In this excerpt from his memoir The Good Sport, Kevin White takes us on his journey as an Irish Catholic kid growing up in “blue-collar” Amityville on Long Island while scrambling to help his parents make ends meet, to the position of “the best of the best” among intercollegiate athletic directors of his generation.Navigating the winding roads, with endless rotaries, up to … [Read more...] about “The Good Sport”
Winter issue 2024
Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan
By Richard Purden
Winter 2024
Duff McKagan reflects on his childhood, songwriting, why he’s called “Duff,” and his recent solo albums.At one point, Guns N’ Roses was known as “the most dangerous band in the world.” They were mostly a danger to themselves, with drug and alcohol problems being well publicized. The band’s image and attitude lived up to “Reckless Life,” the opening track on their 1986 EP … [Read more...] about Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan
Those We Lost
By Irish America Staff
Winter 2024
Billy Lawless, champion for immigration reform, passes in ChicagoIn every march for immigration reform, amid all the Mexican and Central American marchers, you could always depend on one ruddy-faced Irishman leading a multiracial contingent of true believers behind the banner of “Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform.” Billy Lawless became such a dependable voice for reforming … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Winterval in Waterford: European City of Christmas
By Irish America Staff
Winter 2024
Waterford, once called the hidden gem of Ireland, is now a tourist destination known for its extravagant festivities. Its annual harvest festival in September attracted upwards of 40,000 visitors. The Samhain festival in October saw the City’s streets awash with a fusion of spooky, spectral, and fascinating events under the watchful eye of An Dearg Dua, a 2,000-year-old … [Read more...] about Winterval in Waterford: European City of Christmas
Photo Album: “Give Me a Wee Step”
By Maureen Foster
Winter 2024
In this photograph taken in 1925, my mother Kathleen (far left), her mother and father Sam and Ellen Bell, and 10 other siblings pose as they leave their home in Crossgar, County Down. They journeyed to the United States and settled in Chicago, where, after only four years, my granddad died, leaving Grandma Bell to raise a family of 11. She was a woman of tremendous faith in … [Read more...] about Photo Album: “Give Me a Wee Step”