Irish America
Irish America
In January of 1988, at 11 p.m., less than 20 hours before the Golden State Warriors professional basketball team were to play a home game, their flashy 6'7" forward, Chris Mullin, could most likely be found sitting in a local tavern gulping down one beer after another. Yes, he was fully aware that he had a game to play. Yes, he was fully aware that he should be sober instead … [Read more...] about High on Life
It’s a pity that Anon, the author of those words, had nothing to say about culture. Or Dublin and culture. And thus alleviated the predicament of this tortured culchie. (A culchie is one who was born outside the capital city.) The reason for the tortured state? It's the designation of Dublin, capital of the Republic of Ireland, as the European City of Culture for 1991. My … [Read more...] about Dear Old Dublin: European City of Culture
It's been a good year for Maura O'Connell. In addition to releasing her third solo album, "A Real Life Story," her tours are doing well. But significantly for Maura, she was also nominated for a Grammy and whatever you make of the Grammys the Oscars of the music business—her nomination is an accolade she treasures. "When I was nominated, I was just flabbergasted," she recalls. … [Read more...] about The Irish in Country | From County Clare to Country Nashville
The stretch limousine pulls up outside the backstage door at the Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, New York on a warm Sunday evening in early April. And Eddie Rabbitt, 6'3," skinny as a rail and clad in tight jeans and cowboy boots emerges. Fans lean over the rail to be kissed and have their hands shaken and Eddie smiles good-naturedly, signing autographs and joking to the … [Read more...] about An American Boy with a Touch of the Old Country
In the 1890's, Sarah Bernhart did a one-act play in San Quentin Prison's lower yard. That was it for showbiz until Waiting for Godot arrived in 1957, via the San Francisco Actors' Workshop. The captive audience included Rick Cluchey, who'd "never been in a theater, not even to rob one." Many acts later, he became the first non-Italian actor ever to win the Italian Drama … [Read more...] about Rick Cluchey: San Quentin and Samuel Beckett
