About 22594894

April 9, 2026

Dear Friend of Irish National Caucus,

I believe we are closer to the ending of England’s domination of Ireland than at any time in the past 857 years!!! Yes, seriously, thank God.

Our Founding Motto, “Ireland, too, has the right to be One Nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all,” is surely approaching fulfillment—if we can keep up Congressional and Irish-American pressure as we have done for over 50 years.

And this raises the question for us all —in conscience and truthfulness— COULD YOU HAVE DONE MORE TO HELP THE

THE SPLENDID WORK AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS? TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY OF OUR GOOD WORK, CLICK THIS QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE:

https://wp.me/pawKOq-ym  

WERE YOU AS GENEROUS AS THE GOOD LORD MADE POSSIBLE? HAVE YOU SIGNED THIS PERFECT ONLINE PETITION? AND HOW MANY SIGNERS HAVE YOU RECRUITED?

I know times are tough for some, but thank God, the Irish in America (or in Ireland) are no longer “the Famine Irish.” And yet the sons and daughters of “the Famine Irish” built Catholic Churches and schools all across America, God rest them all.

So, my friend, can you please help us out with $25, $50, $100?

SIGN “ONE IRELAND PETITION.”

NOW OVER 31,860 SIGNERS —WITH OVER ONE MILLION PETITION VIEWS (1,149,887).

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON: ENGLAND’S PARTITION, OR IRISH UNITY?

TO SIGN THE PETITION AND PROUDLY DECLARE WHERE YOU STAND, CLICK–

https://www.change.org/IrelandOneNation

EACH PERSON SHOULD SURELY BE ABLE TO GET TEN OTHERS TO SIGN.

***

(PLEASE NOTE THAT DONATIONS MADE ON THE

CHANGE.ORG SITE DO NOT GO TO THE IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS.)

TO DONATE TO THE IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS, INSERT INTO YOUR BROWSERTHE LINK DONATE LINK BELOW. IF YOU WISH YOUR DONATION TO BE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE, DONATE TO IRISH PEACE FOUNDATION, IN THE SAME LOCATION.

WWW.IRISHNATIONALCAUCUS.ORG

PLEASE REMEMBER THE IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS IN YOUR WILL

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD SAVE IRELAND.

April 2, 2026

 

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING

Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus

“One of the great injustices imposed on Ireland, Scotland, and Wales is the King /Queen of England with their Royal Family—as this article makes clear.” —Fr. Sean McManus.

End “ridiculous” royal tax breaks – Greens

Craig Meighan, Irish News. Belfast. Thursday, April 2, 2026.

The Scottish Greens have said they would end royal tax breaks in Scotland as part of their election pledges to “make the super-rich pay their fair share”.

The party said it was unfair that the “scandal-ridden” monarchy was given “perks” while costs were soaring for regular people.

Co-leader Ross Greer said it was “ridiculous” that the King was legally exempt from paying a range of taxes.

While most of these are reserved to the UK Government, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), called stamp duty in England, is fully devolved to the Scottish Government.

Many people pay the tax when buying a house but the King would not because transactions involving the Crown are exempt from LBTT.

The Scottish Greens said they were committed to ending the exemption and “making one of the country’s biggest landowners pay his fair share”.

Mr. Greer said: “With costs soaring and people being priced out of everyday essentials, it is ridiculous that so much public money is given to one super-rich and scandal-ridden family based on who their ancestors were.

“The King is one of the richest men in the world and one of the biggest landowners in Scotland.

“He doesn’t need even more perks, and he shouldn’t be given a free pass from paying taxes simply because of the wealthy family he was born into.”

Mr. Greer said it was unfair to have “one rule for the elites” and “another for the rest of us”.

He added: “Scotland should not be a nation where the powerful and privileged are exempt from contributing fairly.

“Even those who support having an unelected head of state would surely agree that the King can afford to pay towards our public services.

“The monarchy is an anti-democratic hangover from an earlier era, and one that the Scottish Greens would abolish in a heartbeat.

“Over the last few years the shocking scandals surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in particular have underlined how poorly served we are by them.

“No family should be allowed to exempt itself from following the law, but in so many ways that’s exactly what the Windsors do. It is long past time for the King to start paying his taxes.”

Murdo Fraser, Tory candidate for Perthshire North, described the calls as a “student politics stunt”.

He added: “Ross Greer and his Republican pals should grow up instead of chucking out unserious policies just to play to the gallery.”

The royal communications office advised that all income received by the King from the Duchy of Lancaster is included in his annual tax return.

The office also said the sovereign pays income tax on a voluntary basis at HMRC’s additional rate, as well as capital gains tax on all private income, and that the King is subject to VAT, also paying local rates on a voluntary basis.

 

 

 

 

March 25, 2026

THE BEST-KEPT SECRET OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

By Fr. Sean McManus. Founder and President of the Washington, D.C.-based Irish National Caucus.

The Irish Echo. New York. March 25, 2026.

On International Human Rights Day, December 10, 1978, I embarked on a Special Ministry of Justice and Peace and opened the Capitol Hill Office of the Irish National Caucus.

Ecclesiastically, it was the first of its kind and also the first and only Irish office ever opened on Capitol Hill to lobby for justice and peace in Ireland (and, of course, by that term, I mean all of Ireland, particularly The North/Northern Ireland).

As a Catholic priest, my work had to be based not only on secular understanding of human rights, justice, and peace but also on Catholic Social Teaching. I was conscious, therefore, that I had a double struggle ahead of me: (1) explaining the basics of England’s injustice in Northern Ireland/The North, and (2) reminding Irish-Americans that “working for justice” is not only the patriotic thing to do, but it is also an essential part of the Catholic faith.

Irish-Americans needed such reminding about their faith because—as the expression has it—“Catholic Social Teaching is the best-kept secret of the Catholic Church” (and that expression was coined not by Church opponents but by American Church leaders themselves).

I also knew that even those very knowledgeable of Catholic Social Teaching—like many priests, nuns, Bishops, and theological experts—never somehow applied it to Ireland: to Latin America, South Africa, etc., yes, but never to Ireland. Just like in secular America, many leading experts and politicians never applied fundamental American foreign policy principles to Ireland: like national self-determination, respect for human rights, non-discrimination, etc., etc. It appeared there was a conspiracy of silence between Church and State regarding England’s injustice in Ireland.

So, I felt it was my duty to challenge this silence by holding both Congress and the Catholic Church to their own beliefs on human rights, equality, justice, and peace—even if it offended Jolly Old England. And, I had to try to do this while the British Embassy—and shamefully, the Irish Embassy of those days—were systematically and falsely spreading the word that the Irish National Caucus was a front for the IRA.

So, what, then, is the Church’s best-kept secret? Its essence is articulated in the document issued by the World Synod of Catholic Bishops, Rome, November 30, 1971: ““Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.” (Justice in the World. # 6).

The word “constitutive” means: that without which something will not stand…So, without justice, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the New Testament, and the Catholic Church DO NOT STAND—because love of God and love of neighbor in effect means wanting and standing for the building up of the Kingdom of God on this earth in  Truth, Justice, Love, and Freedom (the Four  Social Values of Catholic Social Teaching), according to our ability.

This profound and prophetic declaration provided me with the inspiration and theological/canonical grounds for my full-time Special Ministry—for which I thank God every day.

State-sponsored—to use a modern term—racism/sectarianism, the flip side of the same coin, are the historic twin evils of the world. It is upon these twin evils that the British Empire was built, including, of course, the long genocidal and ethnic cleansing conquest of the entire island of Ireland—England’s very first oppressed colony.

Racism/sectarianism were also the foundation stone of Northern Ireland in 1920: in this context, racism equals anti-Irish, and sectarianism equals anti-Catholicism.

Now that the context has been set, let me continue with the overview of Catholic Social Teaching.

Modern Catholic Social Teaching, of course, began long before 1971. This Teaching is considered to be the corpus of Catholic social teaching contained in official Papal and hierarchical documents, commencing in 1891 with Rerum Novarum (“The Condition of Labor “) by Pope Leo XIII, right up to the present time.

“Social justice” has been mainly a religious concept in that it emerged from religious circles. It covers the just and fair relation of the individual to society. Social justice, therefore, requires the mutual obligation of individual and society. The Encyclopedia of Catholicism explains: “The individual has an obligation to contribute to society through participation, and society has the obligation to order its institutions so that such participation is possible. The primary form of social injustice is the exclusion or marginalization of persons from participation in the life of the society.” (Page 727).

The actual term “social justice” was first coined by a Jesuit priest Luigi Taparelli d’Azeglio in 1843. It was first mentioned in Papal Teaching by Pope Pius XI in his Encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno (1931), issued to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the previously mentioned landmark Encyclical, “Rerum Novarum” by Pope Leo XIII. (Full disclosure here: I have issues with this great Pope because the British Government got him to condemn the Irish Plan of Campaign, 1886-1891—a campaign of boycott and refusal to pay rent to absentee and rack-rent brutal landlords. The Pope had no damn business condemning that struggle for justice.                                                  

Later, other papal documents would introduce another key term of Catholic Social Teaching, “solidarity.” Catholic thinkers adopted this term from European labor unions to distinguish Catholic social theory from the then-modern theories of extreme liberal/unbridled capitalism on the one hand and materialistic communism on the other hand. Both were seen by the Church to be disconnected from God and from God’s law.

Pope John Paul II, of course, would make the term solidarity a most prominent principle of Catholic Social Teaching, raising it to a virtue. For example, in his great 1981 Encyclical, Laborem exercens (“On Human Work”), he mentions solidarity ten times—no doubt, thereby sending his blessing to the Solidarity movement in his native Poland.

In his 1988 Encyclical, Sollicitudo rei socialis (“Solicitude for social concerns”), the Pope, referring to the maxim “peace is the fruit of justice,” says: “Today, one could say, with the same exactness and the same power of biblical inspiration (cf. Isaiah 32:17; James 3:18), peace is the fruit of solidarity.”

And in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) uses the term solidarity an amazing 40 times.

In Sollicitudo rei socialis (“Solicitude for social concerns”), Pope John Paul II also introduces the striking and meaningful concept of social “structures of sin.” This means we not only have to repent of personal sin, but also oppose, preach, and campaign against structures of sin, injustice, and unfairness in society.

 Furthermore, this is the first Papal Encyclical to dedicate the Catholic Church to a “preferential option for the poor.”

And, lest we forget, John Paul II also taught — in the words of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace— “Peace is founded not only on human rights but also on respect for the rights of peoples, in particular the right to independence.” (Page 69. #157). How many Catholic Bishops in Ireland,  Britain, and the USA applied this teaching to England’s domination and oppression of Ireland? And in the same section, the Compendium states: “The Magisterium points out that international law ‘rests upon equal respect for States, for each peoples’ right to self-determination and for their free cooperation in view of the higher common good of humanity.” Did any Catholic in Ireland, north or south, ever hear a bishop preach on Ireland’s right to national self-determination throughout The Troubles?

Until Pope John XXIII and Vatican II (1962-65), Catholic Social Teaching was mainly based on natural law rather than on scripture. (However, that had the benefit of being able to communicate with people of no faith and of all faiths). But, of course, the origins of this teaching was always Scriptural, based on the Hebrew prophets who announced God’s special love for the poor and oppressed—and based especially on the words and actions of Jesus Christ, who identified Himself completely with “the least of our brothers and sisters”—not with the rich, the famous, and the powerful.

Pope John XXIII  moved the Church’s social teaching away from a rigid interpretation of natural law to “a reading of the sign of the times,” making it more Scripturally based. This highlighted the point that Biblical justice is not cold-hearted legal justice, but a matter of the heart that heeds the cry of the poor, as personified by Jesus Christ.

Pope Paul VI, in his pivotal apostolic exhortation, would further powerfully place social justice teaching at the very heart of the Gospel (thereby endorsing the document, Justice in the World). He declared: “As the main point and the very center of his Good News, Christ proclaims salvation; this is the great gift of God, which is liberation from everything that oppresses people, particularly liberation from sin and the Evil One…” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, par. 9, December 8, 1975).

And, now today, thanks be to God, the Catholic Church powerfully and clearly teaches: “Action on behalf of justice [is] a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel…”

(This is an updated version of an opinion article published in the Irish Echo of May 24-30. 2023.)

 

 

March 25, 2026

 

FR. SEAN MCMANUS: GOD BLESS THE JEWS AND MUSLIMS WHO SPEAK UP FOR IRELAND WHEN BIG-NAME CATHOLICS ARE SILENT

Letter from president of the Irish National Caucus in praise of Ben Gilman and Zohran Mamdani

By Letters to the Editor

Irish News, Belfast. March 25, 2026

 

Zohran Mamdani is Mayor of New York,

Former, late, New York Congressman Ben Gilman pictured with Fr Sean McManus of the Irish National Caucus

I used to describe the late, great Congressman Ben Gilman (R-NY) as, ‘My Irish hero is a Jewish Congressman from New York.’ Ben loved it, telling me it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about him.

In my work of getting the U.S. Congress to stand up for Irish national self-determination, justice, peace, and solidarity, I have been powerfully touched and inspired by how nearly all the Jewish delegation in the House and Senate showed great sympathy for suffering and oppressed Catholics in Northern Ireland—Congressman Gilman being the most prophetic of all, in words and deeds, God rest him. To me, it was a religious experience of God’s grace when Big Name Irish Catholics in Congress, and in other powerful positions, remained virtually silent (and, therefore, fully complicit and in collusion with England’s reign of terror, racism, and Anti-Catholicism in Northern Ireland).

And, now I have another hero, not Irish, not Catholic, but Muslim, and like Congressman Gilman, a man with a prophetic voice—Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani. His brilliant and courageous St. Patrick’s Day statements give proof of the power and strength of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in America. His prophetic voice shames the silent voices of those like the late U.S. Senator Moynihan (D-NY) and former Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Dolan.

Congressman Gilman, as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made it possible for me, after a long struggle to get our MacBride Principles passed into Federal law—while previously Irish Catholic Speakers Tip O’Neill and Tom Foley had banned human rights Hearing on Northern Ireland (in blatant collusion with British Embassy).

Irish-Americans, and the Irish in Ireland, must, therefore, never forget the prophetic voices of those outside Catholicism, like Congressman Gilman and Mayor Mamdani.

Here’s the test: the Catholic Church teaches: “Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.” World Synod of Bishops. #6. Rome. November 30, 1971.

Who personifies this teaching better: Gilman and Mamani or Moynihan and Dolan?

God bless the Jews and the Muslims, and God save Ireland.

 

March 19, 2026

 

      FR. McMANUS WITH NI SPEAKER POOTS

Edwin Poots, Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Fr. Sean McManus. The Ulster-American Connection. Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. March 18, 2026.

Note on Ulster: The historic Province of Ulster, of course, consists of nine Counties—not the gerrymandered Six County-State of Northern Ireland, created by The King-in-Parliament, December 23, 1920.

The counties of Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan were excluded from the gerrymandered State because those counties had too many Catholics for the artificial State of Northern Ireland to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGN “ONE IRELAND PETITION.”

NOW OVER 31,854 SIGNERS —WITH OVER ONE MILLION PETITION VIEWS (1,149,503).

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON: ENGLAND’S PARTITION, OR IRISH UNITY?

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***

PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A SPECIAL

ST. PATRICK’S DAY DONATION TO IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS.

(PLEASE NOTE THAT DONATIONS MADE ON THE

CHANGE.ORG SITE DO NOT GO TO THE IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS.)

TO DONATE TO THE IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS, GO TO WWW.IRISHNATIONALCAUCUS.ORG, AND CLICK THE HAMBURGER ICON AT THE UPPER RIGHT AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. IF YOU WISH YOUR DONATION TO BE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE, DONATE TO IRISH PEACE FOUNDATION, IN THE SAME LOCATION.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY AND GOD SAVE IRELAND.

March 8, 2026

IRISH CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING                                                                                                                                           Distributed to Congress by Irish National Caucus

“England’s cover-up of its collusion with the murderous Anti-Catholic Glenanne Gang brazenly continues as revealed in this Irish News article. … But also covered is the heroic truth campaign of Eugene Reavey of South Armagh.”—Fr. Sean McManus.

Eugene Reavey and Fr. McManus. Fermanagh, August 2025

“Stand-off” over Glenanne Gang documents, court told

Alan Erwin. Irish News. Belfast. Saturday, September 7, 2026.

THE Secretary of State is allegedly trying to obtain a veto over any police disclosure of sensitive documents in civil actions by relatives of loyalist paramilitary murder victims, the High Court heard yesterday.

Counsel for two bereaved families claimed a dispute between Hilary Benn and Chief Constable Jon Boutcher about handling issues of potential national security could further delay the cases.

The development came as lawyers representing the Secretary of State confirmed he is seeking to intervene in lawsuits centered on alleged security force collusion with the terrorist killers.

Eugene Reavey is suing the PSNI and Ministry of Defense for misfeasance in public office in connection with the murder of his three brothers 50 years ago.

John Martin, Brian, and Anthony Reavey were shot dead by masked intruders at the family’s home in Whitecross, south Armagh, in January 1976. Known as the Glenanne Gang, the UVF unit at the center of the action is believed to have been responsible for up to 120 deaths in a sustained killing spree at the height of the Troubles. The unit allegedly contained members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Ulster Defense Regiment.

Mr. Reavey’s case is part of a wider group of litigation brought by families of victims, and those wounded in the series of Troubles-era murders and attempted murders.

A second action relates to the double murder of GAA fans Sean Farmer and Colm McCartney at a dummy roadblock in Altnamackin, Co Armagh, in August 1975.

With both cases hit by a series of delays related to the disclosure of sensitive documents by the defendants, Mr. Justice Rooney has repeatedly insisted the trials will get underway next month.

However, it emerged yesterday that the UK government and the Chief Constable are in disagreement about a Public Interest Immunity (PII) process for redacting material on grounds of national security.

Based on a Supreme Court judgment, lawyers for the Secretary of State argued that he should oversee any PII claim over documents to be provided by the PSNI.

The Chief Constable should also seek a ministerial certificate on the issue in all cases involving national security, it was contended.

Counsel representing Mr. Boutcher, Oliver Sanders KC, indicated that police have made their own PII claims since a previous practice was abandoned two years ago. He described the latest development as an impasse between the PSNI and the government.

“What the NI Office is now seeking, to some extent, is more control over the process,” he added.

Despite the dispute, Mr. Sanders insisted the relationship between the Chief Constable and the Secretary of State remains amicable.

But a barrister for the Reavey and Farmer families said he had been left bemused by a disagreement between two branches of the state.

Desmond Fahy KC submitted: “It seems that what is being attempted here is the introduction of a veto on the part of the Secretary of State by invoking national security.”

He argued that government representatives had shown no interest in either family in the 50 years since their loved ones were murdered.

“Here we are, a matter of weeks before the hearings… and the Secretary of State is seeking to intervene in a process ongoing for 18 months or two years on the basis there are issues of national security,” he said.

Stressing the Ministry of Defense’s role as a defendant in the two actions, he claimed the government would have known about the PII process and voiced concern over any potential further hold-ups.

“A stand-off between the Secretary of State and Chief Constable… is going to introduce delay in this process,” the barrister predicted.

Mr. Justice Rooney stated: “I don’t want these matters delayed yet again because of a dispute between the Secretary of State and the Chief Constable. It just can’t happen.”

 

PRAISE FOR FR. McMANUS’ MEMOIRS AND HIS WORK

Note by Barbara Flaherty, Monday, February 9, 2026, on Sunday World interview with Fr. McManus: “SMEARED | Campaigning cleric was branded ‘Provo Priest’ over equality efforts.” By Hugh Jordan. . .Friday, August 22, 2025.

(But first, Fr. McManus’ correction must be given here: “I appreciate Hugh Jordan’s article. However, a point of clarification: I did not ‘decide’ to go to America. I was, in effect, deported from England by collusion of Church/State, because I would not give my Religious Superior “a promise without mental reservation or equivocation,” never again to condemn England’s racist and anti-Catholic oppression in Ireland”).         

To read the article, place this link into your browser:

https://irishnationalcaucus.org/blog/smeared-1/

 

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 Last year, 2025, was the first time that there were more Catholic workers in Northern Ireland than Unionist/Protestant” workers—according to the 34th Equality Commission for Northern Ireland’s Fair Employment Monitoring Report (2023).

When asked by the Sunday World if he was “proud” of this remarkable development—the result of his historic MacBride Principles campaign—Fr. McManus said he was “grateful.” No vainglorious boasting from this Fermanagh man—he keeps his eyes on the prize; does his duty; preaches the Gospel of justice and peace, because “… “Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.” World Synod of Bishops. #6. Rome. November 30, 1971.

 

WE ARE PLEASED TO PRESENT THIS UPDATED QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE SPLENDID WORK OF FR. SEAN McMANUS AND IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS.

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Fr. McManus said:’’ Although these quotes are about me, I have always been vividly and humbly aware that without dedicated Irish-American and good Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, I could not have accomplished anything. In particular, I am deeply grateful for the magnificent work and dedication of Barbara Flaherty, Executive Vice President, Irish National Caucus.”

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“Thus, McManus became Britain’s nemesis in America, the driving force that would eventually erode Britain’s influence within the U.S. government.”—Joseph E. Thompson. American Policy and Northern Ireland: A Saga of Peacebuilding. 2001.

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“[Fr. McManus] stood out against powerful forces in a fight for justice and fairness. I didn’t always agree with the causes he supported, but I admired his persistence, his courage, his relentlessness. And admiration that one person, almost alone, could make such impact on public policy in the United States.”—Vincent Browne’s speech at book launch of Fr. McManus’ Memoirs, My American Struggle For Justice In Northern Ireland. Dublin. 2011.

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“…The Irish National Caucus … has been influential in getting Congress to see Northern Ireland as a human rights issue.”—The Washington Post. 1981.

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“Fr. Sean McManus is a man to be reckoned with when it comes to advocating causes.  His espousal of the  MacBride Principles back in the 1980s caused fits for the British government … McManus has also been a constant watchdog in Washington on Irish affairs and has been hugely successful in setting the Irish-American agenda over the past 30 years.”—Niall O’Dowd. Editor of The Irish Voice, New York. 1990.

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KEY DUBLIN WRITER 

These and other smears were deployed against Fr. McManus for decades, especially when he was promoting the MacBride Principles on fair employment. Britain smeared the INC as a front for the Provisional IRA. David Burke, “The MI6 Smearmeister: A Sordid Tale of Smears, Lies, and Deception. “Irish Echo, March 15, 2023.

David Burke is a Dublin barrister, author of three important Irish books: An Enemy of the Crown; Kitson’s Irish War; and Deception and Lies. He is also a most prolific writer for The Village Magazine, Dublin. He is a leading expert on England’s dirty tricks and malfeasance in Ireland, North and South.

 

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“The [MacBride] campaign is being run by the Irish National Caucus… The move, inspired by Father Sean McManus, who has been consistently opposed to British policy, is particularly well-timed. For even if the law is never passed, it provides an opportunity to link, however tenuously, the issues of South Africa and Northern Ireland. The MacBride Principles also call for the same kind of affirmative action programs for Catholics, which American companies already use in the employment of women and blacks in the U.S.A.”— “New York Threat of Ulster Shares Boycott.” Will Ellsworth-Jones. The Times. London. January 6, 1985.

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“Fr. Sean McManus has spent a lifetime leading the fight to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland. That so many Americans and, particularly those in American government leadership roles, joined in the effort to achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict is a credit to his courageous and inspiring leadership.”—Bill Flynn, Chairman Emeritus, Mutual of America Chairman, National Committee on American Foreign Policy. 2011.

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RAYMOND McCORD, SR., FAMOUS VICTIMS CAMPAIGNER

“I am a Protestant (which normally I would not mention). However, I had to turn to a Catholic priest, Father Sean McManus, to seek justice for the murder of my son, Raymond Jr. Father McManus helped me get a powerful Congressional hearing into young Raymond’s murder and expose state collusion in his murder.”— Raymond McCord Sr., Belfast. 2011.

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Richard Kerr, Belfast Protestant of abuse by top British public figures.

“The support of the Irish National Caucus in Washington is a true blessing to me.  Fr. Sean McManus has kept the U.S. Congress informed about my case, as he has for so many others over the years. Fr. McManus points out that ecumenism is at its best when Protestants and Catholics not only pray together for peace but also work together for justice. My sentiments exactly.”

 

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“After being ‘transported’ out of London 1972, [Church and State] sent Fr. McManus to far-flung America. …They thought it was a safe enough place to banish him after he attacked the British Government and its policies in [Northern Ireland] in the early 1970s. But how wrong [they] were. Some political observers in America say he was light years ahead of his time when   he set up the Irish National Caucus to fight for justice and rights for [Catholics] back home in Northern Ireland.”—John Cassidy, Sunday World. Belfast. March 18, 2007.

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History and an Anniversary, Too
By Ray O’Hanlon, Editor, Irish Echo, New York City. February 7, 2024.
When he founded the Irish National Caucus on the sixth day of the second month of 1974, Fr. Sean McManus could only dream of the kind of scene that took place at Stormont on the third day of the second month in 2024.
The Saturday, February 3 descent of stairs in order to ascend to the highest political office in contemporary Northern Ireland saw Michelle O’Neill take center stage in a sea change in the North’s political life.
“A defining moment indeed. One of hope, progress, and solidarity,” was how Fr. McManus described the moment.
Three days later, on Tuesday, February 6, the Fermanagh-born priest was celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his founding of the Irish National Caucus, the Capitol Hill-based lobbying and advocacy organization that has been hugely instrumental in educating and enlisting the help of congressional leaders in the pursuit of a just and lasting peace in Northern Ireland – and also in paving the road to Michelle O’Neill’s stairway to political heaven. Hope and history do indeed rhyme, or in this case coincides.

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“Fr. McManus, from his Capitol Hill office, has been a prominent and influential figure in the quest for progress and peace with justice in Northern Ireland, blending knowledge of his native land with experience drawn from his years of dealing with the intricacies of the political system in his adopted one. His has been a unique role. Long may it continue.”—Ray O’Hanlon. editor of The Irish Echo. New York. 2011.

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“The master … in publicity terms, is Father Sean McManus, a burly, plausible charmer whose Irish National Caucus has taken center stage …  the good Father has made himself expert in congressional lobbying techniques …  I  spent a long and, to be perfectly frank, rather enjoyable afternoon with Father McManus in his Capitol Hill office … and it became clear that he hadn’t been raised as a clerical apologist for nothing.”—Christopher Hitchens, public intellectual, author of God Is Not Great, and The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. The Spectator. England. October 5, 1985.

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“I support the Irish National Caucus in its important work for justice and peace in Northern Ireland and would be proud to be associated with this worthy organization.”—Rep. Peter T. King (R- NY) 1994.

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“I am writing to express my desire to become a Congressional Friend member of the Irish National Caucus.  The organization has a formidable record of working on behalf of Ireland, and the equality for the Catholic minority. As a member and an Irish=American, I would be proud to continue this important endeavor.”  —Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA). Feb. 12, 2015.

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When the British Embassy confidentially reports — as distinct from its public propaganda — to the British Government and the Northern Ireland Office, it is in no doubt as to whom is behind the MacBride Principles. Their Spying-Reports explain that the Mac Bride campaign is “instigated,” “canvassed” “incredibly well organized,” etc., etc., by the Irish National Caucus. And even said the Irish National Caucus was non-violent, while the British Embassy always said the Caucus was funding the IRA and shipping guns to Ireland! — Fr. Sean McManus

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In Praise of Father McManus

                              By

Congressman Ben Gilman, former Chairman,

House International Relations Committee

                            February 2003

http://www.irishnationalcaucus.org/in-praise-of-father-mcmanus/

 

As I retire from Congress, I want to pay tribute to Father Sean McManus, the President of the Irish National Caucus.

For 30 years as a Member of Congress, I have been privileged to work for many good and noble causes around the world.  None has given me more pleasure than my work for equality and peace in Ireland.

Throughout my 30 years of congressional work, Father McManus has been constantly by my side – encouraging, guiding, and giving invaluable advice from his unsurpassed knowledge of the Irish issue.  No one has done more than Father McManus to keep the U.S. Congress on track regarding justice and peace in Ireland.  Indeed, I believe historians will record that no one since John Devoy (1842-1928) has done more to organize American pressure for justice in Ireland.  (The only difference being that Father Mc Manus – in keeping with his priestly calling – is committed to nonviolence).

During the past 30 years, the fingerprints of Father Mc Manus are over every piece of Congressional action on Ireland: from the formation of the Ad Hoc Congressional Committee For Irish Affairs in 1977 (which in turn sparked the formation of the Friends of Ireland in 1981) to Congressional Hearings on Northern Ireland, once banned until I became Chairman of the International Relations Committee in 1995; from individual human rights cases, like the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four to the political assassinations cases of Pat Fincucane and Rose Mary Nelson; from the Hunger Strikes of Bobby Sands and his nine colleagues to the general mistreatment of political prisoners; from individual cases of anti-Catholic discrimination to the full, frontal and triumphal campaign of the Mac Bride Principles; from stopping the sale of U.S. weapons to the RUC to putting human rights conditions on U.S. dealings with the Northern Ireland police.

Summarily, Father McManus’s doctrine “that the United States must not subsidize anti-Catholic discrimination in Northern Ireland” has now become U.S. law and policy.  Accordingly, it has been my honor and privilege to have given Congressional shape to Father McManus’ dream for his beloved Ireland.

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MACBRIDE

“The Mac Bride Principles—a corporate code of conduct for American companies doing business in Northern Ireland—were launched by the Irish National Caucus on November 4, 1984. The Mac Principles both symbolized and effectuated the Caucus’ major campaign to stop U. S. dollars subsidizing anti-Catholic discrimination in Northern Ireland. The Principles became law in 18 U.S. states and numerous towns and cities. In October 1998, the MacBride Principles were passed by both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into U.S. law.  Chairman Gilman took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to welcome this singular achievement, saying: “I want to make a special note regarding Father Sean McManus.  No one has fought harder against discrimination in Northern Ireland.  Father Sean single-handedly brought the MacBride fair employment principles to … enactment.”  — Chairman Ben Gilman (R-NY), October 1998.

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Scourge of British Government

“Advising Congressman [Richard Ottinger, D-NY], and helping him in the talks [in Belfast] was Fr. Sean McManus, the Washington-based Redemptorist priest ordained in England and now a scourge of the British Government. The lime-and-so-da drinking cleric is not liked by British diplomats in the American capital, where he leads the Irish National Caucus, a lobbying group aimed at influencing American foreign policy with the target of Irish unity, freedom, and peace.”— “Americans in Ulster Maelstrom.” Daily Telegraph. London. August 18, 1983.

 

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“In 1983, we succeeded in getting Bill, HR3465, introduced in Congress: ‘Requiring United States persons who conduct business or control Enterprises in Northern Ireland to comply with certain fair employment principles.’ Congressman Dick Ottinger(D-NY) was its chief sponsor. We brought him to Northern Ireland to highlight this new, important development—the precursor of the Mac Bride Principle ten years later. So, you see how long we were focused on the American companies in Northern Ireland.”—Fr. Sean McManus.

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Republican and Democratic Parties Endorse MacBride Principles

On August 9, [1996], the Republican Party at their National Convention included support for the MacBride Principles in their party platform language.

FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE IRISH NATIONAL CAUCUS

TWO QUISLING IRISH LEADERS AND THEIR LIES ABOUT OUR MAC BRIDE PRINCIPLES CAMPAIGN: DICK SPRING OF KERRY AND GARRET FITZGERALD OF DUBLIN.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Dick Spring, Speech at SDLP Conference. January 1985 “But I have to say this: the type of campaign [Mac Bride Principles] presently being undertaken in America is a two- edged sword: there are those who have vested interest in seeing that total destruction of society in Northern Ireland and their campaign may be designed at depriving the people of Northern Ireland of much needed investment rather than any concern about discrimination.”

Fine Gael Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald

The late Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald spelled out his attitude in a speech in Boston on May 3, 1985: “There is, however, a campaign [MacBride Principles] underway which aims at discouraging American investment in Northern Ireland … Those who pursue this campaign should know that they are inflicting injustice on both communities … One can only wonder whether some of those who press for disinvestment do so as part of a calculated strategy which has as its goal the further weakening of the already strained Northern Ireland economy so that terrorism may have greater opportunities to flourish.”

Both leaders had to know they were telling lies. The very first thing I announced about the MacBride Principles is that they do not call for quotas, reverse discrimination, divestment (the withdrawal of US companies from Northern Ireland) or disinvestment (the withdrawal of funds now invested in firms with operations in Northern Ireland). The Caucus positively encourages non-discriminatory US investment in Northern Ireland.

Delicious Irony

Fine Gael John Bruton was Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997. He visited Washington, DC, in September 1996 and met with the leaders of the Republican Party… And he, wait for it, “applauded Republicans for the inclusion and endorsement of the MacBride Principles in their platform.” … And Senator Dole presented Taoiseach Bruton with a plaque commemorating the great victory for the MacBride Principles … Take that, Dick Spring and the late Garret FitzGerald, for your Quisling lies about one of the most significant Irish -American campaigns for justice, solidarity, and peace, which I was honored to name after the great Sean MacBride, with his expressed consent. Did FitzGerald and Spring have the decency to feel shamed by this rejection and exposure by Taoiseach Bruton and Bob Dole? Did FitzGerald and Spring ever apologize?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ADDS THIS:

Republican leadership did indeed provide strong support for the MacBride Principles, a movement largely spearheaded by Fr. Sean McManus and his organization, the Irish National Caucus (INC). 

Key Republican Backing

While the campaign was non-partisan, several high-ranking Republicans were instrumental in its success: 

Congressional Leadership: The Principles were passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in October 1998 and signed into federal law.

Benjamin Gilman:

As the Republican Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Gilman praised Fr. McManus on the House floor, stating that he “single-handedly brought the MacBride fair employment principles to… enactment.”

National Endorsements: The Republican National Committee (RNC) officially endorsed the Principles, as did prominent Republican figures such as 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole.

Please see below the 1996 RNC News Release. President Clinton was later forced to include the MacBride Principles in the Bill he signed into law. The Democratic Party also endorsed the MacBride Principles in their platform:

And on August 27, the Democratic National Convention also included the MacBride Principles in their platform. The Irish Times observed: ” The reference to the MacBride Principles could be seen as a mild criticism of British rule in Northern Ireland, but it is also intended to mollify … the Irish National Caucus.” McManus, Fr. Sean. 2023. MY AMERICAN STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND.  p. 317.

All this is related, chapter and verse, in Fr. McManus’s Memoirs: My American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland. 2023. U.S.A. RE-PRINT. 

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“Fr. Sean McManus is the man who put Northern Ireland on the map in America. As head of Washington-based lobby group the Irish National Caucus, which he founded in 1974, he continues to fight the fight over sectarianism and justice—British governments have been and gone, Fr. Sean is still here. He famously championed the MacBride Principles, which called on US   companies investing in Northern Ireland to operate a fair employment practice. It made him a hate figure for Unionists and a constant prick in the side of the British.”—Richard Sullivan. Sunday World. Belfast. January 4, 2018.

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No … U.S. initiative … [on Northern Ireland] would have come about had it not been for the activities of the Irish National Caucus. — Sunday News (Belfast), 1979.

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“The [MacBride] campaign is being run by the Irish National Caucus… The move, inspired by Father Sean McManus, who has been consistently opposed to British policy, is particularly well-timed. For even if the law is never passed, it provides an opportunity to link, however tenuously, the issues of South Africa and Northern Ireland. The MacBride Principles also call for the same kind of affirmative action programs for Catholics, which American companies already use in the employment of women and blacks in the U.S.A”— “New York Threat of Ulster Shares Boycott.” Will Ellsworth-Jones. The Times. London. January 6, 1985.

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“The MacBride campaign, directed by the Irish National Caucus, won the support of the AFL-CIO and of several religious institutional shareholders, including several Catholic orders and several major Protestant denominations.”—The Wall Street Journal, 1988.

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PRESIDENT RICHARD L. TRUMKA, FORMER PRESIDENT, AFL-CIO

“I know that Father McManus has moved the needle [on justice and human rights], and, Father, for that, I offer you, on behalf of the entire AFL-CIO, a sincere Thank you.” — President Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO, February 3, 2016.”

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“The fanfare of publicity about new and tougher action against job discrimination, for example, is designed, at least in part, to help the British Government to counter the extremely effective campaign on the MacBride Principles which is being waged by the Irish National Caucus in the United States.”—The Irish Times. Dublin. 1987.

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“We did not take him [INC President, Fr. Sean McManus] very seriously at first, but the MacBride Principles have caused serious problems and cost millions to try to counteract.”—A Senior British official in Northern Ireland—Sunday Life. Belfast).1992.

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“A spiritual and magnanimous man, McManus is undeniably a brilliant tactician. His fine book chronicles a long and vibrant journey of an astute, intelligent, and politically committed mind in action. …Many elected American officials of all ethnic backgrounds were convinced by McManus of the urgency and legitimacy of the issue and became supporters of his unceasing efforts. His crowning achievement came when after a laborious campaign the MacBride Principles were signed into law by President Clinton.”—Joe Martin. Real Change. October 27, 2011.

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LAUNCHING OF THE MAC BRIDE PRINCIPLES, AS DOCUMENTED IN FR. MC MANUS’ MEMOIRS

On Monday, November 5, 1984, the Irish National Caucus announced the launching of the MacBride Principles. Thus, the Principles were “christened.”

Our press release carried the heading, “Caucus’ New Plan to Combat Discrimination” and went on to say: “The Irish National Caucus today announced a major new initiative to combat employment discrimination in Northern Ireland … The Caucus has endorsed a set of Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Principles for Northern Ireland that have been sponsored by Seán Mac Bride … ‘This approach,’ said Fr. Sean Mc Manus, ‘… is the way for Americans to deal with anti-Catholic discrimination.’ ”

The Irish Echo (New York) captured the historic moment accurately with the headline: “Caucus Proposes New Initiative to Stop Discrimination in Northern Ireland.”

The Sunday Tribune reported: “The nine-point employment code, which was drawn up by the Washington-based Irish National Caucus (I.N.C.) is sponsored by Seán Mac Bride S.C., leading Northern Ireland trade unionist Inez McCormack and Northern surgeon Senator John Robb, and Father Brian Brady.” That was the very first occasion the Mac Bride Principles were mentioned by name in the Irish or American media. Thus, a historic initiative was conceived, born, and christened

We wanted to mention Comptroller Goldin’s name in our announcement, but at that stage, he was not prepared to associate his name with the Principles. In fact, he backed out at the last moment, after I had told Seán Mac Bride that he would join us in the announcement. The first New York politician, in fact, to publicly associate himself with the Mac Bride Principles was City Councilmember Sal Albanese (D-Bay Ridge). I had been advising Goldin to associate himself publicly with the Mac Bride Principles otherwise, other New York politicians would beat him to the punch. But he thought it was just a tactic to stampede him into supporting the Principles earlier than he wanted to.

Caucus Launches Mac Bride Campaign

The moment Council member Albanese read The Irish Echo’s report on the launching of the Mac Bride Principles, he contacted the Irish National Caucus with a view to introducing a Bill in the New York City Council. He and the Caucus worked on the drafting, and on December 19, 1984, a Bill was introduced: #878. This was to be the very first Mac Bride Bill in the U.S.

And so, the Mac Bride campaign had formally begun. The New York Daily News reported: “City Councilman Sal Albanese (D-Bay Ridge) will appear at City Hall tomorrow in a rally with Rev. Sean McManus, National Director of the Irish National Caucus, to seek support for the bill.”

The Irish Echo announced: “Fr. Sean McManus, national director of the Irish National Caucus, will hold a press conference with Councilman Albanese at City Hall on Jan. 3 at 10:30 am, calling on Irish groups to support Intro. No. 878.” 

The Chief Leader said: “The Irish National Caucus has chosen New York City to be the first where pension fund investments will be used to increase pressure for equal rights for Catholics in Northern Ireland … .”

The Catholic New York newspaper said: “Father Mc Manus was present at City Hall recently to speak in favor of the [Albanese] legislation … Father Mc Manus said that proposed legislation is ‘eminently reasonable … One of the most effective ways for us to combat the situation is to get the investors involved and make them aware they are supporting anti-Catholic discrimination,’ he told Catholic New York.”

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“Perhaps the Caucus’ boldest success has been its efforts to create … The Committee for Irish Affairs.”—The New York Times. 1979.

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“As Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs, I … commend the Irish National Caucus for your steadfast advocacy on behalf of human rights …Fr. McManus is ‘The Apostle of Human Rights for Northern Ireland.’”—Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-NY). 1980.

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Fr. McManus chairs the launching of the Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs.

(l-r) Congressman Edward P. Beard (D-RI), Fr. McManus, Congressman Mario Biaggi (D-NY), and                  Congressman Leo C. Zeferetti (D-NY). Washington, D.C. September 27, 1977.

 

A NOTE BY FR. SEAN McManus

“The Irish National Caucus proposed the formation of the Ad Hoc Congressional Committee for Irish Affairs and asked Congressman Mario Biaggi to chair it. He said he would if I could get all the Irish American Organizations to endorse him as Chairman, and if I would hold a Press Conference on Capitol Hill, and officially appoint him to the position … That he felt would validate the idea of an Italian chairing such an Irish Committee. And it did.

In our Press Release, I said: “I explained the reason for the formation of the new Committee and why an Italian congressman was asked to be chairman: Congressman Biaggi was selected by us because he has truly distinguished himself by his consistent and outspoken concern for my country.  Although his ancestry is not from Cork, Kerry, or Fermanagh, the Congressman has shown more compassion than some congressional leaders with Irish names.  On behalf of the National President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Irish National Caucus, and all Irish American organizations, it gives me deep pleasure to appoint you, Congressman Biaggi, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Congressional Committee for Irish Affairs.”

 We soon had 130 Congressional Members, even though we were viciously opposed by the British Embassy in Washington (and, shamefully, by the Irish Embassy).

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MEMOIRS

MY AMERICAN STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

“My American Struggle for Justice in Northern Ireland, and this Third Edition, is a hugely important book. It is probably the most significant memoir in the historiography of Irish-American nationalism since Recollections of an Irish Rebel (1929) by John Devoy.” —Washington Irish Committee.

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“The intrepid Fermanagh-born battler for justice, Fr. Sean McManus, has published the definitive book on    Irish-America’s fight for justice in the North of Ireland, including the epic MacBride Principles campaign.”—Máirtín ÓMuilleoir, Belfast Media, President of The Irish Echo. 2011.

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“Fr. Sean knows the history of the struggle for justice in Northern Ireland as well as anyone—he lived it. A very important book.”— Ray Flynn, former mayor of Boston and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. 2011.

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“As a writer, singer, and performer of Irish ballads, I know the value of voice, words, and thoughts that expose injustice (as this book does). Over the last 40 years, Fr. McManus has been the powerful voice that has kept the U.S. Congress involved in the struggle for justice and peace in Ireland.”—Derek Warfield, (Young) Wolfe Tones. 2011.

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“The word I always associate with Fr. Sean McManus is adamantine (unbreakable): Made of or resembling adamant. Having the hardness or luster of a diamond. I have seen him in action countless times on Capitol Hill, so I can fearlessly proclaim that his book will gleam with the luster of a diamond. Tolle, lege! [Take up and read] –” Tom Halton, Former Professor of Greek and Latin at The Catholic University of America.  January 5, 2011

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“Fr. McManus … has released this must-read tome for anyone interested in the long struggle for full Irish freedom … The book documents the priest’s successful struggle to incorporate the MacBride Principles (business ethics for American companies doing business in the north of Ireland) into U.S. law. This is not a work of fiction, though the herculean task Fr. McManus set for himself and his Irish National Caucus lobbying effort on Capitol Hill would appear to qualify as such.”—Bryan T. McMahon. The Ponchatoula Times. Florida. June 28, 2013.

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“So, from Kinawley to the halls of Congress, your story—which    I thank you for—is hard to put down. May this year be one of deepening justice and peace for Ireland.”—Jim Douglass, noted author on nonviolence. January 8, 2012.

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TIP 0’NEILL               

“It all started with Father McManus. When he came over here, we were all sympathetic to him.”—House Speaker Tip O’Neill (Irish America). 1986.

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HILLARY CLINTON

Former First Lady, Former Senator (D-NY), Former U.S. Secretary of State.

“Thank you [Fr. McManus, for your gracious invitation to become a ‘Congressional Friend’ of the Irish National Caucus. The warm welcome that I have received from the Irish people on my visits there has gladdened my heart and made me always hopeful that people throughout Ireland will live in a climate of peace and nonviolence.”—Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). 2003; appointed U.S. Secretary of State by President Obama in 2009.

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KENNEDYS, FATHER AND SON

“I support the Irish National Caucus because it represents a compelling voice for fair employment, legal justice, and lasting peace in Northern Ireland.”—Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II (D-MA). 1988.

“Dear Fr. McManus … I would be honored to be a Congressional Friend of the Irish National Caucus. I support your nonviolent work for justice and peace in Northern Ireland with full equality for the Catholic minority.  Additionally, I support continued American involvement in the Irish peace process.”—Rep. Joseph Kennedy, III, December 13, 2012.

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“For the past nearly 50 years, Fr. Sean McManus has been championing, almost single-handedly, the struggle for peace with justice for the partitioned six counties of Northern Ireland.” His has been the constant voice keeping the U.S. Congress, international media, and the entire Irish-American community informed and constantly up to date with the truth. He withstood attacks of the English Government for his relentless efforts in fighting for the ultimate adoption of the MacBride Principles. Fr. Sean’s ongoing work and efforts on behalf of Mr. Raymond McCord, a Protestant from Belfast, has become another example of his vital role in the search for peace with JUSTICE irrespective of one’s religion.“—Bob Bateman, Past National Historian, Ancient Order of Hibernians. AOH Liaison to the Irish National Caucus and Congressional Ad Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs (1976-1982). (Great-grandnephew of the Fenian Captain Timothy Deasy).

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“It makes one want to stand up and cheer.” Author Sharon Chang, 2011.

“Northern Ireland’s most diligent champion in America.”— Sharon Chang. February 6, 2020.

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“In the decades since [going to America on October 2, 1972] the strongly pro-republican Fr McManus has been a prominent figure in Irish-America as head of the Irish National Caucus, where he been a loud critic often of both the Irish and British governments as well as an active lobbyist on Irish and Irish-American interests … a still vigorous, strongly spoken 81-year-old priest.”—Mark Hennessy. “The last confession of ‘Disappeared’ IRA man Joe Lynskey – a priest recalls, more than 50 years on”. Irish Times. Dublin. Saturday, April 26, 2025.

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“[Fr. McManus] a Fermanagh native, is well known for his work with Washington, D.C.-based Irish National Caucus (INC), which he founded in 1974. In 1984, the INC launched the MacBride Principles, a code of conduct for US companies doing business in the north designed to combat anti-Catholic discrimination. The Redemptorist priest continues to be a strong voice on Irish-American affairs in Washington.

In a recent book, The Sorrow and the Loss – The Tragic Shadow Cast by the Troubles on the Lives of Women, Dillon provides new details of how another of The Disappeared, Jean McConville, was abducted, killed, and buried by the IRA in 1972.

“I think the intervention of Fr. McManus after reading the book is critical to understanding a complex part of our history,” Mr. Dillon said. “I believe it could not have been easy for him, but he is a truth teller.”Connla Young. “Priest heard Joe Lynskey’s confession before killing.” Irish News. Belfast. Monday, May 19, 2025.

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https://irishnationalcaucus.org/blog/more-praise-for-fr-mcmanus-memoirs-and-his-work