The man behind the Provisional IRA was Londoner Seán MacStiofáin. By Brian Dooley If all politics really is local, as Tip O’Neill suggested, then it’s hard to know where to place Seán MacStiofáin, founder of the Provisional IRA. MacStiofáin was born and grew up in London as John Stephenson. His father was English and his mother Irish, from Belfast. He didn’t visit … [Read more...] about Provisional IRA Founded 50 Years Ago
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Rediscovering Books in the Time of the Coronavirus
By Pat Fenton Each day as I watch the news on television I wonder about the book shelves the newscasters use as back drops as many of them broadcast from their homes, newscasters like Anthony Mason from CBS “This Morning” who actually uses some of his books to prop up the make shift lighting for his show, and Maurice Dubois from CBS’ evening news, and Gloria Borger from … [Read more...] about Rediscovering Books in the Time of the Coronavirus
Black and Green Today
By Brian Dooley
More than 20 years ago I wrote a book about the links between the U.S. civil rights movement and the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. Black and Green (published in 1998) did okay, reviewers were kind, and some schools and universities in the U.S. and Europe forced their students to read it. What’s surprised me is that two decades on it’s enjoying a mini-revival. Its … [Read more...] about Black and Green Today
How Bobby Sands Changed Everything
By Niall O'Dowd
It was 43 years ago this week that Bobby Sands died on hunger strike in Northern Ireland. After 66 brutal days of starvation his body gave out but his spirit marched on. Eventually ten men died, their extraordinary belief in their rights to live as free Irishmen astounded the world. I was living in San Francisco at the time, 6,000 miles from Ireland, but the anger was palpable … [Read more...] about How Bobby Sands Changed Everything
The Irish Rep Goes Virtual
May 12th - 15th, 2020 Actress Geraldine Hughes plays Molly New York's Irish Repertory Theater celebrated 30 years in 2019 and the founders Charlotte Moore and Ciaran O'Reilly know a thing or two about survival. The premier Irish theater group in the U.S. rebuilt its theater in recent years, and throughout its history has produced a bountiful crop of brilliant … [Read more...] about The Irish Rep Goes Virtual