1939 - Astor Bar, New YorkMy father, Michael Rogers, was a bartender at New York’s legendary Astor Bar from 1936 to 1965. The photo above was taken for the N.Y. Daily News series, “The Correct Thing,” on tipping bartenders. It’s not a good shot of him, as it doesn’t do justice to his hair, wavy and deep black, a color he likened to “the inside of a raven’s wing.” He was born in … [Read more...] about “What’re You Having”
Rosemary Rogers
Wild Irish Women: Chicago May
“How hard Ireland was on the women who could not fit in – the wild ones, the ones who had to get out, seeming emigrants but actual exiles.” – Nuala O’Faolain Chicago May wasn’t from Chicago and, in fact, spent little time there, but the name somehow suited her. May Duignan was born in 1871 in the remote county of Longford in the ancient world that was 19th-century Ireland. Her … [Read more...] about Wild Irish Women: Chicago May
Corey Johnson: Lightning in a Bottle
Corey Johnson zoomed into New York like a comet and burst onto the political scene. In just a few short years he became speaker of the city council. He’s smart, articulate, high-energy, and the kind of guy who is going places fast. He talks to Rosemary Rogers about his history, his health, and his Irish pride. ℘℘℘ In 2013, Corey Johnson, with little money and less connections … [Read more...] about Corey Johnson: Lightning in a Bottle
Fathers of Influence
By Irish America Staff
In honor of Father's Day, a collection of remembrances from Irish and Irish-American daughters on their fathers, many of which come from Irish America interviews. “My dad was in WWII, and Korea. He wanted to go to Vietnam but did not. He felt that when the country needed you, you better stand up and go serve it, and he was heartbroken by what happened in WWII to people in … [Read more...] about Fathers of Influence
Wild Irish Women: A Most Sorrowful Mystery
Oh! star of Erin, queen of tears, Black clouds have beset thy birth, And your people die like morning stars, That your light may grace the earth. – "Stars of Freedom," 1981 By IRA volunteer Bobby Sands, M.P. H-Block, Long Kesh Prison Camp Watching Bobby Sands die in 1981, much of the world realized, finally, that the young IRA soldier and hunger striker was a freedom fighter, … [Read more...] about Wild Irish Women: A Most Sorrowful Mystery