He was a Nobel Prize winner, an Irishman who lived most of his life in a foreign country. A man who wrote in both English and French, he was one of this century's towering literary figures, turning out a total of 19 plays and several books. He was also a major influence on most contemporary playwrights, yet remained an enigma, a thoroughly private person, until his death in … [Read more...] about A Man Called Beckett
Archives for July 1996
Michael Flatley, the Irish-Chicagoan creator of Riverdance who was fired by producers two days before the London premiere, is alive and kicking and is ready to rock `n' roll with a brand new show. It started modestly in 1994, a seven-minute distraction during the intermission of the glaringly unfashionable Eurovision Song Contest. Two years, 1.2 million audience members, and … [Read more...] about
In Off the Road
An inside look at Ireland's Travelers The children you see in these photographs are Irish Travelers – so called because their families travel about stopping in roadside camps and at the few government-built campsites. Their numbers are estimated to be 25,000. The origins of the Irish "Traveler" also known as "Tinker", has long been in question. Modern scholars suggest that … [Read more...] about In Off the Road
Brothers in Love
Irish American director Ed Burns strikes again with his new movie, She's the One. Anyone concerned that director Ed Burns might suffer a sophomore slump after the phenomenal success of his debut movie, The Brothers McMullen, need not worry. His second film, She's the One, is, if anything, a more self-assured piece of filmmaking. As writer, director and star of the movie, … [Read more...] about Brothers in Love
Can This Man Bring Peace?
Deáglan de Bréadún reports on former Senator George Mitchell's efforts to resolve the conflict in the North of Ireland. Dear shadows, now you know it all, All the folly of a fight With a common wrong or right. The innocent and the beautiful Have no enemy but time. Those words of the Irish poet W.B. Yeats referred to an earlier chapter in our national story: an earlier … [Read more...] about Can This Man Bring Peace?