NON-FICTION The Irish cop is no stereotype. As authors Thomas Reppetto and James Lardner show, in their informative new history NYPD: A City and Its Police, the Irish have played an integral role on New York City's police force since its creation in 1844. By the mid- 1880s, the authors write, one survey "found that out of approximately three thousand police officers of … [Read more...] about Book Reviews: The Latest Irish Books
Slainte! The History of Soup
Come fall, the days grow shorter, temperatures drop, and trees shed their leaves. Just as certainly, as soon as there's a chill in the air and a hint of winter weather creeps onto the scene, we all begin longing for what cookbook authors are fond of calling `comfort food.' For some folk, that's a hearty scoop of macaroni and cheese. Others pine for a plate of meatloaf and gravy … [Read more...] about Slainte! The History of Soup
Photo Album: Happy Holidays!
The celebration of Christmas at Rockefeller Center started informally in 1931 when workmen involved in the construction of the Center placed a small tree on the Fifth Avenue site of the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise (the two buildings which today separate The Channel Gardens). The tree was decorated with tinsel and gaily colored ornaments. In this photo, … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Happy Holidays!
Puddle Jumping
By Frank McCourt
The English Catholic martyr, St. Edmund Campion, lived in Dublin for a while in 1569 and here is what he wrote about the Irish: "The people are thus inclined: religious, franke, amorous, irefull, sufferable of paines infinite, very glorious, many sorcerers, excellent horsemen, delighted with warres, great almes-givers, passing in hospitalitie: the lewder sort both clarkes and … [Read more...] about Puddle Jumping
October 19, 2000
On this day in 2000, Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama visited Belfast and met with MP and fellow Nobel Peace prize laureate John Hume. Both Hume and the Dalai Lama were champions for peace. The city of Belfast played host to the spiritual leader for three days, who was attending the World Community for World Peace held in Belfast. … [Read more...] about October 19, 2000