Irish America
Irish America
This is a song about George M. Cohan. CO-HAN, not Coen. And yet, when I was growing up in a factory town in Connecticut, I always thought he must have been this older Jewish guy. Jimmy Cagney called him "the greatest song and dance man of all time." "George M. Cohan," Cagney said, "is the real leader of our clan.” This is also a song about the history we have let slip through … [Read more...] about Yankee Doodle Irish
Christmas season is the time to eat, drink and be merry! Wherever one goes it seems, someone is slicing up a fruitcake or pouring a glass of holiday cheer. Surrounded as we are by Madison Avenue merchandising it's easy to forget that at this time of year we are participating in one of the oldest rituals known to humankind. Eons before the birth of the Child whom angels praised … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Christmas – Winter Solstice
My recent article on "That's Not an Irish Name" has prompted a lot of comment from readers with interesting names, and theories about their derivation. I must also acknowledge one mistake. Bill Delaney of Philadelphia corrected me on the name Delaney, which had been given as an example of the many Norman names with the prefix "De." Delaney, however, is of course, derived from … [Read more...] about Roots: Unusual Irish Names
In 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed the first national designation of a date for Thanksgiving. He named the fourth Thursday in November and Lincoln's choice remained undisturbed for 75 years. In 1938 President Roosevelt essayed moving the day back a few weeks. He gave as his reason the complaints of merchants that Christmas and Thanksgiving were too close and the public spent … [Read more...] about Hibernia
Ex-hostage Brian Keenan speaks to Jane Campbell about his book, his experiences, and his life post-imprisonment. In 1985 Brian Keenan, feeling that his life was stagnant, left his native Belfast for a teaching job in Beirut. That he both sought and found change and a challenge is an irony not lost on him, but the change — capture and imprisonment by fundamentalist Shi'ite … [Read more...] about To Hell and Back
