Mayo Rose attends Mayo Societies World Convention

MAYO Sinn Féin Councillor Rose Conway Walsh received a huge welcome at events in the USA at the end of September, including the annual Mayo Societies World Convention.

After attending a function on 24 September where she spoke about Sinn Féin’s electoral successes, the impasse in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the rejection of Haass/O’Sullivan by obstructionist unionists.

At the Mayo Societies World Convention the following Friday and Saturday, Rose was an active participant in workshops on healthcare, business, tourism and education, each with a dimension of economic development through Cleveland/County Mayo co-operation and exchange.

Congressman David P. Joyce (R) was a key speaker. Rose raised a point about encouraging the US administration to play a stronger role in breaking the impasse in the Peace Process and Haass/O’Sullivan. Congressman Joyce said he was “on board” with this and it will be followed up.

Simultaneous to the Mayo Convention (at the same hotel) was the Irish American Law Society (Cleveland) first annual conference and seminar.  The workshop that gained the most attention was on the Boston College Tapes scandal. 

Dr Ruan O’Donnell was featured on the panel, moderated by a retired judge and including the US Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and a criminal defence attorney with a concentration on white collar crime cases in Federal Court.

Ruan was really the only one with detailed knowledge of the case and the background. The moderator's first question to open the panel was to ask Ruan to give a brief history of the conflict and this made a huge difference, putting the case into a republican historical context.

Rose appeared on the Gerry Quinn Irish Radio Show on WHK 1420AM on Sunday morning before flying back to Ireland.