Irish America
Irish America
Danny Treanor looks and acts like all the other Treanors now. But once he was the best boy soprano in Ireland. You would not think it to look at him now. But once an angel lived in his throat, for such a short time, the lifespan of a lark maybe, and then the angel went away and the following evening Danny's mother went away too, in the winter darkness, taking the brown leather … [Read more...] about A Mother’s Heartbreak
Though it is often overlooked, Louisiana played an early and important role in the story of the Irish in America. Michael P. Cahill reviews the Irish – as well as the Anglo-Irish, Scotch-Irish, Franco-Irish and Spanish-Irish – influences in the Mississippi Delta. It is no secret that the Irish have played a major part in the history of the United States. It is, however, often … [Read more...] about The Geese Who Flew South
The Day I Saw JFK One of my earliest and most vivid memories is of the summer day in 1963 when I saw the President. He was arriving at Idlewild Aiprort, which would shortly be renamed in memory of himself, and his route into Manhattan would take him within a short distance from the house where I grew up. My father walked with me and five of my brothers the two blocks from … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday John F. Kennedy
"Pray for the dead. But fight like hell for the living." These are the words of Mother Jones, the gutsy labor leader, but they could easily apply to another Irish American, Mary Rose McGeady, the Sisters of Charity nun in charge of Covenant House, Runaways, and troubled teens. Kids whose worlds have crumbled around them. For many, Covenant House is their only sanctuary from … [Read more...] about Cherish the Children
Did you ever panhandle? Ask for money on the street? One day, too hot and lazy to walk 12 blocks, I decided to see if I could bum the price of a subway token, my wallet being back in the desk of my nice air-conditioned office. So in New York's Grand Central Station I hesitantly approached an average-type woman, someone like myself, who would surely empathize. Or so I thought. … [Read more...] about First Word: Making a Difference
