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Irish America

Archives for 2023

Meet the man who will lead the 2023 NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade

By Debbie McGoldrick

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Kevin J. Conway, the grand marshal of the 2023 New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade is the great-grandson of immigrants from various counties in Ireland and pledged to lead the 262nd edition of the parade in the tradition of those who have marched up Fifth Avenue before him. “I am flattered since the honor of serving as grand marshal is one which carries not only prestige but … [Read more...] about Meet the man who will lead the 2023 NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade

The Irish Role in the Viking Discovery of America

By Thomas J. Martin and Donald V. Mehus
February / March 2000

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As the thousandth anniversary of the Viking discovery of America will soon be celebrated in the year 2000, Thomas J. Martin and Donald V. Mehus examine the role that the Irish, with their own long seafaring tradition, played in those daring Atlantic voyages of exploration and discovery. A thousand years ago one of the most remarkable discoveries of the European peoples came … [Read more...] about The Irish Role in the Viking Discovery of America

Angela’s Ashes Loses Its Voice

By Joseph McBride, Contributor
February / March 2000

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Anyone who has read Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes -- and by now that probably takes in about half the planet -- knows that what makes McCourt's memoir of an impoverished Irish childhood so magical is the unique "voice" the author uses to tell the story. McCourt struggled for many years until he "started writing in the voice of a child, immediate, urgent and without hindsight … [Read more...] about Angela’s Ashes Loses Its Voice

The Boy from Southie

By Lauren Byrne
February / March 2000

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Michael Patrick MacDonald was in the third grade when the anti-busing riots broke out in South Boston in 1974. In his first book, All Souls, he harks back to that chaotic time. He talks to Lauren Byrne about growing up poor in Southie, that most Irish of enclaves. There's a certain grim thrill in meeting a writer around whom reports are swirling that he is having to lie low … [Read more...] about The Boy from Southie

Have the Irish Made It in America?

By Andrew M. Greeley
February / March 2000

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Sociologist and best-selling author Andrew M. Greeley looks at the various immigrant waves of Irish to this country and how they fared. Have the Irish made it in America? That the question is still asked shows that the Irish are still insecure about their success in this country. In fact, Irish Catholics are the most successful gentile ethnic group in American society and … [Read more...] about Have the Irish Made It in America?