What a difference two decades makeBy Megan SmolenyakIn April of 2001, a miracle occurred. Well, it certainly seemed that way at the time. The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation (SOLEIF) opened the American Family Immigration History Center (AFIHC), launching an online database — digitized and indexed — of the passenger records of millions of immigrants who took … [Read more...] about Happy 20th Anniversary,
Ellis Island Immigrant Database!
Happy 20th Anniversary,
Growing Unrest in
Northern Ireland
April 17, 2021By Deaglán de BréadúnConcern has been growing in Ireland, north and south, that the Troubles which caused so many deaths and injuries for thirty years from the late Sixties until the end of the Nineties might be on the way back. The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was concluded in April 1998, with former US Senator George Mitchell chairing the negotiations, so it is … [Read more...] about Growing Unrest in
Northern Ireland
Tom Deignan Interviews…
Tom Deignan is a teacher, author, and columnist. Tom has been a contributor to Irish America for 25 years on arts and entertainment, history and current affairs. He is currently working on a book about America during the Ellis Island years. His writing has appeared in newspapers such as The New York Times, Washington Post, Star-Ledger, and National Catholic Reporter, as well as … [Read more...] about Tom Deignan Interviews…
The Crisis in the
Catholic Church
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James Carroll's newest book, The Truth at the Heart of the Lie is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
View Tom's previous interviews for Irish America with Emma Donoghue, Timothy Egan, John Feerick, and James Nesbitt.Tom Deignan is a teacher, author, and columnist … [Read more...] about The Crisis in the
Catholic Church
Flannery O’Connor:
The Storied Life of
the Writer from Georgia
By Tom Deignan
A new documentary about the short life and powerful work of Irish American literary giant Flannery O’Connor has just been released and is available for streaming. Entitled “Flannery: The Storied Life of the Writer from Georgia,” the 97-minute film premiered on PBS on March 23. Directed by Mark Bosco and Elizabeth Coffman, the film comes at a fascinating time. … [Read more...] about Flannery O’Connor:
The Storied Life of
the Writer from Georgia