It's been 15 years since the Hunger Strikes in Ireland left ten men dead and changed the course of Northern Irish politics. Now a new movie gives voice to the suffering of the mothers whose sons died on hunger strike. Jim Dwyer talks to filmmaker Terry George about his latest work, Some Mother's Son. It's been 15 years since the Hunger Strikes in Ireland left ten men dead and … [Read more...] about Sons & Mothers
May June 1996 Issue
Roots: The O’Sullivans Past & Present
The O'Sullivan Clan of Munster has produced fine military leaders, sporting heroes, politicians, movie stars, songwriters, and even a space walker, as the following history of one of the most popular Irish names illustrates.The O'Sullivans or Sullivans are one of the most populous of the Munster families. In Irish O'Sullivan is O'Súileabháin. And there is no doubt that origin … [Read more...] about Roots: The O’Sullivans Past & Present
Renewing the Spirit
The sound of bagpipes in the distance drifts in through the open window of the yellow cab as I head down Broadway to New York University. It's the first real spring day after a long winter and the bagpipes seem to herald the return of warmer weather, and the renewal of the spirit that spring brings. How does one express the effect that that ancient sound has when it reaches … [Read more...] about Renewing the Spirit
Seamus Heaney
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Lightenings viiiThe animlas say: when the monks of Clonmacnoise
Were all at prayers inside the oratory
a ship appeared above them in the air.
The anchor dragged along behind so deep
It hooked itself into the altar rails
An then, as the big hull rocked to a standstill.
A crewman shinned and grappled down a rope
And struggled to release it. But in vain.
'This man can't bear our … [Read more...] about Seamus Heaney
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Sláinte: The Mighty Salmon
While health practitioners now praise the protein and amino acids provided by salmon, it has long had its place in Irish history simply because it is such good eating. Every year more than 180,000 people visit Ireland expressly to engage in an activity that has been one of the island’s top drawing cards since the first intrepid hunter-gatherers arrived over 7,000 years ago: … [Read more...] about Sláinte: The Mighty Salmon