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February / March 2003

The Sporting Life

From King Kelly to Mark McGuire, Ron Kaplan traces the Irish influence in baseball. ℘℘℘ Irish ballplayers have helped to shape baseball ever since the game took its first foundering steps on...

Jimmy Wechsler said, “Have you ever thought about becoming a newspaperman?” I said “Yeah.”
He says, “You want to try it?” I said, “Yeah.”
Photo: Kit DeFever.

Pete Hamill, not unlike Cormac, the hero of his novel Forever, lives in the Five Points area of downtown Manhattan where the streets teem with immigrants just as they did back in the founding days of...

This excerpt from Pete Hamill’s novel Forever takes place aboard a ship bound for New York. ℘℘℘ Holding a lantern, Mr. Partridge showed Cormac the next deck, and for the first time he...

“Oh my love, it’s a long way we’ve come.” – U2, “The Hands That Built America” ℘℘℘ I’m glad I read Pete Hamill’s book Forever before I saw the...

The Columbia Three: Martin McCauley, James Monaghan, and Niall Connolly.

The trial of three Irishmen in Colombia will resume on February 5 after a hearing in December ended in disarray. The so-called ‘Colombia Three’ — James Monaghan (56), Martin...

Desmond Connell, Archbishop of Dublin, met with victims of clerical sexual abuse in an attempt to defuse widespread anger with the Church’s handling of abuse cases. Two victims, Marie Collins...

A transatlantic voyage with a difference is what Steven Mulkerrins has in mind. Now living in Chicago, the 40-year-old carpenter from Connemara is applying finishing touches to a traditional Irish...

President George W. Bush is expected to begin the search for a new ambassador to Ireland following the imminent departure of incumbent Richard Egan and his wife Maureen Fitzgerald. The outgoing...

Despite the Republic of Ireland economy maintaining a respectable growth rate of 4.3 percent, figures for 2002 closed with the highest number of layoffs in over a decade. Published data from the...

President of Ireland Mary McAleese has been restricted to limited official engagements following a skiing accident in Austria on Christmas Eve. During a short vacation with her husband Martin and...

Tourists stroll along Grafton Street in the heart of Dublin.

Preliminary figures released by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation suggest a minor increase in visitors to Ireland through 2002. The Confederation reports a two percent increase in volume...

The latest census for Northern Ireland indicates that the numerical gap between Protestants and Catholics is steadily narrowing. According to this year’s figures Protestants comprise 53 percent...

Karen Corr, one of the top pool players in the world, talks to Jill Fergus. ℘℘℘ “So, should we play a game?” It’s just a game of pool, after all, but when the words are spoken...

A scene from the movie The Magdelene Sisters.

With the hype surrounding Gangs of New York (finally) dying down, Irish moviegoers can begin anticipating a fresh new crop of work by Irish actors and directors. Perhaps the most intriguing new...

Sundance Channel will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the U.S. television premiere of If I Should Fall From Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story. This riveting theatrical feature, directed by Sarah...

An exhibition of J. Kieran McGonnell’s new work will be held at the Axel Raben Gallery in New York City from January 7 – February 8, 2003. McGonnell’s work, an exploration of graphic...

Identical twins? Left: Jedi Archives; Right: Trinity College's historic Long Room Library.

Trinity College Dublin’s legal advisors were recently considering taking action against George Lucas and his company Lucas Films after the remarkable similarities between Trinity’s...

After celebrating 40 years together, then unexpectedly suffering a great loss of long-time member, and friend Derek Bell, the Chieftains are taking to the road again for the 41st U.S. tour, in...

An Irish harp handcrafted in Dublin in the 1820s has been acquired by the John J. Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections at Boston College and is now on display in the library’s...

The hottest ticket in Dublin is no longer to the Abbey Theatre. It’s a ticket to tour Áras an Uachtaráin, the sprawling white-pillared residence of the President of Ireland in Phoenix Park....

The decay of an Irish American landmark. ℘℘℘ The glass factory, feed mills, saloons and boat repair facilities that once lined the canal are gone. But the fitted limestone walls that mark...

One of the best-loved poets, Emily Dickinson, counted her Irish caretakers among her friends. ℘℘℘ On May 15, 1886, Emily Dickinson died in her narrow bed in the Dickinson house in Amherst,...

An exhibit celebrating the accomplishments of Irish-American women is coming to Dreams of Freedom: Boston’s Immigration Museum, from February 17 — April 30, 2003. “Fire Upon the...

Bruce Springsteen’s concert in Dublin’s outdoor RDS arena next May 31 sold out in less than two hours – that’s all 35,000 seats priced at $60 and $75. Rumor has it that...

For over a month, John Quigley has been living the life of an ecowarrior, turning his back on the comforts of modern life to fight for the environment. He has been living up a tree in Santa Clarita,...

Left to Right: Anne-Marie Crowell, the IACI's Director of Development; Mary McAleese, President of Ireland; John P. Walsh, Sr., Chairman and CEOof the IACI.

The Irish American Cultural Institute celebrated it’s 40th anniversary at Dublin Castle, Ireland on October 29. Over 140 guests attended the dinner, including President McAleese. The...

Martin Sheen, backed by fellow actors, discusses letter from Artists Unite to Win Without War that urges President Bush to seek a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis. Sheen, who plays President...

Hoofer extraordinaire Michael Flatley has signed a seven-year contract in Las Vegas that will net him $250 million. Michael just opened his Lord of the Dance stage show at the Venetian Hotel there....

(Reuters) 12:20:02: The Irish republican rallying cry “A Nation Once Again” was named the world’s favorite song ever, after a global poll by the BBC. The ballad performed by the The...

New York: Honorees Joseph Sargent, chairman & CEO, The Guardian Life Insurance Co.; and Tom Moran, President & CEO, Mutual of...

Irish America with CIE Tours International arranged a very special trip to Ireland for our readers this past October. Highlights included a medieval feast and some fantastic...

Two of the most modern Moran tugs guide the U.S.S. Roosevelt from Norfolk harbor following September 11, 2001.

The history of the Moran tugboat family, once known as the “Irish Navy” in the Port of New York, is explored by Marian Betancourt. ℘℘℘ To say the Irish had a lot to do with making...

The American love of golf has created a new form of business in Ireland – golf tourism. ℘℘℘ A mean Atlantic southwesterly howls up the sand dunes, blasting a wintry chill across the grassy...

The making of the movie Bloody Sunday was a tremendous undertaking for all involved. For actor James Nesbitt it was the beginning of an extraordinary journey that become much more than just about...

Recommended Pete Hamill offers up an epic tale of the Irish — and almost every other immigrant group — in America with Forever. An almost fantastical novel, Hamill’s book begins...

Just recently I moved into a little house with a large front lawn and a very large back yard. All needed some tender loving care. The house, a darling early fifties bungalow constructed during...

Paul Hill, who spent 15 years in jail having been falsely convicted of an IRA bombing, is concerned about the fate of three Irishmen arrested in Colombia for allegedly assisting FARC rebels in a...

Who could guess the financial disaster brewing in New York City, 1929, when my father, Mick Connolly gathered a few friends on his tenement roof to capture the joy of a baptismal celebration several...

Hugh Mulligan Visits Ireland’s premier retreat For artists and finds a workplace without a time clock. ℘℘℘ The Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig is located in lush and lovely...

It started like a scene from The Commitments. – Hello, Glen? – Yeah? – It’s Frank Shouldice from Irish America magazine. – Oh, how’s it going? Is this for an...

The name Fahy is O’Fathaigh in Gaelic, and probably originates from the word “fothadh” which means base or foundation. Another, rarer English version of the name is Vahey and...

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February / March 2003

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