Controversy haunts memorial to the Molly Maguires. ℘℘℘ On 21 June 2002, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the hanging of the Molly Maguires -- ten Irish Catholic anthracite coal miners convicted of intimidation and murder by an impartial jury of non-peers -- ten men who led the miners' fight against capitalist oppression through the Workingmen's Benevolent Association of … [Read more...] about The Molly Maguires Remembered
Never Mind the Weather!
Ireland offers a warm welcome, even in winter. Dublin: The wind and rain lashed furiously on the tarmac at Dublin Airport, rocking our Aer Lingus Airbus like a gondola exposed to the elements on a mountaintop. We hadn't packed any sun block for this post-Christmas 2000 family trip to Ireland, but no one had told us we'd be landing in the monsoon season. It had proved … [Read more...] about Never Mind the Weather!
America’s Favorite Irish Tenor
Siobhan Tracey talks to Ronan Tynan about life, love and what keeps him sane. As my knowledge of opera is almost solely limited to the trivia fact that "Un bel di" from Madame Butterfly is playing as Glenn Close wreaks her havoc in Fatal Attraction, I did wonder fleetingly whether I needed to brush up on a few key operatic terms before meeting Ronan Tynan, the renowned Irish … [Read more...] about America’s Favorite Irish Tenor
Who’s Irish in Hell?
A look at Warren Allen Smith's Who's Who in Hell. Warren Allen Smith, whose great-grandfather was an Irish-American named Curran, has, with tongue firmly wedged in cheek, we suspect, compiled a 1200 page compendium with the fascinating title Who's Who in Hell. One might think he's rushing things a bit because the book lists atheists, humanists, naturalists, freethinkers, … [Read more...] about Who’s Irish in Hell?
Book Reviews
A sampling of the latest Irish books on offer. RECOMMENDED Brotherhood, a stunning, 240-page book of photos, captures the heavily-Irish New York Fire Department in all its rugged, poignant suffering and glory. Pity Frank McCourt, who was drafted to write the introduction. His words are somehow supposed to stand alongside these extraordinary images. Somehow, he pulls it … [Read more...] about Book Reviews