Joe Queenan's no-holds-barred satirical writing is not for every palate. He jabs, stabs, pokes, prods, and otherwise mangles various aspects of American culture (not to mention European culture and Third World culture) like a dentist performing a root canal without an anesthetic or a disgruntled postal worker creating balloon animals. It's often not pretty, but is certainly … [Read more...] about Sardonic Joe
Interview
One Life to Give
Chuck Feeney has just put into practice something he had been considering for many years. He has decided that all the vast wealth he accumulated in his lifetime should be given away while he is still alive. The graying, well preserved 72-year-old New Jersey native persuaded the board of Atlantic Philanthropies, which he created two decades ago, to convert its $4 billion in … [Read more...] about One Life to Give
The Chief of Irish Music
Paddy Moloney, founder of The Chieftains, who has done more than anyone else to launch Irish music onto the world stage, talks to Lauren Byrne. In the expensive gloom of Boston's Copley Plaza Hotel, Paddy Moloney orders a pot of Earl Grey tea and shifts out of the draft from an over efficient air-conditioner. At 65, his hair is dappled gray, but Moloney's bantam figure is as … [Read more...] about The Chief of Irish Music
Gregory Peck: A Class Act
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 follows. "Will you pour?" The gentleman sitting across from me cracked a smile as I nodded and lifted the teapot, wondering if I would be able to complete the task without making a fool of myself. I felt as if I was in a … [Read more...] about Gregory Peck: A Class Act
Chris Matthews Interrupted
Niall O'Dowd interviews Chris Matthews of CNBC's Hardball, one of prime time's most popular programs. ℘℘℘ If Chris Matthews were a cat, curiosity would have killed him long ago. In our 90-minute interview in a Washington restaurant he asked as many questions as he fielded and he ranged over practically every major world problem, offering opinions, facts and speculations on … [Read more...] about Chris Matthews Interrupted