By Tom Deignan

When you think of the London Irish you generally think of the children or grandchildren of immigrants who left Ireland for England’s capital.

But for several years now, two Irish Americans have been playing a central role in dragging the London Underground - that is, the city’s ancient subway system - into the 21st century.

Of course, now that terrorists have targeted London’s transportation system, these Irish Americans are at the front lines of the global War on Terror.

The managing director of the London Underground is Pittsburgh native Timothy O’Toole, a graduate of that city’s Central Catholic High School and the University of Pittsburgh Law School.

In the immediate wake of the London bombings, which left at least 50 people dead, O’Toole appeared at a somber news conference, his American accent standing out amidst the British ones.

It was O’Toole who described just how coordinated the attacks were. Initially, the bombs were believed to have been detonated within an hour of each other. O’Toole, however, revealed to horrified audiences that the killers were much more coordinated.

“It was bang, bang, bang, very close together,” O’Toole said.

Prior to his London appointment, O’Toole was president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Rail Corporation, where he had worked for nearly two decades. O’Toole was touted for leading the company to its most profitable years during the mid-1990s before the company’s $10 billion merger with Norfolk Southern and CSX.

The O’Tooles of Pittsburgh are quite an accomplished clan. O’Toole is the brother of Allegheny County Judge Lawrence J. O’Toole and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Politics Editor James O’Toole. He is married with two children.

One of O’Toole’s close associates from college recently told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that London’s rail system is in good hands, even in the wake of the recent attacks.

“He is the right man with a great background to bring to a crisis,’’ said Brother Gerald Molyneaux, who heads the communications department at LaSalle University in Philadelphia.

“He’s a very level-headed guy, not one to go into a panic situation,’’ Molyneaux added. “If smarts can carry the day, Tim is ready.’’

At the time of O’Toole’s appointment in February 2003, London Mayor Ken Livingstone said, I’m delighted to welcome Tim O’Toole to London. We’ve searched the world and found the best person to deliver what Londoners so desperately need — a better Tube.

“Rehabilitating the London Underground will be no easy task and Londoners should not expect to see improvements overnight. But if anyone’s experience has prepared them for the challenge of turning around London Underground, it is Tim O’Toole’s.

How did O’Toole end up in London? Thanks to another Irish American, a Notre Dame graduate from New York and Boston.

As readers of a long New Yorker profile from last year might recall, London Transport chief Bob Kiley has become a key figure in London politics. He’s rubbed some the wrong way, not least because he is American.

Kiley was appointed commissioner of transport for London in January 2001. Previously he had served as president and CEO of the New York City Partnership, a high profile business and civic organization.

From 1983 until 1990, Kiley was Chairman and CEO of New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

In the 1970s, Kiley led the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston and served as Boston’s deputy mayor.

A 2004 Irish Post article referred to “Irish American Bob Kiley (who) is credited with transforming the Underground systems in Boston and New York and now faces an ever bigger job in London.”

Now, O’Toole and Kiley face the added challenge of terrorism. Many colleagues say they are the right men for the job. However, in a recent Financial Times article, O’Toole acknowledged the difficult road ahead.

“There is no easy solution to the phenomenon of suicide bombings,” he said.

(Contact Sidewalks at tomdeignan@earthlink.net.)