Irish America

Irish America

In This Issue 1996

Clarke’s Window Finds a Place in the Sun

By Charlene Komar and Greg Storey

March/April 1996

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The Geneva Window, created by Harry Clarke, Ireland's greatest stained-glass artist, finds a home in Miami. The Countess Cathleen is breathtaking, her brocaded gown glowing with the light of a million rubies. Joxer Daley rubs his hands together as he gazes shrewdly beyond us, a bottle of stout set next to the red horn of the victrola behind him. The Western world's notorious … [Read more...] about Clarke’s Window Finds a Place in the Sun

The Man from Hope

By Niall O’Dowd, Founding Publisher
March/April 1996

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Irish American of the Year, 1996 It was an evening that dreams were made of, a crystal clear Belfast night, the winter air crackling with anticipation. On the sound stage adjacent to City Hall, Van Morrison was blasting out his There'll Be Days Like This, the unofficial anthem of the peace. A huge and enthusiastic crowd, later numbered at 100,000 was rocking along to the … [Read more...] about The Man from Hope

The First Word: A Whisper of Hope in Northern Ireland 

By Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief
March/April 1996

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There is an absence of joy so far this St. Patrick's Day season but not of hope. The end of the IRA cease-fire on February 9 and the subsequent bombings in London have cast a shadow over the celebrations of our Irish heritage, but all is not lost. Moves afoot as we went to press could certainly help change this gloomy scenario. By all accounts President Clinton is playing a … [Read more...] about The First Word: A Whisper of Hope in Northern Ireland 

Classically Irish

By Liz Ireland

January/February 1996

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Liz Ireland profiles Ireland's classical composer Patrick Cassidy. Mention Irish classical music to the average American academic, and you will probably be greeted with the arch query: "Is there any such thing?"  There is now. Enter Patrick Cassidy, the Co. Mayo native whose debut oratorio The Children of Lir, released in the U.S. on Celtic Heartbeat Records, not only … [Read more...] about Classically Irish

A Touch of Friel

By Mary Pat Kelly

January/February 1996

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Brian Friel himself cast Catherine Byrne as Chrissy in Dancing at Lughnasa after watching an Abbey Theatre dress rehearsal of his Aristocrats in which Byrne played clare. She talked of that moment during a pause in rehearsal for Molly Sweeney in which she plays the title role.  "He didn't know me," Catherine Byrne recalls, "and when I heard he was coming I thought, what's he … [Read more...] about A Touch of Friel