On May 30, 2002, John B. Keane, author, raconteur, and much-loved Kerryman, passed away. Keane, at 73, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1994. The author of 18 plays and 32 works of prose and poetry, including Big Maggie, which played on Broadway in 1982, and The Field, which was made into an award-winning movie starring Richard Harris Keane captured the soul of rural … [Read more...] about John B. Keane Remembered
Those we Lost
Chris Duffy
A young financial worker lost on Sept. 11, was most of all a brother. ℘℘℘ Hey Bunkster, ...how was the weekend? don't worry, you've only been at school a week...it'll get better. you gotta meet some people...you're a Duffy. there's bound to be someone you'll run into who knows one of us somehow, between your parents and your brothers, there's a very good chance... Opening … [Read more...] about Chris Duffy
Thomas Flanagan (1923-2003) Earned His Place in Irish Literature
By Seamus Heaney
On March 16, 2002, Thomas Flanagan reviewed a history of St. Patrick's day for The Irish Times and was identified by the paper's literary editor as "a novelist and scholar...currently working on a book about Irish-American writers." When he died in Berkeley from a heart attack five days later, he had submitted to The New York Book Review of Books his piece on William Kennedy … [Read more...] about Thomas Flanagan (1923-2003) Earned His Place in Irish Literature
The Legacy of Chief Geraghty
Battalion Chief Edward Geraghty, of Battalion 9, Engine 54, Ladder 4 (48th Street and 8th Avenue in New York City), was an 18-year veteran of the department and the recipient of many meritorious awards throughout his long and distinguished career. "Anyone who got to spend time around Chief Geraghty knew he was a special person. The kinda guy we were all supposed to grow up … [Read more...] about The Legacy of Chief Geraghty
Carroll O’Connor
He called his wife "Dingbat." He called his daughter a "weepy Nellie atheist." Puerto Ricans "spics"; Jews "yids." He was terrified of African Americans, homosexuals, feminists and evolutionists. But most of all Archie Bunker was afraid of change. He sat in his mangy armchair amidst peeling wallpaper and dingy windows and preached his sermon to whoever stopped by. And … [Read more...] about Carroll O’Connor