A Proclamation on Irish-American Heritage Month, 2021 On Monday March 1, 2021 President Joe Biden proclaimed March as Irish American Heritage Month to honor the achievements and contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants living in the United States. Irish American Heritage Month was first celebrated by a proclamation in 1991 by President George H.W.Read more..
“Mr. Hume says Northern Ireland is too complicated to reduce to a Yes/No proposition,” Ted Smyth said to me. Fall 1976. I’m an Associate Producer at Good Morning America and Ted’s the Press Secretary for the Irish Embassy. We didn’t realize how young we were – Ted wasn’t 30; I was 31 and John HumeRead more..
Author Mary Pat Kelly launched her latest his torical fiction novel, Irish Above All, with a gathering at the Irish Rep. on February 11. It was a lovely celebration of Irish America, as Kelly regaled her audience with tales from her life and historical notes on the journey of her protagonist, her great-aunt Nora. SheRead more..
Recently published books by Irish and Irish-American authors. ℘℘℘ In the Galway Silence by Ken Bruen The Galway Tourist Office must just brace itself every time there’s a new book out by Ken Bruen. For every delight that Galway is known for, Bruen has the down-at-heel, dark-side alternative version. Quirky shops? Dead swans. Lovely pubs?Read more..
The glorious The King and I overture reaches a crescendo, filling Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont theater with some of the greatest music ever written for the theater played by world-class musicians. Then, a giant sailing ship moves across the stage into the audience. Gasps. And yet it’s when, in the words of New York Times critic BenRead more..
I was able to sniff back tears during most of the moving presentation of the 200 years history of the Sisters of Charity, entitled How the Nuns of New York Tamed the Gangs of New York, at the Sheen Centre on June 3, but I couldn’t stop myself from sobbing when a group of childrenRead more..
Last year, the U.S.S. Mason arrived in Derry, honoring the crew of the ship’s World War II namesake, which made port in Northern Ireland in 1944. ℘℘℘ Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, squared up in their dress blues, shoes and buttons shining, the officers and crew of the U.S.S. Mason (DDG-87), 250 strong, faced the Celtic Cross MemorialRead more..
Mary Pat Kelly weaves historical characters such as Maud Gonne, William Butler Yeats, Countess Markievicz, Michael Collins, and Eamon de Valera, as well as Gabrielle Chanel, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and Nora Barnacle, into her new novel Of Irish Blood, a vivid and compelling story inspired by the life of her great-aunt, and the sequel to her best-selling andRead more..
The actress, producer and humanitarian, Roma Downey. ℘℘℘ Roma Downey received the first ever Irish Diaspora Award from the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) and the government of Ireland in Dublin on April 9 for her “extraordinary achievements and vision as a producer and an actress alongside her charity and humanitarian work worldwide.” BornRead more..
Music & Literary Honors Musician Joanie Madden, founder of Cherish the Ladies, received the 2015 Turlough O’Carolan Award for Musical Achievement. And longtime Irish America contributor Mary Pat Kelly, the author of Galway Bay and Of Irish Blood, who received the 2015 William Butler Yeats Award for Literary Achievement from the Council of Irish Associations ofRead more..