She says she's jetlagged, that her head feels as if an arrow is piercing both temples, but Fiona Shaw is the picture of vitality. She strides into the lobby of the Lombardy Hotel in New York City, her long brown coat swinging behind her. The hair that often appears close cropped in publicity photos is a little longer now, sweeping back from her face in soft brown waves. She's … [Read more...] about Fiona Shaw: A Modern Classic
June / July 2000
Endurance: A compelling story of survival that hinged on the leadership of one man
Frank Wild, the second in command, made his way through the ship as its planks buckled and heaved against the mounting pressure. Occasionally a loud crack rang out like a gunshot as the timber snapped under the strain. He worked his way from the crew's quarters to the engine room and down to the propeller shaftway where two crewmembers were trying to reinforce a cofferdam that … [Read more...] about Endurance: A compelling story of survival that hinged on the leadership of one man
Bloody Sunday’s Legacy
By Brian Dooley
June / July 2000
On January 30, 1972 the British Army opened fire on civil rights marchers in Derry. Thirteen people were killed and 14 others were seriously injured. Note: This story was filed in March, 2000 when a new inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings, the Saville Inquiry was launched. Expected to last two years, it was 12 years before a report was filed. The wounded survivors … [Read more...] about Bloody Sunday’s Legacy
The First Word: Payback Time
The Ireland I grew up in was doubtful of its own identity. The school curriculum reflected a post-colonial lack of confidence and ignored Irish poets and prose writers in favor of English scribes. While I'm grateful for the grounding I was given in Shakespeare and the like, I mourn the fact that the words of Yeats will never come trippingly off the tongue like say, the poems … [Read more...] about The First Word: Payback Time