrote about "Sporting combatants playing for love not money" referring to the players competing in the All-Ireland Hurling Final. The paper compared "the prima donna antics" in Premier League Soccer to the courage and commitment of the teams from Cork and Clare which it said were "a shining example of sportsmanship." Clare defeated Cork by one point in the replayed final of a completely amateur sport after their first meeting ended in a draw.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Can't Hold us" as Gaeilge

GAEILIGE RAP - The students of Coláiste Lurgan, an Irish-speaking summer school in Co. Galway's Gaeltacht, recently teamed up with Seattle rap master Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to create their latest 'as Gaeilge' hit (a hit in the Irish language). The American rapper visited the Coláiste Lurgan music crew in Galway to help them compile the track for their version of Macklemore's 'Can't Hold Us'.

FEMALE BISHOP - The Church of Ireland (Anglican Church) has appointed its first female bishop, the Rev. Pat Storey, as the new Bishop of Meath and Kildare. Rev. Storey is the also the first female bishop in Ireland or Britain. She is 53 and has been rector of St Augustine's in Derry since 2004. Married with two adult children, she grew up in Belfast and studied at Trinity College Dublin, was ordained deacon in 1997 and priest in 1998.

BUYING IRISH PROPERTY - The New York Times writes about an increasing number of Americans returning to their Irish roots to buy castles and manor houses, with many of the homes changing hands for about a third of 2007 prices. The article also discusses the pros and cons of owning a home in Ireland, the various fees involved in making a purchase, the challenges to Americans of owning a home in another country, and various other considerations to be taken into account if you're interested in buying property in Ireland.

• There were 144,588 Irish-born naturalized US residents in 2010.
• There are 16 places in the United States that share the name of Ireland's capital, Dublin. The largest is Dublin, California, with a population of 46,036.
• 26 maps show how 26 different ethnic groups, including the Irish, are divided across America
• The number of pubs in Ireland has declined by 959 from 2007 to 2012, according to a report by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland.
• A new book by Michael Corrigan, an assistant lecturer at Idaho State University, is called Mulligan, about an Irish traveler turned actor turned Civil War cavalry officer.
• Ireland's Minister for Health says that free universal GP care will be introduced in Ireland within the next three years.
• The New York Times says that Irish Stone Cottages Offer a Slice of Old Ireland.
• There are around 700 to 800 traditional thatched cottages left in the Irish Republic.
• Galway's Druid Theatre is changing its name to the Mick Lally Theatre, in a tribute to the late actor who played a key role in the company from its beginnings in the 1970s until his death three years ago.
• The London Telegraph calls a goal recently scored in Ireland's Women's National Soccer League "the goal of the season".
• Hurlers from Ireland were at Notre Dame University in South Bend to compete in an 11-a-side hurling tournament as part of the build-up to the recent NCAA College Football game between ND and USC.
• A new $405 million "state-of-the-art" children's hospital is to be built on the site of the Royal Hospital in Belfast, to replace the 107-bed Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
• Ireland has the highest rate of hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the developed world. COPD, which comprises two diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, is one of the biggest killers in Ireland and is predominantly caused by smoking.
• A decision of the UK's Supreme Court means that same-sex and unmarried couples may now adopt children. At present single Northern Irish people can adopt but a couple in a civil partnership cannot.
• The average cost of a funeral in Ireland is between $5,500-$10,000.
• Just six tenants, the last remaining residents of Dublin's Ballymun flats, remain in the 15-storey Joseph Plunkett Tower. It and the remaining two eight-story blocks will be demolished early next year.
• The Irish Red Cross recently brought back to Ireland WWII refugees who had come to Ireland in 1946 from Germany, France and Austria, as part of a Red Cross initiative known as "Operation Shamrock". The former refugees were joined by the foster families who gave homes to the children over 60 years ago.
• Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former IRA leader, raised a few laughs at an international business conference when he revealed he had slept in the Queen's bed at Hillsborough Castle at Stormont in 2010. However, he assured the crowd: "She was not in it, so no scandal attached."
• Here is a link to a map of Dublin drawn about 1,173 years ago in c. 840. 
• A statue of Arthur Guinness was unveiled on Celbridge's main street in Co Kildare, to mark where the brewer was born in 1725 and where he lived for 30 years before starting his career as a master brewer.