The battle over what to do with the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles may finally be coming to a close. Once a mecca for movie stars, European royalty and American presidents, the hotel, built on 23 acres on Wilshire Blvd., closed its doors in 1988. Its days of Hollywood glamour had been eclipsed by the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy was shot while making his … [Read more...] about The Future of the Ambassador Hotel
December January 2005 Issue
St. Mary of Sorrows
When you walk among the headstones of the hilltop graveyard of St. Mary of Sorrows, the first Catholic Church built in Fairfax Station,Virginia, you can't help but notice all the Irish names and the counties in Ireland where the deceased were born. Among the many, there's John Cashion (d. 1882) from Co. Clare, and Patrick Crowell (d. 1891) of Co. Roscommon. Each Memorial Day, … [Read more...] about St. Mary of Sorrows
The Importance of Being Oscar’s Mother
Appearing before an Irish-American group in St. Paul, Minnesota on St. Patrick's Day, 1882, Oscar Wilde was introduced not as a rising literary star, but as "the son of one of Ireland's noblest daughters -- of a daughter who in the troublous times of 1848 by the works of her pen and her noble example did much to keep the fire of patriotism burning brightly." Oscar may have been … [Read more...] about The Importance of Being Oscar’s Mother
Irish Director Honors Wilde
"Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer," Wilde once remarked. One hundred and fifty years after his birth, Wilde, dreamer or no, is not only forgiven but lionized. To mark the anniversary, Irish director Bill Hughes has assembled an array of stars for a film project in association with Art for Amnesty and Amnesty International. The program, … [Read more...] about Irish Director Honors Wilde
George Bernard Shaw in Boston
An exhibit displaying special items in the George Bernard Shaw collection will open at the Bums Library, Boston College, on Thursday, November 18, 2004, and will run through April 2005. The collection, acquired by the library in 2002, includes approximately 3,000 books and other printed items, such as many pamphlets written by Shaw, on all the controversial subjects of his … [Read more...] about George Bernard Shaw in Boston