Looking back over the year there are few images that stand out more in my mind than that of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa hugging after McGwire's record-tying home run. In a year beset with political scandals it was such a relief to watch McGwire and Sosa. You couldn't ask for two guys with more class - one an Irish American, the other an immigrant from the Dominican … [Read more...] about The First Word: Field of Dreams
First Word
An End to Shame?
Thomas Keneally's latest book The Great Shame should be in every Irish household, and it should be read, all 700 or so pages of it, by anyone with an interest in the history of Ireland. It is a great book, wonderfully written by the Irish Australian author of Schindler's List. Beginning with the tale of Hugh Larkin, a twenty-four-year old rebel transported for life in 1833, … [Read more...] about An End to Shame?
A Living Memorial
"Pray for the dead, but fight like hell for the living." - Mother Jones This special issue on the Great Hunger is an effort to tell the story of what happened in Ireland and explore more fully the story of those who survived the crossing and began a new life in America. While there’s no denying the darkness of the story, the colossal loss of life, the fractured families, the … [Read more...] about A Living Memorial
Trailblazers Past & Present
By Patricia Harty
"We are the music makers. We are the dreamers of dreams....Yet we are the movers and shakers of the world forever it seems.” – Ode by Arthur O’Shaughnessy Arthur O’Shaughnessy is known for originating the line “movers and shakers,” and this issue of Irish America is full of both. There is something for everyone. Our genealogical detective Megan Smolenyak tracks … [Read more...] about Trailblazers Past & Present
The First Word: ‘Tis the Season of Giving
By Patricia Harty
"Ireland wasn't as wealthy as it is today. But there was always a culture of giving back, and that’s something that was ingrained in me from the time I was a kid.” - Ronan Ryan Happy Christmas to all our readers receiving this issue in the mail, it should be arriving in your mailboxes just in time. And congratulations to all our Wall Street 50 honorees who we will be … [Read more...] about The First Word: ‘Tis the Season of Giving