By Patricia Tunison Preston September/October 1995

Patricia Tunison Preston follows the course of Ireland's greatest river as it meanders it way to the sea. For over 25 years, I would encounter the River Shannon's glistening profile as Aer Lingus planes hugged the shoreline in take-off or touch-down at Shannon Airport, or I would drive over the river's many bridges en route from Galway to Dublin and other east-west roads. I'd … [Read more...] about All Along the River Shannon

The work of Irish-American artist Sean Scully (b. 1945) is the subject of a large exhibit now touring the United States and Europe. It offers a good opportunity to see more than 60 paintings and works on paper by this important and influential artist. Sean Scully's work "belongs to the rich tradition of postwar American abstraction," says Ned Rifkin, director of Atlanta's … [Read more...] about Mastering the Abstract

The American Conference for Irish Studies held in Queen's University, Belfast, at the end of June, covered a range of topics including religion, identity, and the role of women in today's society. In 1972, Northern Irish poet Seamus Heaney wrote from Belfast, where he was a lecturer at Queen's University, that poetry had to make its way in a "world that is public and brutal." … [Read more...] about Ireland: Island of Diversity