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
1997
January / February 1997
Ireland’s Banished Children
Many of the thousands of Irish babies adopted in the U.S. in the '40s, '50s, and '60s are reclaiming their roots. Emer Mullins reports. ℘℘℘ In a quiet convent outside Dublin, an elderly nun is in possession of a veritable Pandora's Box relating to one of the most controversial periods in Irish social history. Sr. Patricia Quinn used to work at St. Patrick's Guild in Dublin, a … [Read more...] about Ireland’s Banished Children
Roots: The O’Neills
By James G. Ryan
January/February 1997
There are several different septs of the O'Neills in Counties Clare (where the name is also spelt O'Nihill), Waterford and Carlow. The most famous of the O'Neills, however, are the O'Neills of Tyrone, in the province of Ulster. The name in Gaelic means descendant of Neil or Niall, which was, and still is, a popular personal name in Ireland. In the U.S. the name is sometimes … [Read more...] about Roots: The O’Neills