From the coal mines to Hollywood, the Pennsylvania Irish have shaped America for over three centuries. William Penn may have been a trailblazer when it came to American freedom and religious tolerance. But in the eyes of his father, he was a scandalous disappointment. Penn’s father (also William) served under Cromwell in Munster and he took part in the 1646 siege of Bunratty … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania’s Irish
2008
Conlon’s American Dream
By Abdon M. Pallasch
December / January 2008
December / January 2008
Just 17 years ago at age 20, Sean Conlon arrived in this country and stayed in the basement of a cousin who put him to work as a custodian of some rental properties the cousin owned. Now at 38, he is a rising star in the real estate/development business in Chicago. "I love watching jets,” Sean Conlon says, following a white line down the blue Chicago sky on a cool October … [Read more...] about Conlon’s American Dream
Review of Books
Recommended In October, Dublin-born novelist and short story writer Anne Enright won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction with her latest novel The Gathering. The book takes a close look at how the past haunts one large Irish family. The Hegartys at the center of Enright’s tale are shaken when son Liam (one of nine Hegarty children) commits suicide while living in England. … [Read more...] about Review of Books
The Unbearable Lightness of Kevin Bruen
By Darina Molloy
December / January 2008
December / January 2008
It’s no exaggeration to say that Ken Bruen could have stepped from the pages of one of his own novels. In fact if he didn’t already exist, he would have had to make himself up. Not that Bruen, a long-established crime writer, needs any help with the plots of his darkly gripping novels. But his life story is a page-turner in its own right. “You couldn’t make it up,” he notes … [Read more...] about The Unbearable Lightness of Kevin Bruen
Roots: The Proud History of the Reidy Clan
By Maeve Molly, Contributor
December / January 2008
December / January 2008
The Reidy family surname (also Reedy, Riedy, Reid, and O’Reidy) is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic name Ó Riada. The family was part of the Dalcassian sept and in early Gaelic times lived in the southwest of Ireland, in the Munster counties of Clare and Kerry. The Ó Riadas can claim lineage to the legendary King Oiloill Olum, who was Monarch of Munster in the third … [Read more...] about Roots: The Proud History of the Reidy Clan