If you find yourself in north-central Iowa, staring at a statue of Robert Emmet in front of a courthouse, you're probably there by choice. At 50 miles from the nearest interstate exit, Emmetsburg, Iowa isn’t exactly a regular stop for tourists or cross-country road trippers. But the town has a long Irish history that hibernophiles will admire. If the statue of Robert Emmet … [Read more...] about Irish Place Names: Emmetsburg, Iowa
Family Photo Album: The Boys of Summer
For years my father, Roger Millea, a retired urologist, has refused to use a computer. So for his 83rd birthday, I flew to Rapid City, South Dakota, presented him with an iPad, and tutored him against his will in the ways of email and the internet; encouraging him to connect to the modern world and more specifically to me in New York City. In the two years since, I’ve yet to … [Read more...] about Family Photo Album: The Boys of Summer
The Last Word: Love Thy Neighbor
A couple of years ago, in my capacity as President of the Glenmary Missioners, I was visiting one of our priests in south Georgia. It was February, cold and gloomy, and we had spent an entire day driving around three counties. As we drove, Fr. Vick pointed out the different trailer parks — each one more rundown and dilapidated than the other. He noted the individual trailers … [Read more...] about The Last Word: Love Thy Neighbor
The Testament of Mary: Tóibín, Shaw and Warner at the PEN World Voices Festival
By Adam Farley. May 6, 2013.
Several years ago, Colm Tóibín taught an evening class at the New School in New York. He called it “Relentlessness,” and before each class, he would drink a mix of a double espresso, Coca Cola, and sugar that he said he thinks pretty well mimics the effects of cocaine, and, as he put it in a panel discussion at the PEN World Voices Festival on May 3, “just go.” At least once, … [Read more...] about The Testament of Mary: Tóibín, Shaw and Warner at the PEN World Voices Festival
Who’s Your Daddy? Johnny O’Callaghan’s Unlikely Journey to Becoming a Father
By Patricia Danaher. May 3, 2013.
Johnny O'Callaghan was your typical Irish actor trying to make it in Hollywood. Then his life changed on a chance trip to Uganda, where he met a little boy he knew was meant to be his son. Who's Your Daddy, his one man play running now at the Irish Rep, tells his extraordinary story. Interview by Patricia Danaher. Johnny O’Callaghan’s moving and hilarious hit play Who’s Your … [Read more...] about Who’s Your Daddy? Johnny O’Callaghan’s Unlikely Journey to Becoming a Father