Recommended Roddy Doyle, bestselling Irish author of The Commitments, has completed his Last Roundup trilogy about IRA rebel Henry Smart with the epic and engrossing finale The Dead Republic. The series, which includes novels A Star Called Henry and Oh! Play That Thing and spans the 20th-century history of Ireland, traces the journey of the legendary character as he passes … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Archives for April 2010
Sláinte: The Bread of Life!
Many scholars contend that our prehistoric ancestors gave up their hunting-and-gathering lifestyle once they learned how to bake bread. Although there is evidence that barley was sown and harvested over 10,000 years ago, why seed was first planted remains a puzzle. In the 1950s, archaeologist Robert Braidwood at Chicago University suggested that discovering bread-making methods … [Read more...] about Sláinte: The Bread of Life!
Waverider: The Irish Roots of Surfing
Waveriders, the acclaimed documentary directed by Dublin native Joel Conroy and coming out on DVD March 16, is based around an unusual premise: modern-day surfing’s Irish-American roots. The award-winning film traces the history of the “father of modern surfing,” Irish-Hawaiian George Freeth, as well as showcasing the work of Ireland’s top surfers in incredible footage atop … [Read more...] about Waverider: The Irish Roots of Surfing
Songs of Ireland: PBS Documentaries Celebrate Irish in Music
PBS is celebrating March and St. Patrick’s Day with a series of Irish music specials and documentaries, exploring the history of Irish music in America and offering fantastic in-concert footage of some of Irish music’s all-stars. The performance documentary Music of Ireland – Welcome Home, premiering nationwide on PBS stations in March, is narrated by Grammy Award-winning Moya … [Read more...] about Songs of Ireland: PBS Documentaries Celebrate Irish in Music
Exploring Ulster
By Irish America staff.
The northern-most province of Ulster contains a diverse array of cultures and sites, which, combined, tell the tale of modern Ireland, a place of history, pluralism and an evolving culture. Ulster is divided into nine counties including the six that comprise Northern Ireland: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, as well as Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan of the … [Read more...] about Exploring Ulster