I begin my publisher's letter on a sad note as a great friend of mine passed away recently. Victor Bennett from my home city of Cork, Ireland, was my scoutmaster when we were kids in Cork; he was also a great soccer player and at one time, played for the League of Ireland team Cork Celtic. Victor moved to New York in the early 1970's and became one of the most respected bartenders in the borough of Queens, New York. He was always the most helpful person that you could hope to meet and offered help to anyone who needed it, especially to any of the new Irish that had emigrated to America. I want to extend my personal condolences to his wife Marie and the Bennett family, he will be sadly missed by everyone that crossed his path. May he rest in peace.

Well the past winter must have been the worst that we have had in the last century but it has not dampened the progress that we have been making with the magazine. We have just signed new distribution contracts to allow Irish Connections Magazine to be more widely available in the United Kingdom, and we are now available in France, Italy, Germany, Ghana and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Contracts have also been signed with British Airways and Virgin Airlines allowing Irish Connections to be available at their respective departure terminals in London for all North Atlantic flights to the United States and also in both airline's First Class cabins.

I just know you are going to enjoy this issue as it contains some great historical pieces, most notably an article by Texan Barry Hanley on the 1836 battle of the Alamo where a great many Irish men fought and died. Joe Kavanagh tells the story of Al Smith the former Governor of New York State and a U.S. Presidential candidate in 1928. And our brief history of the GAA is illustrated by one of Ireland's great cartoonists Clyde Delaney from Dublin, plus as usual lots more for your enjoyment.

Best regards,

Paddy McCarthy - Publisher