Irish America

Irish America

Books

He Died an Irishman

By Rosemary Rogers
IA Newsletter, December 16, 2023

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John le Carré was born David Cornwell in Poole, England in 1931. His father, known as Ronnie, was a violent con man who landed in prisons across the globe. Olive, David’s mother, so despised him that she packed her bag and slipped away in the middle of the night. She went into hiding leaving David, then only five years old, and didn’t return to her son’s life for another 16 … [Read more...] about He Died an Irishman

Review of Books Fall 2023

By Darina Molloy

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Darina Molloy provides a review of 14 books from Irish authors for our readers to enjoy. Soldier Sailor By Claire Kilroy When you consider the gap between Claire Kilroy’s last book (The Devil I Know, published in 2012) and this newest one, it definitely adds a layer to the reading experience of Soldier Sailor. The mother in the book, Soldier, is aptly named as she seems to … [Read more...] about Review of Books Fall 2023

Napoleon’s Doctor

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The last few years of the great Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s life were spent with an Irishman. That Irishman was Barry O’Meara, a Dublin-born surgeon who caught the Emperor’s attention during his surrender on the British warship Bellerophon. This encounter would change O’Meara’s life, as he was personally requested by Napoleon to be his physician during his time on the island … [Read more...] about Napoleon’s Doctor

A Taste of Joyce

By Colum McCann

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The Ineluctable Modality of the Visible Sometimes it seems to me that libraries are the most democratic institutions in the world.  From Dublin to New York, you will eventually find most if not all the great books within the walls of our great libraries. I often find myself in the hallowed halls of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd … [Read more...] about A Taste of Joyce

Review of Books

By Darina Molloy
Spring 2023

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Darina Molloy reviews recently published books by Irish authors In Ordinary Time: Fragments of a Family History by Carmel McMahon In putting her ‘fragments’ of family history to paper, enveloped in and book-ended by snippets from her own life, and relationships both good and bad (alcohol being the most destructive), Carmel McMahon has created a gorgeously moving … [Read more...] about Review of Books