Take an aerial view of a dreary road in Walthamstow, a soulless part of the East End of London, and you will easily spot which house Sean Sexton lives in. For there, nestled among the rows of uniform, somewhat neglected and overgrown urban back yards, you will see a garden poetically “planted” with artifacts andRead more..
One of the more difficult tasks I’ve undertaken as your editor was making a selection from Sean Sexton’s vast collection of photographs to showcase in this issue. Of his 20,000 Irish photographs, dating from the mid-1800s to the 1930s, Sean picked 125 for me to choose from. Over many transatlantic phone conversations as we workedRead more..
Over the past several centuries, a number of Irish artists have produced compelling portraits of Irish writers in painting, sculpture and photography, and now for the first time, those collected works are on view in the United States. Entitled “Literary Lives: Portraits from the Crawford Art Gallery and Abbey Theatre, Ireland,” the exhibition is comprisedRead more..
One of the most popular entertainment groups from the 1920s to the 1960s, Annie ‘Ma’ McNulty and her children Eileen and Peter have largely been forgotten, but that may change soon. Known as “The Royal Family of Irish Entertainment,” the McNultys were the leading Irish-American music act from the 1930s through the early 1950s. TheyRead more..
From August 20th to the 24th, 100,000 visitors gathered in Tralee, Co. Kerry to watch 32 Roses vie in friendly competition in the 2010 Rose of Tralee Festival. The Roses came from as close as Dublin and Cork and as far as New Zealand and Dubai to participate in all the festivities of the festival’sRead more..
The spirit of a New York hero lives on in his family. Nine years ago, in the months following the September 11th attacks, the Lynch family from the Bronx, New York, made a commendable and remarkable choice. They had just lost Michael Francis Lynch: son, brother, uncle and fiancé; a firefighter who died during theRead more..
Recent Passings in the Irish American Community Harold Connolly 1931-2010 Harold Connolly, who won the gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, died in Maryland on August 19. He was 79. His son Adam Connolly reported that he died of a heart attack. After suffering from severe nerve paralysis as aRead more..
On the 35th Anniversary of that sad day when 29 sailors lost their lives, new developments shed light on the sinking of the “Mighty Fitz.” The legend lives on from Chippewa on down of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee. On November 10, 2010, crowds of people will gather at the Mariner’s Memorial Lighthouse,Read more..
Fifteen years ago in March 1995, historian and author Thomas Cahill published How The Irish Saved Civilization, the first of his seven-volume Hinges of History series. A national phenomenon, the book appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly two years and changed the public’s understanding of the Irish people’s role in preservingRead more..
Brian Dennehy, who is being honored with the 2010 Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award, speaks with Aliah O’Neill. If Brian Dennehy says the Irish can do no wrong, we should probably be inclined to believe him. At 72, the veteran actor of film, television and stage has not only become famous for his portrayals ofRead more..