While reading JWI I also came acros the following unfamiliar names and terms. For a better understanding of the story, I had to look them up and here is what I found out:
Haughey, Charles James (1925–2006 ) was an Irish politician, a successful accountant and real estate investor. He entered Parliament in 1957. After holding several ministerial positions in the 1960s, he was dismissed in 1970 for gun-running to the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He regained his party’s favor and became the minister of health and social welfare before becoming prime minister (1979–81, 1982, and 1987–92). In 1992 his political career came to an end when financial and wiretapping scandals forced his resignation as prime minister. After leaving office he continued to be dogged by accusations of financial impropriety, and agreed to pay taxes and fines of 5 millions euros on money he had received in secret payments. An investigation also reported that Haughey had accepted bribes. In 2006 he died of prostate cancer at the age of eighty.
Prime minister- Taoiseach
The Taoiseach or, in Irish, An Taoiseach, is the head of government of Ireland or prime minister.
The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), and must, while he or she remains in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil. The current Taoiseach is Bertie Ahern, TD of the Fianna Fáil party.
(Bertie Ahern)
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (IPA(traditionally translated by the party into English as Soldiers of Destiny, though a literal translation is Soldiers [Fianna] of Ireland), is currently the largest political party in the Republic of Ireland with 55,000 members. Its influence has been dominating the government and Irish political life from the 1930s onwards.
Sam said,
April 11, 2007 at 11:54 am
It was sad watching riots on TV in hte past. Although I was young at the time it seemed to me that fighting was unnecessary. It’s tragic that people are killing each other because of religion. Are we really so weak that we would kill because someone is saying that his God is better than ours or that our does not exist? It will be endless dispute and at the end no winner.