There is something fitting about where Malachy McCourt is calling from as I speak to him about his dark and hilarious new book Death Need Not Be Fatal. McCourt is at a Manhattan rehabilitation facility, where he will spend the next few weeks recovering from a “severe attack” of gout. “I’m doing pretty good now,” he says, sounding lively and cheerful enough given what he’s … [Read more...] about Taunting Death with Malachy McCourt
Review of Books
Recently published books of Irish and Irish American interest. Napoleon’s Doctor: The St. Helena Diary of Barry O’Meara By Dr. Hubert O’Connor The last few years of the great Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s life were spent with an Irishman. That Irishman was Barry O’Meara, a Dublin-born surgeon who caught the Emperor’s attention during his surrender on the British warship … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Portals to the Other World
This fall, a number of our most celebrated Irish American authors will launch books into heavy seas where Twitter storms and televised tantrums batter our attention, but after spending time at the Book Expo, the publishing industry’s lollapalooza in New York City this summer, I realized all will be well. I met with Jennifer Egan, Alice McDermott, Michael Connelly, Lawrence … [Read more...] about Portals to the Other World
Photo Album: Who Was My Grandmother Kate?
My maternal grandmother Kate Whalen and I were very close. As a child, I would go to Jersey City to stay with her for two or three weeks during the summer. As I got older, she was as much a friend as a grandmother. Over the years, I learned bits and pieces of the story of her early years and wanted to know more. Many years later, I realized that my interest meant dredging up … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Who Was My Grandmother Kate?
Weekly Comment: Francis Sheehy Skeffington’s Granddaughter to Retrace her Grandmother’s U.S. Tour
By Irish America
July 21, 2017
July 21, 2017
Irish activist re-creating grandmother's 1917 tour of United States in documentary film, Hanna and Me. During Easter Week 1916, Irish pacifist Francis Sheehy Skeffington was shot without trial by British firing squad. A year later, his widow, Hanna, escaped to the United States under a false passport, giving speeches across the country exposing the truth about her husband's … [Read more...] about Weekly Comment: Francis Sheehy Skeffington’s Granddaughter to Retrace her Grandmother’s U.S. Tour