By Tom Deignan In late October, media outlets around the world reported that Pope Francis had expressed support for civil unions, “a significant break from his predecessors that staked out new ground for the church in its recognition of gay people,” as the New York Times put it. It was the latest historic moment forRead more..
On swanky hotels, Gráinne O’Malley’s tailor-made pirate outfits, and her own unusual hidden talent. ℘℘℘ Mary Beth Keane’s novel, Ask Again, Yes, published in May 2019, is a lyrical, moving tale spanning 40 years, about Irish American cops, family, love, alcoholism and mental illness. Told with tenderness and empathy for the human condition, it isRead more..
Recently-published books of Irish and Irish American interest. ℘℘℘ FICTION Normal People By: Sally Rooney There is something quietly knowing in the title of Sally Rooney’s second novel. Perhaps the reader is lulled into a false sense of security by the reassurance that these are characters just like us. And for the most part, theyRead more..
Globally-renowned Irish author Edna O’Brien, winner of the 2018 PEN/Nabokov award for achievement in international literature, and many other awards, will receive the Insignia of Commandeur Ordre des Arts et Lettres from the French Minister of Culture on March 7, 2021. (Click here to register for the event on Sunday 3/7). In celebration of Edna’sRead more..
An excerpt from Dennis Smith’s latest book. ℘℘℘ In the chief’s van, Chief Pfeifer hears the Manhattan dispatcher announce that a plane has gone into tower 1 of the World Trade Center. The chief reaches for the telephone. “Battalion 1 to Manhattan.” “Okay,” the dispatcher answers. It is John Lightsey who is working the microphoneRead more..
A look at Warren Allen Smith’s Who’s Who in Hell. ℘℘℘ Warren Allen Smith, whose great-grandfather was an Irish-American named Curran, has, with tongue firmly wedged in cheek, we suspect, compiled a 1200 page compendium with the fascinating title Who’s Who in Hell. One might think he’s rushing things a bit because the book lists atheists,Read more..
Enter any bookstore, be it mom and pop or chain retailer, and there are sure to be stacks upon stacks of coffee table books with Irish photographs. But now comes one so lovely it seems more suited for an auction house than a coffee table. Gerald Hoberman has produced a book of breathtaking photographs thatRead more..
NON-FICTION The Irish cop is no stereotype. As authors Thomas Reppetto and James Lardner show, in their informative new history NYPD: A City and Its Police, the Irish have played an integral role on New York City’s police force since its creation in 1844. By the mid- 1880s, the authors write, one survey “found thatRead more..