Aloha kakou. It is with a heavy heart that our family is packing up and will be headed home tomorrow, with a slight detour for R&R and to heal our wounds and souls. I received a fax from the Gardai Superintendent’s office that informed us that our appeal was denied; in his opinion the officer who refused us land was in compliance with immigration law and policy and was justified in his decision. Unfortunately the reason given to the Superintendent by said officer was that he claimed that we did not tell him the truth when he first asked us…
Philadelphia, Monday, 17 Sept.
I decided to cease blogging activities for the past weekend as there was no indication that there would be any news until today, and so far this is little to report now either. The prognosis does not appear to be good for a reversal of our initial refusal, though indications are that a solo attempt to re-enter Ireland would not be impaired by that previous attempt. We’re holding on a bit more for news today, if none comes, I may return on short notice. I probably won’t announce it here for obvious reasons, however, it will be through normal immigration…
Philadelphia, Day 4
I hate to sound like a scratched record, but no postive news from Ireland today, though there is continued discussion on our case. Conn and Deputy Ruairi Quinn continue to champion our cause, not only for our benefit but to shed light on the inadequacy of and lack of clarity in policies related to dependent families of students traveling to Ireland. Conn and TD Quin appeared in a forum on KCLR radio in Kilkenny this morning, I’m sorry that I did not have time to post a link before the show. (Update: Ken McGuire has posted audio of the discussion.…
Philadelphia, Day 3
I awoke this morning after the best night’s sleep I’ve gotten since we returned to the states on Friday evening, albeit with a nasty headache. There does not seem to be much else for us to do but play the waiting game; it’s all in the hands of folks in Ireland at this point. No news from there awaited when we woke up. On the advice of my aunt and Conn we will be getting out of the house seeing the sights of Philadelphia today. It’s my daughter’s first visit here and wife’s second. Unfortunately there is no room in…
Philadelphia, Day 2
Aloha kakou, I’ve delayed posting today in hopes that an amicable resolution to our predicament could be found. UCC suggested that I write to the gardai superintendant in Dublin and request that he review our case and perhaps pave the way for our return to Ireland. It seems that there is no certainty that I would be allowed into Ireland at any port, even if traveling alone, in order to fulfill any requirements necessary to allow my wife and daughter to join me. Our family is well. Our daughter has been sleeping late and staying up late to stay in…
Philadelphia, First Full Day
Aloha kakou. If you are visiting this blog for the first time and have done so after hearing about our plight and being refused to land in Ireland, you may wish to first read the post Donaghy Saga In Ireland, which details our ordeal at Dublin immigration. Then read the posts above them after. We woke up this morning in Philadelphia with no news from Ireland. I will update this post later rather than creatinga new one in order to keep the primary post on this main page. Mahalo again to all for your efforts on our behalf and letters…
Meet The Family
I’ve talked about myself and my work in previous posts, but have neglected to introduce the other two individuals who are caught up in all of this. My wife Marie was born on Maui. We met through mutual friends and her younger sisters while we were both in high school, and she was actually my first date. I was close to her family, but romance did not bloom until nearly 10 years late, when we both were in our late-20s. We married in 1989, and our daughter Denyce Kathryn Malia Donaghy was born on Maui in 1991. Marie worked for…
No Joy Yet
It’s 10:30 AM EST and no word from the folks in Cork, I am hoping that they are busy paving the way for our return, or at least attempting to do so. Contacted the Irish consulate in NY this morning and was advised that they could look into the situation for us and advise a course of action, but not much else. My aunt who lives in Philadelphia is driving to pick us and our spirits up this afternoon, and take us back to Philly to be around family. We could use it right now. I’m hopefully that my plan…
New York, Day 3
I woke up at 4AM EST unable to return to sleep. Gee, I wonder why. As I looked over at my wife and daughter sleeping, I was filled with admiration for them. Both have handled this stressful event very well. My wife remained quite calm during our ordeal at Dublin immigration, allowing me to speak to the officer. Perhaps he would have been more receptive to her. While my daughter showed some signs of the stress she was under, she kept her wits about herself, and frequently offered ideas and questions to ask the officer. Most I had already asked…
Jumping The Que: My very bad, perhaps fatal, error?
It’s come to my attention that I committed a serious transgression of cultural protocol while waiting to be processed at the immigration bureau. Because of the large streams of people merging from several different flights, I got separated from my wife and daughter, who found themselves two or three groups ahead of me in the cue. There were no ropes, just a mass of people who organized themselves into lines in the middle of the room, and which merged as they got closer to the immigration officers’ booths. Once my wife and daughter got up to the immigration officer, I…