Irish America

Irish America

Tom Deignan

Hibernia Arts: Will this finally be the year for Kenneth Branagh?

By Tom Deignan

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That’s the big question the Irish – north and south, and on both sides of the Atlantic – will be asking when they tune into the Academy Awards ceremonies on Sunday, March 27th, at The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. No matter who wins, it’s going to be a big night for the Irish. Van Morrison, Jessie Buckley and Ciarán Hinds join Branagh as Irish-born entertainers looking to grab … [Read more...] about Hibernia Arts: Will this finally be the year for Kenneth Branagh?

Spending Time With Alice

By Tom Deignan

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Tom Deignan first interviewed Alice McDermott as a young journalist. He looks back now on her literary career over the past 20 years and talks to her about her new non-fiction book What About the Baby? Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction. For four decades now, Alice McDermott has dazzled the literary world in a fashion nearly as subtle and cunning as her fiction.We almost … [Read more...] about Spending Time With Alice

“But Professor, We are Irish”
Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man

By Tom Deignan
IA Newsletter March 5, 2022

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The hugely anticipated Broadway revival of Meredith Willson's The Music Man, stars Tony Award-winner Marie Mullen in character as Mrs. Paroo. Born in County Sligo, Mullen co-founded the Druid Theatre Company, located in Galway, and appeared in many of its productions. She has also appeared in many Broadway productions, and her performance in the 1998 production of The Beauty … [Read more...] about “But Professor, We are Irish”
Marie Mullen as Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man

Des Bishop’s Mia Mamma Hits New York

By Tom Deignan
IA Newsletter January 8, 2022

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If “home” is a special but complicated word for most Irish people, this is doubly true for Des Bishop.Born in New York, Bishop went off to Ireland at the tender of age of 14. But what began as a kind of lark to make sure Bishop stayed focused on school turned into a calling as a popular comedian, performer, and TV personality. For years, Bishop has been doing the thankless - … [Read more...] about Des Bishop’s Mia Mamma Hits New York

Belfast and Young Plato

By Tom Deignan
IA Newsletter November 13, 2021

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In just a few weeks, Ireland - and the world - will mark the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” That was the gruesome, January 1972 day when British soldiers opened fire on civil rights marchers in Derry, killing over a dozen, and sending the Northern Ireland Troubles into a violent new phase. All those bullets and bombs have made it difficult to tell more intimate … [Read more...] about Belfast and Young Plato