It was only natural that the young Eve Bolton would grow up to be a writer, and a very prolific one who would produce more than 200 books for children. From her earliest years in Maghera, a small town in County Derry, books and stories filled her life. Both of her parents were great readers. Eve remembers sitting in her father's lap and being read to. "It was always poetry. He … [Read more...] about Meet Eve Bunting
Review of Books
RECOMMENDED Early in his new memoir Pull Me Up, New York Times columnist Dan Barry writes: "Noreen Barry, née Minogue, originally of Shanaglish parish, County Galway, and lately and sporadically of Sts. Cyril and Methodius parish, Deer Park, Long Island, died on a rainy morning in February; she was all of sixty-one. And that should have been that: another Irish mother dies and … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Sláinte: The Queen of Flowers
One Sunny June afternoon several years ago, I stood on a Wicklow cliff overlooking the Irish Sea. All around me, mounds of wild roses covered the ground. No genetically crafted sterile blooms were these. Each delicate flower -- and there were hundreds upon hundreds crowding the canes that tumbled in every direction -- had but a few scarlet petals surrounding a central golden … [Read more...] about Sláinte: The Queen of Flowers
Photo Album: Going to the Chapel
This is a photo of my parents, Anne Connolly and David Carroll, right after they were married in Ireland. They met at St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin where my father worked as a doctor and my mother was a nurse. In 1971, he was offered a position at UCSF in San Francisco. After he was offered the job, they got married in Ireland and then moved to California. My older sister … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Going to the Chapel
Irish American of the Year John Sweeney: Defending America’s Workers
Sitting with me in the sleek conference room of the AFL-CIO's executive suite overlooking the White House, John Sweeney presents a striking contrast to his surroundings. Portly in his suspenders and rumpled shirt with his jacket nowhere in sight, he appears totally unassuming. It would be easy to underestimate the man at first glance. The only way to gauge his emotions is by … [Read more...] about Irish American of the Year John Sweeney: Defending America’s Workers