Wednesday, March 11, 2026

City hosts St. Patrick's Day exhibit (City of St. Augustine press release, March 11, 2026)



  • March 11, 2026

     

    Visitor Information Center hosts new Irish exhibition

     

    Exhibit centered on the oldest known St Patrick’s Day Parade in the Americas

     

    A major new exhibition exploring the lives of Irish Diaspora in the City of St. Augustine opened to the public on Monday, March 9, in the St. Augustine and St. Johns County Visitor Information Center, located at 10 S. Castillo Drive, and will run through the end of April.  In conjunction with Irish Heritage Month, the exhibit serves as the perfect segway to recognize the first St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1600 in St. Augustine by an Irish Parish Priest, who led the oldest documented procession.

     

    A formal unveiling took place on Sunday, March 8, when Irish Government Minister, Niamh Symth, visiting from Dublin, addressed invited guests at an event hosted by the Consul General of Ireland in Miami, Sarah Kavanagh.  The event also featured presentations by Dr. Declan Downey of University College Dublin, Professor J. Michael Francis of the University of South Florida (USF), and musical performances by Professor William Dowdall and Professor David Adams of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, based in Dublin, Ireland.

     

    The exhibition arose from the work of Prof. Francis, who has examined the Parish Records of St. Augustine, the Archivo General de Indias archive in Seville, Spain, and private collections.  Working with Prof. Francis’ non-profit, Sin Barcos Inc., the Consulate General of Ireland approached the City of St. Augustine to propose this celebration of the centuries-old links between Ireland and Florida.

     

    The City Commission approved the proposal at a meeting in January.  The entire exhibition is being funded by Sin Barcos Inc. and the Government of Ireland.

     

    Minister Niamh Smyth said of this historic exhibition, “The opening of a Consulate General of Ireland in Florida has provided an impetus to explore the hidden historic links between Ireland and this part of the Americas.  I am delighted to visit Florida in advance of St. Patrick’s Day for a series of political, economic, cultural and community events throughout the length of this great state, which is home to at least 1.8 million people of Irish ancestry.”

     

    When asked about the project, Consul General Sarah Kavanagh said, “We are fortunate to have an exceptional partner in Sin Barcos Inc.  The quality of Prof. Francis’ research is outstanding, and the exhibition itself is both beautiful and fascinating.  While the focus is St. Augustine, the exhibition also sheds light on the Irish Diaspora in a wider context as they navigated periods of tumult and change in the Americas.”

     

    Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline applauded the impact of this exhibit being the first of its kind, saying, “St. Augustine’s history is rich, beyond our Spanish heritage – and this is a fine example of just how far our history reaches.  We are so pleased to host this exhibition in the VIC and look forward to showcasing more projects of this nature in the future.”

     

    For more information from the Consulate General, please contact Maria Osorio at 305-913-1323.

     

    For information from the City of St. Augustine, contact Melissa Wissel, Communications Director, at 904-293-3307.

     

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    Photo attachments: Exhibition of the Irish Diaspora at St. Augustine and St. Johns County Visitor Information Center

    _____________________________________________

    CityStAug Communications

    City of St. Augustine

    Communications Department

    Phn: 904.825.1053

    P.O.Box 210 | St. Augustine, FL 32085-0210

    www.CityStAug.com   |  info@citystaug.com

     

     

        

    ____________________________________________________________________________

    Please Note: Florida has a very broad Public Records Law.  Unless specifically exempt by state law,

    written communications to city officials or staff regarding official city business are public records

    available to the public and media upon request. If your email communication is related to official 

    government business, it may therefore be subject to public disclosure.

     

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ANNALS OF TRUMPI$TAN: Ed Martin faces disciplinary proceedings over actions as D.C. U.S. attorney. (Perry Stein, WaPo, March 10, 2026)

From The Washington Post: 

Ed Martin faces disciplinary proceedings over actions as D.C. U.S. attorney

The senior Justice Department official faces disciplinary proceedings over a letter he sent to Georgetown University’s law school about its DEI practices.


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Justice Department appointee Ed Martin at a news conference in May. (Craig Hudson/For the Washington Post)
By 

Senior Justice Department official and Trump ally Ed Martin is facing disciplinary proceedings over a letter he sent to Georgetown University’s law school asserting that his then-office would not hire anyone affiliated with Georgetown because of its apparent diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.

Martin — who organized the president’s “Stop the Steal” effort after his 2020 election defeat — sent the letter in February 2025 while he was serving as the interim leader of the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office. He is now the Justice Department’s pardon attorney.

The D.C. Disciplinary Counsel filed a complaint that details Martin’s unusual communications with then-law school dean William Treanor. In his letter to Treanor, Martin questioned whether Georgetown was using DEI practices and, if so, demanded the school change its curriculum. The complaint alleges that Martin was vague over what DEI practices he was referring to and told Treanor that he would punish the school by not hiring its students and graduates — even before the dean had an opportunity to respond.

“Acting in his official capacity and speaking on behalf of the government, he used coercion to punish or suppress a disfavored viewpoint, the teaching and promotion of DEI,” the complaint reads.

The Trump administration has worked to excise DEI efforts, which it has called discriminatory, from the federal workforce and schools. While universities must follow federal antidiscrimination laws, DEI is not itself illegal.

Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. The complaint is the latest instance of his questionable legal tactics coming under scrutiny by his colleagues in the Justice Department and the broader legal and political communities. President Donald Trump pulled Martin’s nomination to lead the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office in May after he did not garner enough votes in the Senate.

Trump instead installed Martin as the U.S. pardon attorney and head of the Justice Department’s newly formed Weaponization Working Group — two positions in the law enforcement agency that do not require Senate confirmation.

As leader of the Weaponization Working Group, Martin played an important role in the largely unsuccessful prosecutions of Trump’s political foes, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI director James B. Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California). All three have denied wrongdoing.

During the summer, Martin was spotted posing for a photo outside James’s home in New York’s Brooklyn borough, ostensibly as part of the mortgage fraud investigation he was leading into the state attorney general. That stunt drew the ire of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who had grown frustrated with Martin’s handling of investigations, according to one person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

In February, top Justice Department officials removed Martin from his leadership position with the Weaponization Working Group, stripping him of much of his power at the law enforcement agency. He still serves as the pardon attorney.

Still, Blanche defended Martin on Tuesday after the complaint was made public.

“The DC Bar is such a blatantly Democrat-run political organization,” Blanche said. “Thank God I’m not a member, and trust me, I never will be.”

The D.C. Court of Appeals is responsible for handling disciplinary investigations into D.C. attorneys accused of ethical wrongdoing. The court created the Board on Professional Responsibility to function as an administrative court for these matters, with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel serving as the prosecutors.

When a complaint is filed against an attorney, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel conducts an initial investigation. If the counsel determines that there is probable cause that wrongdoing occurred, the prosecutor files a complaint in the Board on Professional Responsibility.

In Martin’s case, prosecutors have lodged the complaint with the Board on Professional Responsibility, which must now rule on the matter. He could ultimately be sanctioned or disbarred for potential wrongdoing, though the litigation process can drag on for years.

While the disciplinary counsel and board are considered independent, they are funded by the D.C. Bar.

The Trump administration has denounced state bar associations across the country as politically motivated amid examinations of Trump administration attorneys for potential ethics violations as they pursue unusual cases and investigatory paths to carry out the president’s political goals.In late February, Attorney General Pam Bondi proposed a federal rule that aims to allow the Justice Department to review any bar 

Complaints before the attorney can participate in an investigation. The Justice Department could then ask the state bar association to delay its review while the federal government completes a review of its own.

Legal advocacy groups denounced the rule, claiming it was another example of the Justice Department trying to subvert oversight of its attorneys.

The initial complaint against Martin was brought by retired judge Phillip Argento in March 2025. According to the complaint, the Disciplinary Counsel forwarded the inquiry to Martin for his response. Martin, however, did not respond and instead sent a letter to request a meeting with the chief judge and senior judges of the D.C. Court of Appeals, complaining about the allegations and the attorney handling them. He also copied the White House Counsel on the letter.

The chief judge responded and said it would be improper for her to meet with Martin and instructed him to go through the regular disciplinary procedures to raise his concerns.

Martin did not do that, according to the complaint. The disciplinary board then wrote to him asking why he had not responded to the complaint made by Argento. Martin responded that he had communicated with the chief judge — even though the chief judge said she could not speak with him about the issue.

The complaint filed in court accuses Martin of violating his oath of office as an admitted attorney to the D.C. Bar and of communicating ex parte with a judge.

“Mr. Martin knew or should have known that as a government official his conduct violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States in,” the complaint states. “He demanded that Georgetown Law change what it teaches students and how it teaches them.”

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The comments overwhelmingly criticize Ed Martin for his actions related to Geor


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