From Doubt to Defiance
“The guy who makes coffee for me I every morning in my local coffee shop in Brooklyn congratulated me when I won the...
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In This Issue
Galway’s American Tour
Flutist Sir James Galway is internationally regarded as both a matchless interpreter of classical music and a consummate entertainer whose charismatic appeal crosses all musical boundaries. During...
MoreFrom Doubt to Defiance
“The guy who makes coffee for me I every morning in my local coffee shop in Brooklyn congratulated me when I won the Pulitzer,” recounts John Patrick Shanley with a big grin. “Then,...
MoreMortas Cine
Is there anything better than cuddling up with a good book? I was fortunate enough to have been brought up without television. Not because my parents were worried about it being a distraction from...
MoreGeorge Best Laid to Rest
Belfast was brought to a standstill when the remains of soccer legend George Best were returned to Roselawn Cemetery outside the city. Best, aged 59, widely regarded as one of the world’s...
MoreIrish President Meets Queen Elizabeth
Irish President Mary McAleese and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth held a low-key “private meeting” at Hillsborough Castle, Co. Down. It was the fourth occasion that the two public figures...
MoreMinister Targets Watchdog Body
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell alleged that journalist Frank Connolly traveled on a bogus passport to visit Colombian FARC rebels four years ago. Referring to garda (Irish police)...
MoreHain’s Reform Plans Draw Fire
Northern Secretary Peter Hain drew heavy criticism when he announced wide-ranging plans to shake up local government and public services in Northern Ireland. Referring to a 5,400-square-mile...
MoreSpy Revelations Rock Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin was reeling from revelations that party official Denis Donaldson worked as a British spy for the past twenty years. Donaldson, a senior figure in party president Gerry Adams’ staff,...
MoreAmnesty Wants CIA Planes Inspected
Amnesty International has demanded that the garda siochána (Irish police force) inspect Shannon-bound planes chartered by the CIA. The human rights organization responded to reports that CIA planes...
MoreDecentralization Plan “Botched”
Government plans to decentralize civil service employees from Dublin have met with stiff resistance within staff. Only one in nine employees have said they are prepared to relocate with their job....
MoreBono and the Gateses are TIME’s Persons of the Year
“For being shrewd about doing good, for rewiring politics and re-engineering justice, for making mercy smarter and hope strategic and then daring the rest of us to follow,” Time magazine...
MoreNews in Brief
IRISH growers thank good climate conditions for producing a bumper crop of 800,000 Christmas trees this year. Varieties of fir, pine and spruce are the most popular, half of which are destined for...
MoreCeltic Women Celebrate
Women from around the U.S. and three of the seven Celtic nations gathered in Milwaukee in October for the Conference of Celtic Women, held at the sprawling former church that houses the city’s...
MoreIreland Commemorates 50 Years at the UN
Glucksman Ireland House at New York University hosted a luncheon to celebrate Ireland’s 50th Anniversary as a member of the United Nations at the UN Private Dining Room on November 30. Loretta...
MoreA Touch of the Heart
Gabriel Byrne is a true Renaissance man. As an actor, he is currently receiving accolades for his performance as Cornelius Melody in a New York production of Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of...
MoreCash’s Forty Shades of Green
With Johnny Cash in the news a lot recently thanks to the movie Walk the Line, many tend to forget the music legend’s ScotsIrish roots. Though he was always the Man in Black, Cash was also the...
MorePeck’s Star Stolen
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is missing I one of its most beloved stars thanks to a thief whose identity remains unknown. The missing black cement square featured a pink star honoring Gregory Peck. The...
MoreIrish Lobby for Immigration Reform
The newly formed Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) is galvanizing support for the undocumented as it plans an all-out effort on the critical issue of immigration reform. The lobby group...
MoreBoston Museum to Showcase Kennedy’s Irish Heritage
The museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library will unveil an exhibition entitled “A Journey Home: John F. Kennedy and Ireland” on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2006. It will...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood
The Irish were extraordinarily well represented in this year’s Golden Globe Awards nominations. Both Pierce Brosnan and Cillian Murphy were nominated for Best Performance in a Motion Picture...
MoreEugene McCarthy Remembered
Eugene McCarthy died at the age of 89 in December. He was born a farmer’s son in far-flung Watkins, Minnesota, not the typical urban Irish Catholic of his generation who went into politics. But...
MoreEugene O’Neill Documentary on PBS
Playwright Eugene O’Neill, the only American dramatist to win the Nobel Prize, will be the subject of a March 27 edition of PBS’ documentary series “The American...
MoreWaiting for Beckett: Remembrance of a Meeting on the Boulevard of Saint Jaques
April 13, 2006. Beckett’s 100th birthday. In anticipation of that April, April future of Aprils past, I recall the first time I ever met him, Beckett, on now into a second decade, the man with...
MoreThe Future of the Great Blasket Island
Three miles out to sea, stark against the western horizon, storm clouds are swirling above the Great Blasket. The future of this unique island, renowned for its desolate beauty, its crumbling ruins...
MoreCommunion: An Irish Catholic Childhood Remembered
It is the early spring of 1945 in the Bronx. World War II is about to end. Over fifty of us, boys and girls together, cram into our classroom. Sister Mary Herbert stands tall at the front of the room...
MoreLooking Back in Time: A Photo Essay
This collection finds me looking back at where my ancestors came from and retracing their lives. All the photos were taken in Donegal and the islands off the northwest coast. Several are of my...
MoreHarris Wrecks Cork
Actor Ed Harris made his European stage debut in Neil LaBute’s one man show, Wrecks, at the Everyman Palace Theatre in Cork in November. Brian O’Connell spoke to the four-time Academy...
MoreHands Across the Water: From Gaelic to Graceland
This issue’s CD Half Dozen includes three that are in large part sung in Gaelic, which bodes well for the language but poorly for the artist (unless of course you are Enya). For it is well nigh...
MoreReview of Books
Recently published books of Irish and Irish American interest. ℘℘℘ The Opal Deception Eoin Colfer The Artemis Fowl franchise keeps rolling along. Often dubbed “the Irish Harry...
MoreThe Proud History of the O’Neill Clan
The O’Neill family traces its history back to 360 A.D. to the legendary warrior king of Ireland, Niall Noigiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), who is said to have been responsible for...
MoreEugene O’Neill: America’s Playwright
Eugene O’Neill was one of those Irish-Americans who never set foot on Irish soil. And yet a good measure of his identity as an artist was defined by his Irishness — something he freely...
MoreHibernia
Ireland Commemorates 50 Years at the UN
Glucksman Ireland House at New York University hosted a luncheon to celebrate Ireland’s 50th...
Peck’s Star Stolen
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is missing I one of its most beloved stars thanks to a thief whose...
Cash’s Forty Shades of Green
With Johnny Cash in the news a lot recently thanks to the movie Walk the Line, many tend to forget...
Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform
The newly formed Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) is galvanizing support for the...
Celtic Women Celebrate
Women from around the U.S. and three of the seven Celtic nations gathered in Milwaukee in October...
A Touch of the Heart
Gabriel Byrne is a true Renaissance man. As an actor, he is currently receiving accolades for his...
Eugene McCarthy Remembered
Eugene McCarthy died at the age of 89 in December. He was born a farmer’s son in far-flung...
Boston Museum to Showcase Kennedy’s Irish Heritage
The museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library will unveil an exhibition entitled “A...
Eugene O’Neill Documentary on PBS
Playwright Eugene O’Neill, the only American dramatist to win the Nobel Prize, will be the...
Waiting for Beckett: Remembrance of a Meeting on the Boulevard of Saint Jaques
April 13, 2006. Beckett’s 100th birthday. In anticipation of that April, April future of...