James CagneyScreen Giant "If you listen to the clowns around you're just dead. Go do what you have to do." Born July 17, 1899 on New York City's Lower East Side, James Francis Cagney was the second of seven children, two of whom died in infancy. His father was a saloonkeeper in the tough neighborhood where many of Cagney's contemporaries ended up in prison. In an interview … [Read more...] about The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Stage and Screen
November 1999
The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: The Services
Reverend Francis DuffyFighting Father "If I've helped anyone become a better man and he loves me for it, that's my Distinguished Service Cross." Beloved pastor and battlefield legend, the Reverend Francis Patrick Duffy, also known as "Fighting Father Duffy," was truly a man of the people. From the rarefied world of academia to the trenches of World War I France to the mean … [Read more...] about The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: The Services
The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Writers and Media
Nellie BlyNewshound "Energy rightly applied can accomplish anything." Nellie Bly's biographer, Brooke Kroeger, captured the essence of his admirable subject when he wrote: "In the 1880s, she pioneered the development of 'detective' or 'stunt' journalism, the acknowledged forerunner to full-scale investigative reporting." Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 to Michael … [Read more...] about The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Writers and Media
The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Community
Dorothy DayHeroine "Don't call me a saint. I don't want to be dismissed so easily." From time to time there comes an individual whose life exposes the limitations of the written word. Dorothy Day was such a person. Her strength, singularity and ability to nudge humankind a little further up the ladder of emotional and spiritual evolution goes beyond language. As a … [Read more...] about The Greatest Irish Americans of the Century: Community
John Jr., Remembered
I can't say I knew him well. Who can except for his immediate family and close friends? Still, we all felt as if we knew John Kennedy, Jr. He touched our hearts. He carded the flame of Camelot, conscious (modestly) of what he embodied for many Americans, particularly Irish Americans. He might have chosen a different role had it been left up to him. He wanted to be an actor and … [Read more...] about John Jr., Remembered