RIP Tim Russert 1950 - 2008

Updated with reflections from his son Luke, Chris Matthews, Mike Barnicle, Pat Buchanan, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Tom Brokaw, Maria Shriver


Buffalo-born Irish American Tim Russert, anchor of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday afternoon of an apparent heart attack. His last act was doing voice overs for Sunday's show. The Emmy award-winning Washington Bureau chief of the network was only 58 years old and had just returned from a European trip with his wife Maureen Orth and son, Luke. He is survived by them, his sisters, and his father, Timothy Sr., about whom Tim wrote two best selling books("Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life" and "Wisdom of Our Fathers:Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons"). One of the country's most respected political journalists, he was known as a hard questioner no matter which side of the political aisle upon which one sat. If you click on no other link, listen to the videos made by his colleagues. They are accolades to his gravitas, in a business that is all too often cut-throat. Particularly listen to Matthews, Barnicle and Buchanan on Hardball as they discuss the Irish obsession with politics and Irish-American Catholicism.
Photo credit: Boston College

Russert, who was a National Baseball Hall of Fame board member, began his career with NBC in 1984 and helmed "Meet the Press" beginning in 1991; prior to that he had been a counselor to New York Governor Mario Cuomo, who authored the 2008 Time Magazine biography featured below and earlier, an aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. We remember meeting him in Kingston, NY in the late 1970's when the senator was on a trip there and Russert served as chief of staff. A gracious man with an Irish sense of humor, he displayed a keen insight for politics which served him well in both his political and journalistic careers. And he was always kind to the journalists, even those of us who freelanced.

God rest his soul, and give comfort to his family. We will miss his voice, especially in this presidential election year.

Timothy J. Russert, 1950 - 2008

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25186769#25186769
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25186769#25186769
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145431/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145655/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/1/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lklfIPBK4Zg
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733752_1735737,00.html http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/russert-dies-of-apparent-heart-attack/#comments
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1814437,00.html

Patricia Jameson-Sammartano
Culture Editor, WGT

Tommy Makem, R.I.P.

We have received word from Charles McKenna of the Irish Cultural Centre of Tommy Makem's death from lung cancer yesterday. We take the liberty of quoting his letter of August 1, in our inbox this morning, here:

Patricia Jameson-Sammartano
Culture Editor, WGT


A Chara, Friend,

This is Charlie McKenna and I am writing this message with a very heavy heart. A personal hero of mine has been called home to God. The Bard of Armagh, Dr. Tommy Makem, passed away tonight after a long battle with Lung Cancer.

I cannot help but think of the times that I spoke with Tommy on the phone and asked advice about the festival, or the times when we would sit backstage and he would share poetry with me about my family name and County Monaghan. I can't help but think of the times when he would grace our stages in these past years. If he was not making music with his banjo and lilting voice, he was speaking to the hearts of each and every soul in the audience like a father to a child.

Arrangements have yet to be announced. Please afford the family the chance to grieve and heal. I believe that a memorial fund will be established and I will be sure to pass on any information as it comes along.


For tonight, please join me in a recitation of the Rosary for Dr. Tommy Makem. We love you Tommy and we thank you from the deepest reaches of our hearts for your music, your humor, your wisdom and your greatest legacy, your fine family. Tonight, Bard of Armagh, all of the answers are known to you and you are in paradise.

Mournfully,

Charlie
Charles McKenna
Founder & Executive Director
Irish Cultural Centre of Long Island
& Great Hunger Memorial
Long Island Irish Festival

We Mourn

We pause to mourn the death of Gerald Regan, the father of WGT co-founder and producer Gerry Regan. Mr. Regan died on Friday, June 4, 2007, after a short illness.

Gerald Regan, May 24, 1921-June 4, 2007

May God hold him in the palm of his hand, and may he rest in peace. We celebrate his life.

Photo of Gerry(with binoculars)and his father in 2004, courtesy of Gerry Regan.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Wake at Fairchild Sons Funeral Chapel on Thursday, 7-9pm; and Friday, 2-4p and 7-9p. Funeral Mass on Saturday at 10a at St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, 35 Dartmouth St., Garden City NY. Burial to follow at Holy Rood Cemetery, Westbury NY.

Fairchild Sons Funeral Chapel is at 1201 Franklin Avenue (@12th Street), Garden City NY 11530, 516-746-0585, opposite Lord & Taylor's and adjacent to Sears.

Directions to Fairchild: http://www.fairchildfuneral.com/mapdirections/

Mapquest to St. Anne's http://tinyurl.com/2lmdxo

We take this opportunity to send our deepest condolences to Gerry Regan.

Patricia Jameson-Sammartano
WGT Culture Editor

Memorial Day...Not Just for Picnics

REMEMBERING

Today is Memorial Day, and I am departing from my usual third person to remember personally some of the veterans who played so large a part in my life.

To the left is Joe Joyce, USMC, Korea, who died earlier this month. Many of our readers are familiar with Joe from his posts on the Wild Geese Forum. Irascible, often funny, sometimes profane, but always passionate, Joe was a dedicated Republican with a love of Ireland and a former past president of the Virginia Unit of NORAID. There are over two hundred posts regarding Joe's death on the Irish forum, more on ours at WGT, many of those posts flaming him, which is something I'm sure has him ROTFLOL(rolling on the floor laughing out loud, for those of you who don't know the computer slang).

I first "met" Joe over ten years ago when we both corresponded with an Irish political listserv(a group of people who write about common interests) run from Texas. Joe got flamed regularly, which means he got insulted online for all to read. Joe was an ardent Republican, but some of the positions he took did not agree with those of other Republicans, especially those of the Socialists. When you realized who Joe really was, it was not surprising; he had served in the Marines in Korea and come home to the Bronx to work as New York City police officer. His positions were not always PC, and he was proud of that fact.

Joe later moved to Virginia and married his beloved Viola, who was an artist and the mother of his son. He found work there as a police polygraph officer.

We began emailing one another outside of the listserv, and I saw a softer side of Joe. When my mother, Jane Jameson(US Navy, World War II)was on her deathbed, Joe said he'd have his NORAID friends pray for her. To the amusement of some relatives, I told my comatose mother that my friend had the whole IRA praying for her. When I lost my father, Jack Jameson(US Army Air Corps and US Army, World War II), fifteen months later, Joe was online with me, mailing me jokes and games to keep up my spirits. He patiently endured my endless diatribes about life in general and politics in New York. At times, we'd agree to disagree. It saved fights. We never flamed one another, although my daughter, scared by a Halloween prank, did take him to task.

Tragedy struck his life four years ago when he lost his Viola to cancer, and it was my turn to play the supportive role. He described it in his blog as "the best of times, the worst of times" quoting Charles Dickens, Indeed, his blog is bracketed by those two entries; his last piece, dated February 19, 2007 echoed one of his first blog pieces, of the previous August. His last email to me, dated February, warned of disaster with a Guiliani administration. Joe always remembered the former mayor as the prosecutor who persecuted Joe Doherty.

I used to email Joe on Memorial Day and send an e-card; this year I cannot do that. Memorial Day for me is somewhat empty, as was Mother's Day and will be Father's Day. Forgive me for stepping away from my role as journalist because I truly want to honor these former veterans who went on to be vibrant members of society as well as the 985 service personnel who have perished in Iraq since last Memorial Day.

Senper Fi, Joe. May God hold you in the palm of his hand, and may you walk hand in hand with Viola. Oh, and say hi to my parents for me, too, please, I know you will all guard the gate for the rest of us.

Patricia Jameson-Sammartano
Culture Editor, www.thewildgeese.com

Photo credit: Joe Joyce and Mabh, from Joe's website

Vic Olney, Patriot, Veteran and Booster of the 'Fighting Irish,' Dies in Manhattan

Oh all the comrades e'er I had,
they're sorry for my going away,
And all the sweethearts e'er I had ,
they wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot that
I should go and you should not,
I'll gently rise and softly call,
goodnight and joy be with you all.

-- "The Parting Glass" (a traditional Irish song of farewell)

We at TheWildGeese.com have the sad duty to report the death this week of our friend and colleague Vic Olney. Vic, the proprietor of Tara Hall, had been ill with cancer in recent years, but seemed to recover. God had a different plan for him this go-round.

Right now, we have only a sketchy background for Vic, but not because he was at all mysterious. He was, in our decade-long relationship, always forthright. We had sporadic contact with him through the years, often limited to an occasional good-natured e-mail when we inquired about shipping of a prize for our weekly Irish heritage quiz. Vic sponsored that quiz virtually from its inception in 1997.

Vic, who we guess was about 65 years old, was a veteran of the 69th Infantry, an Army National Guard unit that has fought with distinction in some of this nation's most momentous conflicts. Veterans of the unit often called him "Sarge."

Above, Vic greets visitors to Tara Hall's table at the 69th Regiment Armory on March 17, 2006. Photo by Gerry Regan

He was an activist within the regiment's Veterans Corps for many years, and a bulwark in support of the active battalion. Vic often used Tara Hall's newsletters to keep his customers and friends updated on the perils and duty facing the 69th, in Iraq and elsewhere. A staunch patriot, Vic was far more conservative than us, but we avoided contentious topics, preferring to dwell on our shared passions for the history and heritage of the Irish, and particularly Vic's beloved 69th and the Civil War's Irish Brigade.

Vic, as a volunteer, managed the Officers' Club at the 69th's historic Beaux Art turn-of-the- century armory. As a quintessential New York character, Vic added much color to the tavern's lively ambience. He kept a journal on events surrounding the 69th in the aftermath of 9/11, informed by his bird's-eye view from within the Armory, and shared it episodically with subscribers to Tara Hall's e-mail list. Seeing the documentary quality these entries possessed, and the emotional landscape he artfully described, we asked Vic if we could reproduce them on WGT, and he graciously acceded.

A rough-hewn wit, Vic reviewed the Martin Scorcese film "The Gangs of New York" for his e-mail subscribers, and he allowed us to share it via WGT with thousands of additional readers in the years that have passed. The review is quintessential Vic – blunt, irreverent, well-informed, and humorous.

Vic enthusiastically promoted TheWildGeese.com in many different ways, to many different people, in many different contexts. Tara Hall's home page features endorsements and links to our venture, as well as information about the 69th, while the website says nothing about himself. Ultimately, that speaks volumes about Vic, who we always found self-effacing as well as welcoming. For his years of support and the bon mots he shared with our readers, we are profoundly grateful. With Vic's passing, our venture, and the Irish worldwide, have lost a great friend and booster.

His wife, Barbara, daughters Karen and Donna, granddaughter Josephine, and son-in-law carry on. Vic will be waked Friday in Manhattan at the Gannon Funeral Home, 152 E. 28th Street (between 3rd & Lexington between 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. For info, call the funeral home at 212-683-1798. The funeral Mass takes place Saturday at St. Stephen's Church, 28th Street, between 3rd & Lexington (across from the funeral home), at 10 a.m. A celebration of Vic's life will follow, at the nearby 69th Regiment Armory, 68 Lexington Ave. It's one party we suspect Vic is quite sorry he won't be able to make. Vic's e-mail addy was tarahall@earthlink.net, and e-mail to it may reach his family for expressions of condolences.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to 69th Regiment Family Support Group, 68 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10010 and the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718,
Oklahoma City OK 73123-1718. http://www.cancer.org/donate

Ar dheis De go raibh sé. (May he sit at the right hand of God.)

RELATED RESOURCES:

*Just 'Doing Their Job': The 69th Is Called into Action After 9/11

* Review: 'Gangs of New York' Murders History

* Tara Hall (Fighting69th.com)