Irish America

Irish America

April May 2016 Issue

The Little Red Chairs:
A Novel by Edna O’Brien

By Rosemary Rogers, Contributor
April / May 2016

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Edna O’Brien’s acclaimed new novel, her first in a decade, is reviewed. Celts have always believed in an invisible spirit world running parallel to our visible world, a mystical universe that has given Irish storytellers a rich folklore of the supernatural. From this tradition comes the oft-told story (undoubtedly a cautionary tale for impressionable girls) of a handsome … [Read more...] about

The Little Red Chairs:
A Novel by Edna O’Brien

Shane O’Neill Was “The Grand Disturber” of Elizabethan Ireland

By Fionnula Flanagan, Contributor
April / May 2016

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Brian Mallon’s epic novel chronicling the life of Shane O’Neill, the 16th century Irish chieftain, is reviewed by Fionnula Flanagan. ℘℘℘ Here is the great dark cloak of Irish Elizabethan history spread out before us. Its threads are spun from loyalty, intrigue, betrayal, lust, terror, thievery, and extraordinary courage, ferocity in battle, savagery in revenge, and passion in … [Read more...] about Shane O’Neill Was “The Grand Disturber” of Elizabethan Ireland

Time to Say Goodbye to the Irish National Anthem?

By Christine Kinealy, Contributor
April / May 2016

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Historian Christine Kinealy wonders if the Irish national anthem is still relevant today. ℘℘℘ Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland, Some have come from a land beyond the wave, Sworn to be free … Ninety years ago, as the newly created Free State was coming to terms with ten years of turmoil, which included war, civil war and partition, it simultaneously was trying … [Read more...] about Time to Say Goodbye to the Irish National Anthem?