When Gregory Peck passed away on June 12, the world mourned one of the last icons of Hollywood's glory years. In all the tributes that were paid to him, few mentioned Peck's Irish roots, of which he was most proud. In June 1997, Peck, who rarely gave interviews in his last years, sat down with Irish America Editor Patricia Harty. An edited version of that interview … [Read more...] about Gregory Peck: A Class Act
August September 2003 Issue
First Word: Heroes for Our Time
"You cannot put a rope around the neck of an idea. ... You cannot confine it in the strongest prison cell that your slaves could ever build." – Sean O'Casey on the death of Thomas Ashe. ℘℘℘ Just as I was getting annoyed that no one on the Larry King tribute to Gregory Peck mentioned the actor's Irishness, he mentioned it himself. "It must be that Irish stubborn streak in me," … [Read more...] about First Word: Heroes for Our Time
The Life of John Walsh
John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted and The John Walsh Show, talks about his family, his television shows, his thoughts on Ireland, and his tireless crusading. ℘℘℘ Before he was a TV icon, crime-fighter, father of a murdered child, legislative harbinger and "the guy in the leather jacket," John Walsh was an Irish-American everyman. Born in 1945 to Mary Jean Callahan and … [Read more...] about The Life of John Walsh
Irish Films Wow New York Audiences…and Bono & Daniel Smoke Outside
At the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City in May, two Irish movies quickly sold out: Jim Sheridan's In America and Aidan Quinn's Song for a Raggy Boy. Sheridan's movie, based on his own experience as a recently arrived immigrant to New York, left not a dry eye in the house. Release date is set for November. Quinn's movie meanwhile is set in an Irish reform school for boys … [Read more...] about Irish Films Wow New York Audiences…and Bono & Daniel Smoke Outside
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉirann 2003
Tipperary expects over 200,000 for Irish music festival. And Irish musicians and dancers from throughout the U.S. meet in Boston. ℘℘℘ Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2003 will be held in Clonmel, County Tipperary from August 22-24. This premier traditional music event attracts over 220,000 people and 10,000 performers each year These include 4,000 competitors in the 150 or so … [Read more...] about Fleadh Cheoil na hÉirann 2003