On New Years Eve, close to one million revelers gathered in New York’s Times Square to ring in 2013. The celebration, which was hosted by Allison Hagendorf and featured performances by Taylor Swift, “Gangnam Style” singer Psy, and Train, kicked off at 6:00 p.m., when the House of Waterford Crystal ball rose to the top of the One Times Square building. The crystal ball, which … [Read more...] about House of Waterford in Times Square
Portraits of the Irish: Paddy at the Met
The Ashcan School of artists were a group of realist painters who found inspiration in the seamy side of New York City. Tom Deignan looks at the Irish subjects who provided inspiration to these artists, as the Metropolitan Museum of Art mounts an exhibition of paintings by George Bellows (runs thru Feb. 18), one of the group’s foremost artists. The term Ashcan School was … [Read more...] about Portraits of the Irish: Paddy at the Met
Those We Lost
Recent losses in the Irish and Irish-American community. Charles Durning 1923 – 2012 The man who played the pope, the governor of Texas, Dustin Hoffman’s Tootsie suitor, four different Santa Clauses, and a bumbling Mel Brooks-inspired Nazi colonel has died. Charles Durning, known in the business as the King of Character Actors, died Christmas Eve at his home in Manhattan. He … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
The Derry Air is Rich With Culture
A bright, brand-new day dawns for Derry/Londonderry, the UK City of Culture 2013. John Hume, Derry’s first Catholic MP, sang the Derry anthem in Oslo when he and David Trimble won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998, and it has since become a staple of the White House St. Patrick’s Day gathering each year in Washington, D.C. At a recent concert in Chicago when Phil Coulter played … [Read more...] about The Derry Air is Rich With Culture
Heroes and Rogues: The Irish of Green-Wood Cemetery
Among the most noteworthy Irish expatriates reposing in Green-Wood are Matilda Tone, widow of United Irishmen leader Wolfe Tone, and their son William Theobald Wolfe Tone. William is buried with his wife, Catherine Sampson Tone, and in the plot right next to the Tones lie her parents: the controversial civil rights attorney William Sampson and his wife, Grace. The Green-Wood … [Read more...] about Heroes and Rogues: The Irish of Green-Wood Cemetery