At first glance, the Irish Brigade in Elko seemed a bit out of place amid the sea of ten-gallon hats, blue jeans, and high-heeled cowboy boots. Elko, after all, is the home of the Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the premier celebration of the folk traditions of the American West. So this Nevada gold-mining, high desert town is used to playing host to buckaroo bards, rappin' ropers, … [Read more...] about Celtic Cowboys, Poets and Musicians
What the Future Holds
Bear in mind these dead: I can find no plainer words. - John Hewitt, "Neither an Elegy nor a Manifesto" The New Year brings good tidings to a young couple I know, the birth of a baby boy, a welcome addition to their ever expanding family. Unlike his mother, a Belfast native, this boy will grow up outside the danger zone of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. Other children … [Read more...] about What the Future Holds
The Irish in Texas
Irish settlers and their contribution in the formation and development of the Lone Star State. Irish immigration to Texas is so old that it has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and the marriage of Isabella I of Castile to Ferdinand II of Aragon. The union of the two Spanish Provinces, and the subsequent expulsion of the Moors after the Battle of Granada, paved the way for … [Read more...] about The Irish in Texas
Man of Aran
Playwright Martin McDonagh, all the rage in London, comes stateside. Only Shakespeare has matched Martin McDonagh's record: to have four shows running concurrently on London's West End. This past summer McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan opened at The Royal National Theatre, while his Leenane Trilogy -The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara, and The Lonesome West … [Read more...] about Man of Aran
Master of the House
You wouldn't expect the artistic director of one of the country's most celebrated repertory theaters to make house calls, but if Dublin-born Joe Dowling, creative wizard in residence at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, thought his presence at a barbecue or bar mitzvah would put some people in his theater's seats, the folks throwing the party would be well advised to set … [Read more...] about Master of the House





