Irish America

April May 2008 Issue

Emotional Return to Belfast for Liam Neeson

By Mary Egan
April / May 2008

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New York-based movie star Liam Neeson flew home to Northern Ireland in January to take part in the final curtain call at Belfast’s historic Lyric Players Theatre on the banks of the River Lagan which is closing to make way for a $30 million redevelopment. Liam’s appearance on stage earned him a standing ovation from a delighted capacity crowd. Afterwards he went backstage to … [Read more...] about Emotional Return to Belfast for Liam Neeson

Oscar joy for Once and Day-Lewis

By Declan O'Kelly, Assistant Editor
April / May 2008

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It was a victorious night for the Irish independent movie Once, as its stars and songwriters Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova picked up an Oscar for best original song for “Falling Slowly” at the ceremony held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles on February 24.  It was the first nomination and win for both, and Hansard could hardly believe what was happening as he accepted the … [Read more...] about Oscar joy for Once and Day-Lewis

The Greening of Silicon Valley

By Chris Ryan, Contributor
April / May 2008

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Scan the upper ranks of some of Silicon Valley’s top technology powerhouses and you’ll find them strewn with Irish names like gorse on a Kerry hillside.  These executives have helped pick their companies up from the dot-com bust and already are developing the next phase of the Internet era, the socially connective technologies known as Web 2.0.  But even as they help to build … [Read more...] about The Greening of Silicon Valley

Please Treasure Our History

By Cormac MacConnell
April / May 2008

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Many of you out there in the diaspora are in possession of treasures of our history which we here at home either carelessly lost or callously threw away into the footprints of the Celtic Tiger. That reality was hammered home to me an hour ago. I was in my neighbor Jimmy’s house and his Limerick mother was there. Her eyes were glowing as she showed me an aerial photo of the … [Read more...] about Please Treasure Our History

The Chieftain of Endurance

By ian Worpole, Contributor
April / May 2008

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With St. Patrick’s season came the mighty Chieftains and their annual tour of the U.S., which began in Albuquerque in February and ended up at Carnegie Hall on March 17.  What to say about these titans? This year’s set of gigs, titled “Celtic-Scottish Connections,” marked 34 years of touring in this country alone; they have recorded 44 albums, many in collaboration with the … [Read more...] about The Chieftain of Endurance