Regular readers have probably deduced I'm a boomer – a member of that generation born after WWII when the troops came home. Along with more than one hundred thousand other Americans, my Da spent the war years in Australia. In 1942 with Australian forces off fighting for England and Pearl Harbor a fresh victory, Japan advanced on Australia, intending to use it as a … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Irish Eats Down Under
2000
Book Reviews
The latest Irish books. ℘℘℘ Non-Fiction Often it's easy to think that the only real Irish cities in America are New York, Chicago, and Boston. But as author Pat O'Neill shows in the vibrant and revealing From the Bottom Up: The Story of the Irish in Kansas City, great Irish stories can be found all over the map. Kansas City's contribution to Irish-American history … [Read more...] about Book Reviews
Music: Rockin’ 15
The musicians who made being Irish "cool." The year was 1985. At roughly about the same time that U2's Bono was stage-diving into the massive crowd gathered for Live Aid, the charity concert organized by former Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof to help eradicate world hunger, the first issue of Irish America was being prepped to roll off the presses. It's been a wild 15 years for … [Read more...] about Music: Rockin’ 15
Film Forum: The Patriot
Round two of Mel Gibson's war with the British. ℘℘℘ Jack L. Warner once said he hated the kind of movie in which the hero "writes with a feather." Hollywood's aversion to the quaint details of a distant historical period helps account for the scarcity of films dealing with the American Revolutionary War. But reluctance to alienate Great Britain probably had more to do with … [Read more...] about Film Forum: The Patriot
Roots: The Curran Clan
The surname Curran is common in all four provinces in Ireland, but especially in County Donegal and throughout Ulster. The name is also prevalent in the south of Ireland, appearing many times in the County Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls of 1665-7. Currans showed up frequently as Waterford residents in the census of 1659. The 1901 census in Kerry counted 142 Curran or Currane … [Read more...] about Roots: The Curran Clan