Is Seamus Culleton of Kilkenny “the worst of the worst”?
PDX HIBERNIAN INDEPENDENT 5 February 2026
More than an email. Less than a newspaper. From the Portland Hibernian Society. Delivered every Thursday. Available at our website. Next PHS Meeting – Feb. 19 at Kells Restaurant
A chara.
“He’s a good man. I don’t think anyone deserves this but Seamus definitely doesn’t deserve this.” His wife, Tiffany Smyth
As a successful small businessman – a plasterer – Seamus Culleton spent a lot of time at the Home Depot in Saugus, Massachusetts. After making some returns in Sept., he was stopped by ICE agents who apparently ran his plates and found out he wasn’t a citizen and had overstayed a visa years ago. Ireland native Culleton of Kilkenny, married to an American, Tiffany Smyth, has been in detention ever since. He spoke to RTE. Seamus is one Irishman caught up in the current arrests of thousands every day.. This is from Reason Magazine, which is center right in outlook:
Culleton's case shows the ongoing disjointed nature of President Donald Trump's immigration policy. Rather than arresting and deporting the "worst of the worst," the Trump administration has arrested and removed immigrants like Culleton who have no criminal record and who have lived and worked in the U.S. peacefully for years. This approach is just one reason why many Americans feel Trump's immigration enforcement campaign has gone too far.
“We know intimately the weaponization of simian imagery.”
AOH takes Trump to task again
President Trump’s recent repost of a video/meme showing Barrack and Michele Obama as apes hit home for the Ancient Order of Hibernians. “As an organization founded to combat attacks against Irish immigrants, we know intimately the weaponization of simian imagery,” says a statement released by Sean Pender, the president of the oldest Irish Catholic organization in America. Read here how this isn’t the first time the AOH has criticized the president’s posting habits.
NEXT MEETING – 19 February 2026 – Third Thursday Monthly Meeting at Kells Restaurant at Six P.M. Irish Stories: Ireland’s Craft Industry & Legacy. Credit Celtic Creativity plus combining with the Irish work ethic. Tim Hennessy will talk about Irish Crystal, David O’Longaigh explores Irish Pottery, Ed Curtin has the background of Belleek China and Katie Hennessy will be sharing the story of Irish Lace. The odds are pretty good you've got some of this "Irish stuff." Join us at Kells Restaurant - Thursday Feb. 19 - Six P.M.
SAVE THE DATE – Two dozen days until the Annual Hibernian Saint Patrick’s Day Banquet upstairs at Kells. March 7, 2026. To book your place(s) at the table REPLY TO Portlandhiberniansociety@gmail.com
Brendan Behan's Birthday
One of Ireland’s most notorious writers of the Twentieth Century had a birthday this week. Brenan Behan was born during the Irish Civil War on Feb. 9, 1923. His literary output may have been limited but he caused a worldwide sensation with his outrageous behavior. Dublin slum dweller. IRA prisoner. Writer. Roustabout. Hopeless alcoholic. He was all these things and more.
U2's healing Super Bowl Half Time show
Have you heard the story of how U2 turned in one of the greatest Super Bowl Half Time performances of all time? The New York Times ranked every half time act ever after Bad Bunny’s extravaganza last Sunday. That show ranked sixth. Prince’s show in Miami in 2007 was deemed best ever. U2 came in at number two. That was Super Bowl XXVI, played five months after 9/11 on Feb. 3, 2002. Janet Jackson was supposed to perform. But after 9/11 she stopped touring and withdrew. An NFL exec caught U2 at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 25. During one of their five encores a massive backdrop carried the names of all the people killed on 9/11. Could U2 do that in New Orleans? Yes. Check out how that looked on Super Bowl Sunday in the Super Dome.
Netflix returns to the Six Counties - TODAY
If you’re a fan of Derry Girls on Netflix, you’ve probably heard there’s a new comedy from Lisa McGee, the creator of that irreverent series. It’s called How to get to Heaven from Belfast and all eight one-hour episodes are streaming on Netflix as of today, Thursday, Feb. 12. Netflix-provided synopsis: Roísín Gallagher, Sinéad Keenan and Caoilfhionn Dunne star as a trio of friends, Saoirse, Robyn and Dara, who have been inseparable since school and now embark on a “wild adventure” in their late 30s. We'll see if comic lightning from the north of Ireland can strike twice. There are a few laughs in the trailer. REVIEW NEXT THURSDAY IN THE PDX HI.
Eammmon Keaveney of Claremorris in Co. Mayo. Who needs shoes?
Shoeless Irishman walks from Turkey to Kerry
Eammon Keaveney from Claremorris, in Co. Mayo, has snatced back the Guinness world record for longest barefoot walk. One step at a time. No Hoka Ones for this man. The 33-year-old uber pedestrian walked 3,728 miles from Istanbul to An Dún Mór in Co Kerry, the most westerly point in Europe. He earned the record in 2016 after walking around Ireland (a mere 1300 miles). But a Polish walker surpassed that. So Keaveney reclaimed the title earlier this week. "You might say I’m a mix of mad and stubborn! 'Why am I doing it?' I don’t really have a satisfactory answer for it.” He has climbed a number of Ireland’s mountains (including Croagh Patrick) barefoot.
WINTER OLYMPICS - Dublin's Cormac Comerford finished 34th in the Men's Downhill on Saturday.
SIX NATIONS – Ireland lost to France in the opener of Six Nations Rugby last Thursday and will face Italy this Saturday January 14th. T.C. O’Leary’s will open early – 6:10 A.M. - to show the action live from Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
WORLD CUP– Ireland’s men's soccer team and its fans won’t know until the end of March whether they’ll make it into the World Cup this summer. But if you really want to see the Boys in Green play, get yourself to Montreal on June 5 for Ireland v Canada – a friendly outisde of World Cup competition. It will be the final send-off game for the Canadian squad before they head west to Toronto to open its World Cup tournament one week later.
Reminder - Annual Hibernian St. Patrick's Day Banquet - March 7 upstairs at Kells - 212 SW First Ave.
