The Little Red Chairs: A New Novel by Edna O’Brien
Edna O’Brien’s acclaimed new novel, her first in a decade, is reviewed. ℘℘℘ Celts have always believed in...
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In This Issue
Hall of Fame: Martin Dempsey
When General Martin E. Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received the telegram announcing his appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he was far from certain...
MoreFirst Word:
Does this sound familiar?
“I’m of Irish descent and in America, 100 years ago, we were refugees, my family. Irish were treated terribly in America for a period of time and not accepted, and America learned to accept all...
MoreBill Clinton: The Peacemaker
In recognition of his extraordinary role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, Irish America honors former President Bill Clinton on March 30th with a Lifetime Achievement Award. ℘℘℘ A little...
MoreHall of Fame: Eileen Collins
In the 1950s and ’60s, as the industries that had helped populate and sustain upstate New York like railroading and manufacturing were leaving, the Harris Hill Gliderport in the lagging town of...
MoreHall of Fame: Pete Hamill
If asked for a single word that accurately and completely sums up Pete Hamill’s career, there is only one answer – writer. His genre? Just about everything – novels, short stories, history,...
MoreHall of Fame: Ed Kenney
Traveling to Belfast post-Good Friday Agreement with Ed Kenney and Mutual of America CEO Tom Moran in the late 90s and early 2000s almost always meant engaging in quiet diplomacy – shuttling...
MoreDublin City Center Proposes Major Pedestrian Overhaul
Dublin City Council recently unveiled a plan that, if accepted, will radically change traffic patterns in front of Trinity College and allow for easier flow of pedestrians. Under the proposed...
MoreLast Descendent of Rising Leader Awarded Freedom of the City of Dublin
A 102-year old Jesuit priest in Hong Kong, who is also the last living son of executed Rising leader Michael Mallin, was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin. Mallin, was presented with the...
MoreIrish Government in Turmoil
The March 10th election of the Irish Parliament’s, called the Dáil, failed to decide on a new Taoiseach, despite four candidates facing the vote: Enda Kenny, Fine Gael, the majority, center-left...
MoreICON Joins Groundbreaking Genome Initiative
ICON plc was recently selected by Genomics England to support their “100,000 Genomes” project, the world’s largest genome sequencing project for cancer and rare diseases, which could...
MoreQueen’s Prize to Queens University Belfast
In February, the Centre for Secure Information Technology (C.S.I.T.) at Queen’s University Belfast received a royal award for its work in strengthening cyber security. Chancellor Tom Moran,...
MoreIreland’s First All-Catholic Radio Station Launches
Ireland’s first-ever Catholic radio station, Radio Maria Ireland, launched in February. It will offer 24-hour, 365-day programming without advertisements that will cover three main areas: prayer,...
MoreFáilte Ireland and Google Partner to Map Ireland’s Historic Beauty
Irish tourist board Fáilte Ireland is partnering with Google to bring images of some of Ireland’s most beautiful and historic places to Google Street View for the first time. Using Google’s new...
MoreJohn Devoy Stands Again
in Kildare
Last October, a statue of John Devoy was unveiled in Naas, Co. Kildare, the New York Fenian’s home county, aided primarily by the Kildare Association of New York, which raised the funds for the...
MoreTralee Celebrates 800 Years
Tralee, the capital of County Kerry, has reached the ripe old age of 800. Founded in 1216 by John FitzThomas Fitzgerald, the town will kick-off the celebration with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade as...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
A Colorful Career for Saoirse
Given the raves she earned with her searing performance in Brooklyn, we can expect many breakthrough performances from Saoirse Ronan in the years to come. But one of her next projects is a...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
Viva la Paddy
In April, Irish director Paddy Breathnach teams up with an Irish screenwriter to explore the world of drag performers in Havana. This unlikely story was dubbed “one of the audience favorites at...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood: Once More for John Carney
Also in April, Irish director John Carney, tries “once” again to capture the magic of his hit movie Once, which won an Academy Award (for Best Original song) and has since become a successful...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
Summer Is for Fassbender and Blockbusters
Another big book coming to the big screen (but not until 2017) is Jo Nesbo’s thriller The Snowman. Irish Academy Award winner Michael Fassbender is slated to star as sleuth Harry Hole in this...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
The Yank Wins Best Comedy
Colm Meaney, Fred Willard and Kevin Farley (Chris’ brother) are among the stars of writer-director Sean Lackey’s film The Yank, an Irish/American culture clash comedy. Lackey also stars in the...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
Irish Rule on American TV
In other Irish TV news, Tipperary native Kerry Condon is back as a troubled single Mom on the new season of AMC’s Better Call Saul. And Irish American author Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch books...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
Colin Farrell Is a Magical Beast
Colin Farrell is among the big stars who will appear in The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Slated to be released this November, the film is based on the JK Rowling book of the same title....
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
John Duddy Boxes to the
Big Screen
First it was the Irish wrestler Sheamus appearing in the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. And now another world-class Irish athlete – boxer John Duddy – is making the leap to the...
MoreIrish Eye on Hollywood:
Documentaries to Watch
Speaking of Derry, filmmakers from there debuted a documentary about Northern Ireland at the recent Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington D.C. Together in Pieces, a film by David Dryden and...
MoreA Guide to Pronouncing
Irish Names
In January, actress Saoirse Ronan stopped by the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She was there to promote her movie Brooklyn, but the conversation moved into Ronan teaching Colbert (whose ancestry is...
MoreTourism Ireland Capitalizes on Skellig Michael’s Star Wars Cameo
A long time ago, on an island six miles off the Irish coast, a Christian monastery was built on a place called Skellig Michael sometime between the 6th and 8th century. Now, the island and the...
MoreA Lavender and Green Parade for NYC
The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year added two first-time marchers to the roster: The Lavender and Green Alliance, a group of LGBT Irish, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had...
MoreSurprising Irish Links in NYC’s Mayoral Mansion
Built between 1799 and 1809 by Ezra Weeks, Gracie Mansion is the mayoral residence in New York, and it’s likely that Irish builders, artisans, and tradespeople were numerous among the construction...
MoreO’Reilly’s Tattoo Machine:
Fine Art for the Masses
More than 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. The vast lot of them got inked by way of an electric tattoo machine. And chances are they have no idea who invented the electric tattoo...
MoreQuinnipiac Donates $400K to North Haven
Quinnipiac University, home to Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum (Músaem An Ghorta Mhóir) which houses of one of the world’s largest collections of art concerning the Great Irish Famine, has...
MorePotato Photo Sells for Over $1M
Celebrity photographer Kevin Abosch scooped an impressive $1 million from his portrait of an organic Irish potato, “Potato #345 (2010)” (below), making it the 15th most expensive photo ever...
MoreAstronaut Scott Kelly Returns to Earth
Irish American astronaut Scott Kelly returned from a year in space after taking part in a NASA study, analyzing the impacts long-term space travel can have on the human body. The mission was aimed at...
MoreJohn Greed to Succeed Tom Moran as Mutual Head
John Greed, president of Mutual of America, was named CEO in March, succeeding Tom Moran, who is retiring after 21 years in the position. Mr. Moran, who will stay on as chairman of the board of...
MoreCork County Association Honors
The annual County Cork Association, which was founded in New York in 1884, held its annual dinner at Antun’s in Queens, New York on March 5, 2016. Ed Shevlin, a lifelong resident of Rockaway whose...
MoreJack Haire Named CEO of Concern Worldwide U.S.
Jack Haire, former Irish America Business 100 Honoree, will succeed Joseph Cahalan as the new CEO for the Irish humanitarian non-profit Concern Worldwide U.S. Cahalan and Haire have worked together...
MoreNew Irish Historical Exhibit is not just Run-of-the-Mill
The Irish Club of Willmantic and the Windham Textile and History Museum in Willmantic, CT, have co-sponsored a new exhibit that examines Irish immigrant workers and their descendants. The exhibit,...
MoreAnne Anderson Becomes First Female Member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick
Irish Ambassador Anne Anderson became the first women to be inducted into the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, an organization that has had an exclusively male membership since it was founded in...
MoreSilent Testimony
A new series of portrait paintings by Colin Davidson captures the suffering and loss that marked the lives of ordinary people and their families during the period known as the Troubles in his Native...
More1916 – 2016:
Proclaiming the American Story
Leading historians reveal the American story behind Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising with new books and exhibitions that explore America’s role in the Rising. ℘℘℘ “No people ever believed...
MoreThe Bonds of a Nation,
100 Years On
With the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising upon us, a curious piece of memorabilia printed 150 years ago reminds us that the Rising was not the only bid for Irish independence. In the possession of...
MoreDear Julia: Personal Peflections on 1916 and its Aftermath
A grandmother’s letters, passed down through two generations, offer a fascinating, and at times intimate, glimpse into the period following the 1916 Rising. Dermot McEvoy talks to Rosemary...
MoreThe Rebel Path
Ernie O’Malley was a renowned figure in Ireland’s fight for independence. Here are his memories of 1916 as compiled by his son Cormac O’Malley. ℘℘℘ Born in 1897 in Castlebar, Co. Mayo,...
MoreErnie O’Malley’s Mayo
County Mayo is largely a rural, wild, untouched landscape on the west coast of Ireland, but it has changed drastically over the years. The images in Cormac O’Malley and Juliet Christy Barron’s...
MoreThomas Meagher:
The Immortal Irishman
In the following excerpt from Timothy Egan’s new book on Thomas Meagher, the legendary Irishman arrives in New York City having escaped from the Tasmanian prison colony where he had been banished...
MoreA Q+A with Timothy Egan, Author of The Immortal Irishman
Timothy Egan (born November 8, 1954 in Seattle, Washington) has written eight books including the newly released Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero, about Thomas...
MoreDigging Up the Past
Robert Schmuhl takes us behind the scenes on a decade-long research project that culminated in his book Ireland’s Exiled Children: America and the Easter Rising. ℘℘℘ Facts are stubborn...
MoreGerry Adams: A Period of Change
In 1991, Irish America magazine published one of the first interviews with Gerry Adams. (As far as we can tell, Playboy was the only other American magazine to interview Adams before that.) In...
MoreAnnie Moore’s Long Lost Irish Cousins
Megan Smolenyak writes about a decade-long search that finally turned up the Irish cousins of Annie Moore of Ellis Island fame. Thanks to improved access to a variety of resources, Irish genealogy is...
MoreRoots: The Proud Dempseys
Though never particularly numerous (as of the last count in 1996 by the Irish Times, the surname ranks as the underwhelming 164th most common surname in Ireland), the Dempsey clan was a powerful sept...
MoreWhat Are You Like?
John Concannon
John Concannon takes our questionnaire. ℘℘℘ John Concannon is the Director of “Ireland 2016,” the state centenary program to commemorate 1916, reflect on the Republic 100 years on, and...
MoreCorner of Ireland: Murphys, CA – “Queen of the Sierras”
Settled in 1848 by brothers John and Daniel Murphy from County Wexford, Murphys, California, once a mining town, is today a major tourist destination. ℘℘℘ Hidden in the Sierra foothills of...
MoreAn American Tribute to
Ireland’s Poet-Patriots
Richard B. Evans, an American-born composer and musician, has been immersed in Irish music and culture for decades, and his exploration of the events leading to 1916 is about to come to American...
MoreAwards for Peter Quinn, Tom French, and IAW&A
Peter Quinn, noted novelist, historian, and speechwriter has been awarded the Annie Moore Award from the Irish American Cultural Institute. The Annie Moore Award is named for the first immigrant to...
MoreOur Father’s Values
Founder of the W.B. Yeats Foundation James Flannery (pictured above) read “Easter 1916” at the start of the Atlanta commemorations for the Easter Rising Centenary. Flannery, who is the Winship...
MoreFrank O’Connor Remembered
at University College Cork
O’Connor. Celebrating the legacy of famed writer and short story master Frank O’Conner (top right), University College Cork put on a symposium that coincided with the 50th anniversary of his...
MoreN.L.I. Acquires Rare Sean
O’Casey Manuscript
At a special event this February, the National Library of Ireland (N.L.I.) celebrated the official arrival of a first draft manuscript of Sean O’Casey’s play Juno and the Paycock. The...
MoreSláinte! Heroes of the Revolution
As St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated around the world, Edythe Preet looks to March 17, 1776, and the role the Irish played in America’s bid for freedom. ℘℘℘ Pop quiz: what color ink is used...
MoreFamous Irish of the American Revolution
Irish nationals were instrumental in helping secure American independence from England during the Revolutionary War. Edythe Preet explores the key figures. ℘℘℘ John Barry County Wexford Driven...
MoreLong and Winding Road:
An Interview with Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry talks to Julia Brodsky about his prize- winning novel Beatlebone, set in “the haunted, sea-obsessed world” of Ireland’s Atlantic coast, and the “terrifying” prospect of writing...
MoreThe Little Red Chairs: A New Novel by Edna O’Brien
Edna O’Brien’s acclaimed new novel, her first in a decade, is reviewed. ℘℘℘ Celts have always believed in an invisible spirit world running parallel to our visible world, a mystical...
MoreShane O’Neill Was “The Grand Disturber” of Elizabethan Ireland
Brian Mallon’s epic novel chronicling the life of Shane O’Neill, the 16th century Irish chieftain, is reviewed by Fionnula Flanagan. ℘℘℘ Here is the great dark cloak of Irish Elizabethan...
MoreReview of Books
Books of Irish and Irish American interest. ℘℘℘ The BBC’s ‘Irish Troubles’: Television, Conflict and Northern Ireland By Robert J. Savage Rob Savage, professor of history at Boston...
MoreTime to Say Goodbye to the
Irish National Anthem?
Historian Christine Kinealy wonders if the Irish national anthem is still relevant today. ℘℘℘ Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland, Some have come from a land beyond the...
MoreThose We Lost
Barney Devlin c. 1919 – 2016 Barney Devlin, the Bellaghy, Co. Derry blacksmith whose workshop Seamus Heaney popularized in verse, passed away in February at the age of 96. Heaney first wrote about...
MorePhoto Album:
“May the Devil Take My Soul”
Monsignor , my uncle, had a curious saying for a priest: “M’anam an diabhal” – “May the Devil take my soul.” He’d say it several times a day, laughing, when something struck him as...
MoreHibernia
Irish Government in Turmoil
The March 10th election of the Irish Parliament’s, called the Dáil, failed to decide on a new...
John Devoy Stands Again
in Kildare
Last October, a statue of John Devoy was unveiled in Naas, Co. Kildare, the New York Fenian’s...
ICON Joins Groundbreaking Genome Initiative
ICON plc was recently selected by Genomics England to support their “100,000 Genomes” project,...
Jack Haire Named CEO of Concern Worldwide U.S.
Jack Haire, former Irish America Business 100 Honoree, will succeed Joseph Cahalan as the new CEO...
New Irish Historical Exhibit is not just Run-of-the-Mill
The Irish Club of Willmantic and the Windham Textile and History Museum in Willmantic, CT, have...
Queen’s Prize to Queens University Belfast
In February, the Centre for Secure Information Technology (C.S.I.T.) at Queen’s University...
John Greed to Succeed Tom Moran as Mutual Head
John Greed, president of Mutual of America, was named CEO in March, succeeding Tom Moran, who is...
Tourism Ireland Capitalizes on Skellig Michael’s Star Wars Cameo
A long time ago, on an island six miles off the Irish coast, a Christian monastery was built on a...
Cork County Association Honors
The annual County Cork Association, which was founded in New York in 1884, held its annual dinner...
Potato Photo Sells for Over $1M
Celebrity photographer Kevin Abosch scooped an impressive $1 million from his portrait of an...
Astronaut Scott Kelly Returns to Earth
Irish American astronaut Scott Kelly returned from a year in space after taking part in a NASA...
Tralee Celebrates 800 Years
Tralee, the capital of County Kerry, has reached the ripe old age of 800. Founded in 1216 by John...
Last Descendent of Rising Leader Awarded Freedom of the City of Dublin
A 102-year old Jesuit priest in Hong Kong, who is also the last living son of executed Rising...
Fáilte Ireland and Google Partner to Map Ireland’s Historic Beauty
Irish tourist board Fáilte Ireland is partnering with Google to bring images of some of...
A Lavender and Green Parade for NYC
The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year added two first-time marchers to the roster:...
O’Reilly’s Tattoo Machine:
Fine Art for the Masses
More than 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. The vast lot of them got inked by way of...
Anne Anderson Becomes First Female Member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick
Irish Ambassador Anne Anderson became the first women to be inducted into the Friendly Sons of St....
Dublin City Center Proposes Major Pedestrian Overhaul
Dublin City Council recently unveiled a plan that, if accepted, will radically change traffic...
Quinnipiac Donates $400K to North Haven
Quinnipiac University, home to Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum (Músaem An Ghorta Mhóir) which...
Ireland’s First All-Catholic Radio Station Launches
Ireland’s first-ever Catholic radio station, Radio Maria Ireland, launched in February. It will...
Surprising Irish Links in NYC’s Mayoral Mansion
Built between 1799 and 1809 by Ezra Weeks, Gracie Mansion is the mayoral residence in New York, and...
A Guide to Pronouncing
Irish Names
In January, actress Saoirse Ronan stopped by the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She was there to...