The failure to stay young. ℘℘℘ The greatest failure in America is the failure to stay young. It is a failure of imagination, the inability to grasp the alternatives offered by surgery, cosmetology, and pharmacology. It is a failure of will, the indiscipline that results in flagging energies, flabby bodies, and clogged arteries. It isRead more..
U2, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, and the Irish trying to save America. ℘℘℘ In autumn 2017, U2 released their 14th studio album, Songs of Experience. Critical reception on the album was mixed – was it a superstar older rock band’s attempt at political relevance, or a late-career classic infused with the urgency of Brexit, Trump, andRead more..
Discrimination, when it’s directed at you, can shape the course of your life. It can prevent you from having a say in what happens to you, where you can go, what you can do. It shuts you up and shuts you out. That’s actually its main function, to rob you of your voice. By almostRead more..
Why women are still fighting male chauvinism on the greens of Ireland. ℘℘℘ Ireland is now a rainbow nation. With the passing of the referendum on same-sex marriage in May, all romantic relationships gained equality in the eyes of the law. But does this equality extend elsewhere? It may seem like a trivial question, but doesRead more..
Tim Pat Coogan recalls Eoin McKiernan, who for many years wrote the “Last Word” column for this magazine and was a pioneer in the field of Irish Studies. The founder of the Irish American Cultural Institute and the Irish Way Program, McKiernan is now the subject of a new biography, Irish America Reawakening: The EoinRead more..
Is it time to have a gathering? Philomena shines a light on an aspect of Irish in need of urgent attention. The movie Philomena, based on Philomena Lee’s real-life search for her son who was adopted by an American family, highlights the issue of the many clandestine adoptions of Irish children by U.S. families, and theRead more..
A couple of years ago, in my capacity as President of the Glenmary Missioners, I was visiting one of our priests in south Georgia. It was February, cold and gloomy, and we had spent an entire day driving around three counties. As we drove, Fr. Vick pointed out the different trailer parks — each oneRead more..
The day after his groundbreaking handshake with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness delivered the following speech (which has been condensed for publication) at a Sinn Féin event in Westminster. Though he describes the handshake as political, highly significant and very symbolic, McGuinness doesn’t believe that the journey to true reconciliationRead more..
Mary Pat Kelly looks at the Vatican’s latest censorship move to silence American nuns. I am shocked and heartsick at the Vatican’s action to censor the nuns. I know a lot of nuns, I was one myself for six years. Nuns are the wise women of our tribe. We cannot let the Vatican throw themRead more..
Reflections on Queen Elizabeth’s historic trip to Ireland. The recent four-day visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland – the first by a reigning monarch in a hundred years – was a stunning triumph, capped by the five-minute standing ovation she received at a musical performance on her final night in the Irish capital. ThatRead more..