Tynan causes controversy Stateside
ONE of Kilkenny's best-loved sons has made headlines in the New York Times for all the wrong reasons.
Ronan Tynan hails from Johnstown and was one of the Irish Tenors before embarking on a solo career in 2004. He made headlines earlier this week when the New York Times reported that he had packed up and moved from New York to Boston after controversy kicked him out of Yankee Stadium where he used to serenade the baseball team with a powerful rendition of "God Bless America".
The controversy stems from an alleged incident late last year when Tynan made an allegedly anti-Semitic remark to a real estate agent and prospective buyer Dr. Gabrielle Gold-von Simson, who was looking at an apartment in Tynan's building on Manhattan's East Side. Shortly after this the Yankees cancelled Tynan's performance of "God Bless America" for Game 1 of the 2009 American League Championship Series last October. It is thought that the Yankee's decision may have been in pursuant to his alleged anti-Semitic remark.
Tynan explained at the time that two Jewish women came to view a neighbouring apartment to his and the estate agent had said that they were very particular, and the pair had laughed about it. Some time afterwards another estate agent showed up with a potential client, with the agent joking to Tynan "at least they're not (Boston) Red Sox fans". Tynan replied referring to the exacting women he had met earlier: "At least they're not the Jewish ladies." The prospective client, Dr Gabrielle Gold-Von Simson, who is a Jewish pediatrician, took umbrage and said: "Why would you say that?" Tynan replied: "That would be scary", and laughed, referring to the previous incident.
After the incident Mr Tynan admitted that he had made a comment that was misunderstood. "If anyone knows the pain of discrimination, I do,” he said. Mr Tynan was born with lower leg problems that forced him to wear braces. After complications following a car accident, Tynan elected to amputate both legs. He would go on to compete in the Paralympics on two prosthetic legs and a number of medals.
In response to Tynan's subsequent apology, the Anti Defamation League national director, Abraham Foxman, said: "It is our belief that when an individual who has a record of good works, as does Dr Tynan, slips up on one occasion, a sincere apology should help everyone move on."
According to Monday’s edition of the The New York Times, Tynan is making the move "for a change," and because he had family and friends in Boston. That may be so, but after losing his gig as Yankees singer due to what he calls a "misconstrued" statement, Tynan admits living in New York has been hard. According to the Times Mr Tynan has received a barrage of angry e-mail messages and letters and death threats. It has also been reported that a surgeon wrote saying he would let him die on the operating table and a prominent chef steered Mr Tynan away from a table of customers because one of them was a Jewish man.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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