Camelot might be a misnomer. Brían Boru, the last High King of Ireland, was a Kennedy.
The O’Kennedy genealogies, held by the Royal Irish Academy, record that Ceineidi, King of Thomond, was the father of Brían Bóruma mac Cennétig (c. 941 – 1014), today known as Brían Boru, the last Ard Ri or High King of all of Ireland.
This genealogy traces President John Fitzgerald … [Read more...] about Clan Kennedy:
Of Presidents and Kings
Clan Kennedy:
Chris O’Dowd:
Boyle to Broadway
The actor has been busy since Bridesmaids, and it’s made him eager to return to his roots as an actor and Roscommoner.
From the beginning of our conversation, Chris O’Dowd is enthusiastic. I only have my first two words out before he says, “Yes!” My first two words, “Moone Boy,” are the title of O’Dowd’s autobiographical coming-of-age comedy that is back for a second season … [Read more...] about Chris O’Dowd:
Boyle to Broadway
What Are You Like? Brían F. O’Byrne
Brían F. O’Byrne, 46, is currently starring in the Broadway production of Outside Mullingar, a play by John Patrick Shanley. O’Byrne, who grew up in Mullagh, Co. Cavan, trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre at Trinity College Dublin. He emigrated to New York in 1990, where he had a brother, and an uncle who lived in Queens. He lived with his uncle and got a job on a … [Read more...] about What Are You Like? Brían F. O’Byrne
“The Gift of Conversation”
JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY TALKS ABOUT LOVE, LOSS, AND HIS LATEST PLAY, OUTSIDE MULLINGAR It was late afternoon in February at a bistro in New York’s East Village that playwright and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, somberly dressed in a black coat, black suit, and thin black tie, explained that he was going to pay his respects at a wake for his close friend, actor Philip Seymour … [Read more...] about “The Gift of Conversation”
Review of Books
Recently published books of Irish and Irish-American interest. Fiction The Blessings By Elise Juska There’s a certain kind of belonging that comes with being part of a large, extended Irish-American family. But, there’s a certain kind of loneliness, too. In The Blessings, Elise Juska captures how those mirror emotions of homesickness and restlessness, intimacy and … [Read more...] about Review of Books