She says she's jetlagged, that her head feels as if an arrow is piercing both temples, but Fiona Shaw is the picture of vitality. She strides into the lobby of the Lombardy Hotel in New York City, her long brown coat swinging behind her. The hair that often appears close cropped in publicity photos is a little longer now, sweeping back from her face in soft brown waves. She's … [Read more...] about Fiona Shaw: A Modern Classic
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Angela’s Ashes Loses Its Voice
Anyone who has read Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes -- and by now that probably takes in about half the planet -- knows that what makes McCourt's memoir of an impoverished Irish childhood so magical is the unique "voice" the author uses to tell the story. McCourt struggled for many years until he "started writing in the voice of a child, immediate, urgent and without hindsight … [Read more...] about Angela’s Ashes Loses Its Voice
The Boy from Southie
Michael Patrick MacDonald was in the third grade when the anti-busing riots broke out in South Boston in 1974. In his first book, All Souls, he harks back to that chaotic time. He talks to Lauren Byrne about growing up poor in Southie, that most Irish of enclaves. There's a certain grim thrill in meeting a writer around whom reports are swirling that he is having to lie low … [Read more...] about The Boy from Southie
The Connemara Prints
Fashion and celebrity photographer Kit DeFever (who has shot many Irish America covers) turns his eye on Ireland. The photographs below were taken in Connemara and are beautifully reproduced as prints on watercolor paper. Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the February / March 2000 issue of Irish America. … [Read more...] about The Connemara Prints
When Hope and History Rhymed: The New North
The political process gets underway in Northern Ireland.12/14/99: A "day unlike any other" was how Taoiseach Bertie Ahern described his feelings at the history-making first meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh City on Monday (December 13). While the media gave massive coverage to the event - it was broadcast live on BBC Northern Ireland Television - the … [Read more...] about When Hope and History Rhymed: The New North