Thomas Keneally is one of the world's great writers, an Australian who has revived the literary tradition in a country better known for shrimps on the barbie than the strength of its intellectual tradition. Schindler's List was the book which made Keneally's worldwide reputation, but long before that he had solidified his Australian roots when he explored the differences … [Read more...] about Kenneally’s List
In This Issue 1997
A Daughter’s Journey to the Land of Her Father
By Jill Fergus
January/February 1997
It had been 20 years since my first and only visit to Ireland -- a month-long stay on my grandparents' farm in County Mayo with my mother, father, six siblings, two cousins, and a lot of cows. I was only six at the time, and in my mind Ireland remained a place where I could of play among haystacks twice my size, choose a pretty calf to be my own, buy Cadbury chocolate bars in … [Read more...] about A Daughter’s Journey to the Land of Her Father
Home on the Range with the O’Neills
By Jim Sullivan
January/February 1997
How two generations of O'Neills left their mark on California's history To the newly arriving immigrants of the mid-19th century, America was a "dream waiting to come true." Depending upon a combination of the industrial skills they possessed, the locales they chose to call home, the energy they exerted in trying to succeed, and simple chance luck, many eventually realized … [Read more...] about Home on the Range with the O’Neills
The First Word: A Great Deal Left to Do
Reflecting on the past year, it appears to be a great time to be Irish. And if we Irish are being perceived as "great" at the moment, our creative artists are largely responsible. Time magazine's "Best of 1996" picked Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes as the best nonfiction book of the year, and it's been on the best-seller list for weeks now. Remember that wonderful review that … [Read more...] about The First Word: A Great Deal Left to Do
This Holy Ground
Hundreds of unmarked and forgotten mass graves scattered across the Irish countryside are a silent testimony to a human tragedy of appalling and unimaginable dimensions. In the late spring of 1985, I asked a local historian in Westport, Co. Mayo, if he knew of any burial places associated with the ‘Famine.’ He brought me to the outskirts of the town and pointed to what … [Read more...] about This Holy Ground