Irish America

Irish America

By Lauren Byrne, ContributorDecember / January 2008

Mission Responsible: Fr. Séamus Finn

By Lauren Byrne, Contributor
December / January 2008

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A past president of the board of ICCR, Fr. Séamus Finn currently serves on the executive committee of 3IG, which represents a post-9/11 coming together of the major world religions to participate in what is known as “socially responsible investing.”  It isn’t easy getting face time with Séamus Finn. It’s not that he didn’t want to be interviewed for Irish America; in e-mail … [Read more...] about Mission Responsible: Fr. Séamus Finn

Mary Black

By Ian Worpole, Contributor
December / January 2008

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Mary Black, one of Ireland’s most-loved performers, is back in the spotlight with Full Tide, her finest and most critically acclaimed album in many years. Mary Black and her siblings, Frances, Michael, Shay and Martin, have long been Ireland’s premier musical family, performing together as The Black Family and in various combinations since the late 1970’s. Parents, Kevin and … [Read more...] about Mary Black

Pennsylvania’s Irish

By Tom Deignan, Contributor
December / January 2008

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From the coal mines to Hollywood, the Pennsylvania Irish have shaped America for over three centuries. William Penn may have been a trailblazer when it came to American freedom and religious tolerance.  But in the eyes of his father, he was a scandalous disappointment. Penn’s father (also William) served under Cromwell in Munster and he took part in the 1646 siege of Bunratty … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania’s Irish

Conlon’s American Dream

By Abdon M. Pallasch
December / January 2008

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Just 17 years ago at age 20, Sean Conlon arrived in this country and stayed in the basement of a cousin who put him to work as a custodian of some rental properties the cousin owned. Now at 38, he is a rising star in the real estate/development business in Chicago.    "I love watching jets,” Sean Conlon says, following a white line down the blue Chicago sky on a cool October … [Read more...] about Conlon’s American Dream

Review of Books

By Tom Deignan, Contributor
December / January 2008

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Recommended In October, Dublin-born novelist and short story writer Anne Enright won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction with her latest novel The Gathering. The book takes a close look at how the past haunts one large Irish family. The Hegartys at the center of Enright’s tale are shaken when son Liam (one of nine Hegarty children) commits suicide while living in England.  … [Read more...] about Review of Books