Irish America
Irish America
As a young boy growing up in Dublin, Paul Costelloe, Ireland's most famous and successful fashion designer, was hungry. But not for food, "I was hungry for excitement," says Costelloe. "I painted. It was a way of getting my fantasies out." His fantasies, not surprisingly, were the antithesis of the romantic traditional images his clothes evoke today. "I painted crucifixes and … [Read more...] about Man of the Cloth
The Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky wrote of how strange it was to see trams running and everyday life proceeding normally although the Bolsheviks had taken over the government and begun a fundamental transformation of society. The Northern Ireland referendum on the Belfast Agreement had that "Mayakovsky vibe" too. We were in the King's Hall, on the fringe of Belfast, which … [Read more...] about Ulster Says Yes
Aimee Mullins has already packed more into her 22 years than many people twice or even three times her age have achieved. Olympic athlete, model, dean's list student, public speaker...she'll try anything at least once, and the fact that she is a double below-the-knee amputee is almost incidental. Born without fibulas, the long bones connecting the knees to the ankles, Mullins … [Read more...] about Chasing Aimee
Sometimes a story comes along that captivates even the most cynical of us journalists -- a notoriously hard-to-impress bunch at the best of times. Such a story is this issue's cover feature on Aimee Mullins, the daughter of an Irish immigrant father and American mother, who is fast becoming one of the nation's most inspirational stories. At the age of one, Aimee had to have … [Read more...] about The First Word: The World At Her Feet
In a recent issue of a prestigious American travel magazine, a well-known author wrote about the food of Ireland. After dining at one of the Republic's most illustrious hotels, he described his meal as "trendy" because the chef had used certain ingredients that were not, in his inflated opinion, Irish. What, I wondered, was this self-righteous writer talking about? Was he … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Hail to the Chef
