Irish America
Irish America
The Celtic feast of Bealtaine (Bright Fire) began on the first day of May with the lighting of the May Fires. The clan gathered to celebrate the end of the dark months and the return of the light. The fires symbolized the earth's life-giving forces-fertility and rebirth after the dormant winter months. Dancers enacted the sun's movement through the skies and the Maypole and … [Read more...] about Sláinte! The Feast of Bealtaine
Captain Paddy turned his boat around and pointed it toward the open waters of the North Atlantic. He has fished these waters along the rocky cliffs of County Donegal for so long that he no longer observes their rugged beauty. Sometimes he ventures far out to fish for salmon, today he would look for crabs and lobster and see to his numerous traps. The mighty gales and the strong … [Read more...] about Captain Paddy and Son
There is a curious irony surrounding Schindler's List and the part that the Irish have played in bringing the movie to fruition. Thomas Keneally, an Australian of Irish Catholic background, wrote the book, and Liam Neeson, from the North of Ireland, was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of the man who saved some 1,100 Jews. As Keneally wrote in a recent … [Read more...] about The First Word: Where’s Our Famine Movie?
Robert Manning lives in Vermont. His many trips to Ireland resulted in an exhibit of his paintings: "Stone Walls of Ireland", which ran at the Arts Work Gallery in Hartford, Connecticut. Proleek Dolmen "This spectacular dolmen just out of Dundalk sits in a potato field behind a hotel now and it looks like some giant mushroom. The stones on top are there because of a … [Read more...] about Spiral, Spiral Night & Other Paintings
Seamus Deane, A Renowned Literary Scholar, Fills A Void At Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame, the home of the Fighting Irish, is the sentimental alma mater of many more actual and would-be Irish-Americans than ever have studied here. Yet until now, the most identifiably Catholic institution in the country--one where 14 of 16 presidents have been priests of Irish … [Read more...] about Plunging Into Irish Studies
