After almost 18 months on the New York Times bestseller list, Angela's Ashes is still up there in the top five, dancing around form number one down to two or three, maybe hitting on four for a spot, but then working its way back up to the first or second spot. Across the Atlantic in Ireland, the hardcover and the paperback versions are both selling like hot cakes, consistently … [Read more...] about McCourt’s Magic Touch
Feature
The Brother
By Malachy McCourt
March / April 1998
It's the Irish thing again. You're not allowed to go careering around God's globe boasting about your own or your family's great accomplishments and doughty doings. In a dead moment in a pub or saloon, indulgence might be extended to a short bit on what the mother said, or the da did, or what the sister was a terror for, but that would be the extent of it. And, as noted all … [Read more...] about The Brother
The Irish in Texas
By Harry Dunleavy
January / February 1998
Irish settlers and their contribution in the formation and development of the Lone Star State. Irish immigration to Texas is so old that it has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and the marriage of Isabella I of Castile to Ferdinand II of Aragon. The union of the two Spanish Provinces, and the subsequent expulsion of the Moors after the Battle of Granada, paved the way for … [Read more...] about The Irish in Texas
Man of Aran
By Diana Barth
January / February 1998
Playwright Martin McDonagh, all the rage in London, comes stateside. Only Shakespeare has matched Martin McDonagh's record: to have four shows running concurrently on London's West End. This past summer McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan opened at The Royal National Theatre, while his Leenane Trilogy -The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara, and The Lonesome West … [Read more...] about Man of Aran
Master of the House
By Roger Doughty
January / February 1998
You wouldn't expect the artistic director of one of the country's most celebrated repertory theaters to make house calls, but if Dublin-born Joe Dowling, creative wizard in residence at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, thought his presence at a barbecue or bar mitzvah would put some people in his theater's seats, the folks throwing the party would be well advised to set … [Read more...] about Master of the House