For years we have been waiting. Director John Ford, way back when, was interested. In the early '80s Robert Redford talked about doing it. At different times Kevin Costner and Tom Cruise were said to be scouting locations in Ireland. Even Mickey Rourke was talked about. Well, at last, almost 75 years after his death, we have our movie Michael Collins made by an Irish director … [Read more...] about Neil Jordan: The Man Who Made Michael Collins
Feature
Memoir of an Irish Childhood
By Pete Hamill
September October 1996
Author and raconteur Frank McCourt, in his autobiography, has "examined his ferocious childhood, walked around it, relived it, and with skill and care and generosity of heart, transformed it into a triumphant work of art," writes Pete Hamill. Frank McCourt has written a triumphant book. His memoir of an Irish childhood is in turns hilarious, heart-scalding, bitterly angry. … [Read more...] about Memoir of an Irish Childhood
Bottled Wild Geese
By Norman Mongan
September October 1996
Norman Mongan explores the contribution the Irish have made to the French wine-growing industry. Some may find it surprising that Irishmen were involved with wine-making well before Arthur Guinness invented his famous brew. Early 18th century Dublin imbibed vast quantities of fine claret, greater than the combined total of England and Scotland. The Irish "Wild Geese" who left … [Read more...] about Bottled Wild Geese
Movie Magic in the City of Tribes
By Laoise Mac Reamoinn
September October 1996
The eighth annual Galway Film Fleadh was a roaring success. With Ireland in the grip of film-making fever, and the notion of a thriving indigenous Irish film industry transformed from distant goal to distinct possibility, it's natural that the three major international film festivals in Dublin, Cork and Galway should reflect the recent boom. There's a good deal of friendly … [Read more...] about Movie Magic in the City of Tribes
A Man Called Beckett
By Patricia O'Haire
July/August 1996
He was a Nobel Prize winner, an Irishman who lived most of his life in a foreign country. A man who wrote in both English and French, he was one of this century's towering literary figures, turning out a total of 19 plays and several books. He was also a major influence on most contemporary playwrights, yet remained an enigma, a thoroughly private person, until his death in … [Read more...] about A Man Called Beckett