Board Member Interviews Tony Blair

British Prime Minister Tony Blair greets Kelly Candaele, who is working on a documentary on the Northern Ireland peace process.

Kelly Candaele, member of the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District, recently conducted an interview with British Prime Minister Tony Blair as part of a documentary film he is producing.

"The documentary is on the Northern Ireland Peace Process," Candaele said.  "Last summer I took 15 students from CSU Chico to visit Northern Ireland." 

Candaele is an adjunct associate professor at CSUC's Philosophy Department and has taught classes in history, politics, economics and collective bargaining at LA Trade-Tech College.  He has produced a number of award-winning documentary films, including "A League of Their Own," about his mother's experience as a professional baseball player.  Candaele wrote the story for the Columbia Pictures feature film version that started Geena Davis in his mother's role.

During the making of this documentary, Candaele has interviewed President Bill Clinton; Senator George Mitchell; Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams; Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume; and the Prime Minister of Ireland, Albert Reynolds.

"I will offer a complementary copy of the documentary to our classes in politics, international relations, history and conflict studies," Candaele said.  "Completion date is October."

Candaele is a frequent contributor to Irish America magazine and covered Northern Ireland for the L.A. Times for a number of years.  He has a deep interest in Irish history and culture, as his mother was an O'Callagahn.