This website is the newsletter of the Irish Special Interest Group of American Mensa, Ltd. Special Interest Groups, or "SIGs," are informal groups within Mensa where people who share common interests can meet and discuss issues. Views expressed are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Irish SIG. Nothing should be taken as expressing the views or opinions of Mensa as a whole, which has no opinions.
The Irish SIG, originally founded in 1977, is open to anyone who wishes to expand his or her interest in Irish history, culture, civilization, or any other topic related to Ireland and the Irish.
By subscribing to the newsletter, you agree to accept the monthly newsletter published on the 17th of every month, a quarterly publications catalog, and occasional special announcements. Due to the nature of the free service we're using to publish this newsletter and constraints on our time, you cannot be selective about what you agree to receive; it's all or nothing. If you no longer wish to receive SIG mailings, you can unsubscribe by clicking the link at the end of each mailing.
Due to the personal interests of the "SIG Coordinator," who serves as editor and publisher of the newsletter, the newsletter may at times include items relating to the University of Notre Dame du Lac, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Social Justice Review (the official journal of the Central Bureau of the Catholic Central Union of America in St. Louis, Missouri, USA), Inside the Vatican magazine (for which the Coordinator serves as contributing editor for economics and finance), and other publications and organizations, especially the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) in Arlington, Virginia. Again, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Irish SIG, and certainly not Mensa as a whole, which has no opinions.
Primarily as a cost-saving measure, the Coordinator will not send hard copy newsletters to anyone, anywhere, for any reason. If you think someone should have a hardcopy, please feel free to print one out for him or her. Thanks to Blogger's "gadgets," you can sign up to receive the SIG newsletter by becoming an "e-mail follower." Just use the space marked "Sign Up Here to Receive the Newsletter via E-Mail." Each issue of the newsletter, a quarterly publications catalog, and any special announcements will be sent to you automatically. If you no longer want to receive the newsletter, catalog or announcements, simply hit the "unsubscribe" link included at the end of each e-mail. Google's robots will handle everything.
Please be advised that material in the monthly newsletter remains the property of the contributing authors. Please assume that the author has retained copyright even if we omit the "©" notice. Unsigned pieces are usually by the Coordinator, and remain his property. You may print out copies of the newsletter for your personal use, for free distribution, or for educational purposes as long as proper attribution is given, and there are no alterations (except to correct obvious typographical errors).
Although we encourage you to forward the newsletter, announcements and catalog to your network, distribution of the newsletter for profit is prohibited. You should also make certain that those to whom you forward anything won't object. If you wish to republish material appearing in this newsletter, please make contact and negotiate directly with the author, not the SIG Coordinator or Co-Coordinator, although we would appreciate it if you mention that the material first appeared in the SIG newsletter.
SIG Membership
Requirements for joining the Irish SIG are minimal:
• Membership is open to everyone, whether or not a member of Mensa. We encourage "institutional" memberships. Just sign up as an e-mail follower to receive materials that you can forward to your membership at no cost.
• There are no dues. A quarterly publications catalog is sent out to all newsletter subscribers. A portion of sales goes to support the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ), a non-profit think tank registered under IRC 501(c)(3), which lets us use their facilities free of charge to publish this newsletter. The SIG receives no other benefit, monetary or otherwise, from the sale of publications.
• Members of Mensa are required to notify the SIG Coordinator or Co-Coordinator when they join and when they withdraw, to identify themselves clearly as members of Mensa, give their membership ID number, and say to which national group they belong. Signing up as "e-mail followers" is also required, as is providing us with your name and e-mail address for our records. Also note that while you can remain a member of the SIG and continue receiving the monthly newsletter, quarterly publications catalog and special announcements as long as you like, you must be a current, dues-paying member of Mensa in order to be a Mensa member of the SIG or to hold any official position. Please let us know if your status changes for any reason.
There are three steps to becoming an official member of the Irish SIG:
1) Sign up as an "E-Mail Follower" in the space marked "Sign Up Here to Receive the Newsletter via E-Mail" on the website. This subscribes you to the newsletter.
2) "Validate" your subscription by clicking on the link in the e-mail that Google will send you. Check your spam folder to be sure it didn't end up there. This allows you to receive the newsletter.
3) In a separate e-mail (address below) send us your name, e-mail address, Mensa ID number, and the national group to which you belong.
• People who are not members of Mensa are more than welcome to join the SIG or simply subscribe to the newsletter. To receive the newsletter, follow these steps:
1) Sign up as an "E-Mail Follower" in the space marked "Sign Up Here to Receive the Newsletter via E-Mail" on the website. This subscribes you to the newsletter.
2) "Validate" your subscription by clicking on the link in the e-mail that Google will send you. Check your spam folder to be sure it didn't end up there. This allows you to receive the newsletter.
If you want to sign up as an official SIG member, you must also:
3) In a separate e-mail (address below) send us your name, e-mail address, and country where you live.
SIG Coordinator and Co-Coordinator
The SIG Coordinator is Michael D. Greaney, CPA, MBA, Director of Research of the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) in Arlington, Virginia, Contributing Editor for Economics and Finance for Inside the Vatican magazine, Director of ESOP Administration Services for Equity Expansion International, Inc, and Recording Secretary for the Colonel John Fitzgerald Division, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Arlington, Virginia. He can be reached at the SIG's general e-mail, IrishSIG317 [you know what goes here, but the spammers don't] gmail [secret punctuation mark] com. If you want to have a better chance of reaching him since he doesn't like to check the SIG's e-mail if he can help it, try publications [ditto] cesj [yet again with the ditto] org.
The SIG Co-Coordinator, Founder and Coordinator emeritus is Shirley D. Starke, who will compose her blurb as soon as I ask her to or she feels like it. I've done enough work on this site for now.
Code of Conduct
Civilized behavior and language as determined by the Coordinator and Co-Coordinator is the only conduct required of members of the SIG and contributors to the newsletter. Violators of the code of conduct will be summarily ejected from the SIG. Appeals for reinstatement may be made at any time, but will be heard only at the discretion of the Coordinator and Co-Coordinator. Members of Mensa have the right to file a complaint with the SIGs Officer at national, but keep in mind that no one will be ejected simply on a whim, and SIG coordinators have a great deal of discretion.
Submission Guidelines
You don't have to be of Irish birth or descent to contribute to discussions or send in an opinion or news item. The only limitation on subject matter is that the material relate in some way to Ireland, and even that is pretty broad. We try to model our approach on that of Ireland's Own magazine, a family-oriented weekly published for over a century in Wexford, Éire. We don't avoid discussing politics or religion, but — within the constraints of personal opinion and bias — strive for objectivity and fairness.
The Coordinator reserves the right to edit any and all submissions, and requests that they be kept to reasonable length. We prefer less than 250 words (50-100 for brief news items and letters), but we're open to negotiation, especially for feature articles, which may be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length. There is no payment for published material.
The SIG Coordinator is not particularly fond of poetry, and so is unable to judge such submissions fairly. You're welcome to take a chance, but there are no guarantees. Original, clever, non-obscene limericks probably have the best chance. Considering how few clean limericks are both clever and original, you can probably guess the odds of success. Fiction . . . probably not. If it's good enough to publish here (we have the same prejudice against "short shorts" and "flash fiction" as we do against poetry), it's probably too long, and you'd have better luck with a magazine that specializes in that sort of thing.
All submissions should be sent to "publications [take a guess what goes here] cesj [multiple choice] org." All submissions must be contained within the body of the e-mail unless we specifically request otherwise. Unsolicited submissions sent as attached files will be deleted without being read. There are just too many nuts running around out there who delight in senseless destruction. DO NOT SEND SUBMISSIONS VIA REGULAR MAIL. We are not your typist or secretary. We have enough to do editing, formatting and posting the submissions.
We frown on plagiarism. All contributors by sending in material certify that submissions are their own work, and that they hold the copyright. By submitting material for publication authors agree that newsletter recipients and the general public may print out and copy the newsletter without charge for their personal use, for free distribution, for educational purposes, or forward it to their network(s).
Priority for publishing articles, letters, and what-not goes (in order) to members of the SIG who are members in good standing of Mensa, members of the SIG who are not in Mensa, and then to others. Do not, however, let that put you off. If you've got something to say, let us know — and don't be offended if we don't publish it right away. Time pressure and other factors can interfere with editorial preferences. Coordinating this SIG is, alas, not a priority. Please take that into account, and try to keep it short.
The Coordinator of this SIG is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. For that reason, news items relating to the Order, especially the Colonel John Fitzgerald Division of the AOH in Arlington, Virginia, may be mentioned from time to time. This newsletter is not an official publication of the AOH, however, anymore than it is of Mensa as a whole, and should not be taken as such. You are encouraged to join Irish cultural organizations such as the AOH and the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick (among a wide variety of other fine organizations — such as this SIG), but members and readers of any ethnic, religious, philosophical, or national background are welcome.
Any and all articles, letters, news items, and so on, are published solely at the discretion of the Coordinator and Co-Coordinator, whose decisions are final. More or less. The process is pretty informal — as we hinted, we have other, more immediate things to attend to — so remind us if you think you've been passed over unfairly, or if you think we just forgot about a submission, which is entirely within the realm of possibility.
Financial Contributions and Support
There are no dues to belong to the Irish SIG, nor does the SIG accept monetary contributions. Membership and the monthly newsletter, quarterly publications catalog and occasional special announcements are completely free of charge to everyone.
We've mentioned a quarterly publications catalog sent out to all subscribers. A portion of sales goes to support the work of the non-profit Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) that provides the computer facilities and office space for the SIG. The SIG receives no other benefit, either indirectly from publications sales or from CESJ.
If you wish to contribute to the support of this website, you can make a contribution to the Center for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) in Arlington, Virginia. CESJ does not necessarily support or agree with anything in the newsletters published by the Irish SIG, but they generously allow the SIG to use their offices and internet account to publish this newsletter. If you make a contribution, please give it to "CESJ." Do NOT restrict the contribution by saying it's for the SIG. That would mean the SIG is, effectively, accepting a contribution, and we do not accept contributions. Any contribution must be made to CESJ without restriction. (You can say it's because of the SIG, but not for the SIG — tax laws, you know.) CESJ can accept U.S. dollar remittances in checks drawn on U.S. banks, money orders and "PayPal." Please contact CESJ for details.
In the unlikely event that contributions from newsletter subscribers exceed the cost of internet access, any surplus will be applied to CESJ's general operating expenditures. CESJ is a 501(c)(3) organization, so contributions are tax-deductible.
In addition to free publications in electronic form, CESJ has a number of publications for sale. You are encouraged to go to the CESJ website and visit the "CESJ Bookstore." Proceeds from sales go to support the work of CESJ. Sales of the following publications from the for-profit publisher Universal Values Media, Inc. also indirectly advance the work of CESJ:
The Historical Novels and Science Fiction of Robert Hugh Benson (and a Young Adult novel by Knute Rockne).
The Mainstream Novels of Robert Hugh Benson.
The Complete Novels of John Henry Newman.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy of Matt Gray (Kindle e-texts).
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