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
Archive
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
The Quiet Man Turns Fifty
This year marks fiftieth anniversary of John Ford's The Quiet Man, the favorite movie of many Irish Americans. The native Irish tend to see it with more ambivalence, yet the readers of the Irish Times in 1996 voted it the greatest Irish movie ever made. The beguiling comedy-drama won Ford his fourth Academy Award as best director, as well as bringing Oscars to cinematographers … [Read more...] about The Quiet Man Turns Fifty
Music Roundup
Decade This "best of" collection is perfect introduction to Dervish, one of Ireland's very best traditional music groups. Decade samples tracks from ten years' worth of recordings by a band that has gone from playing pub sessions in County Sligo to head-lining concerts before stadium-sized crowds in Europe and South America. Dervish is still relatively little known in the … [Read more...] about Music Roundup