Irish America
Irish America
For someone on a rigorous public relations schedule, Maeve Binchy is a remarkably personable interviewee. The Dublin author arrived in New York on a brief but hectic promotional visit for her new book Circle Of Friends and although she is pressed for time and does speak quickly, there is an unhurried air about her. I had never met Maeve before and felt that she conveys a … [Read more...] about The Readers’ Writer
The Ghost of Muckross Haunts California You don't expect to find an Irish manor house, complete with 17 acres of formal gardens, tucked away only 25 miles from San Francisco. The home, "Filoli," an impressive Irish country-style estate, was designed by Willis Polk for William Bourn in 1916 near the town of Woodside, California. Bourn had strong ties with Ireland (he once … [Read more...] about Hibernia
That Easter Monday, 1916, seventy-five years ago this month, was a sleepy one in Dublin. Most of the sporting set, high society and many common folk had gone to the Fairyhouse races, where the Irish Grand National was the star attraction. My own grandfather, from County Sligo, had taken the train to the races, the biggest meeting of the year. Years later he would relate how it … [Read more...] about First Word: Birth of a Nation
