There is an absence of joy so far this St. Patrick's Day season but not of hope. The end of the IRA cease-fire on February 9 and the subsequent bombings in London have cast a shadow over the celebrations of our Irish heritage, but all is not lost. Moves afoot as we went to press could certainly help change this gloomy scenario. By all accounts President Clinton is playing a … [Read more...] about The First Word: A Whisper of Hope in Northern Ireland
Issues
Classically Irish
By Liz Ireland
January/February 1996
Liz Ireland profiles Ireland's classical composer Patrick Cassidy. Mention Irish classical music to the average American academic, and you will probably be greeted with the arch query: "Is there any such thing?" There is now. Enter Patrick Cassidy, the Co. Mayo native whose debut oratorio The Children of Lir, released in the U.S. on Celtic Heartbeat Records, not only … [Read more...] about Classically Irish
A Touch of Friel
By Mary Pat Kelly
January/February 1996
Brian Friel himself cast Catherine Byrne as Chrissy in Dancing at Lughnasa after watching an Abbey Theatre dress rehearsal of his Aristocrats in which Byrne played clare. She talked of that moment during a pause in rehearsal for Molly Sweeney in which she plays the title role. "He didn't know me," Catherine Byrne recalls, "and when I heard he was coming I thought, what's he … [Read more...] about A Touch of Friel
Ireland’s Groovy Arts Minister
By Colin Lacey
January/February 1996
Colin Lacey talks to Michael D. Higgins (recently dubbed by British Vogue as the world's grooviest arts minister) about the renaissance of the Irish film industry. The Crying Game: My Left Foot; Braveheart; The Playboys; The Commitments; The Snapper; Circle of Friends; Window's Peak; The Run of the Country; Into the West; Frankie Starlight - if you haven't been closely … [Read more...] about Ireland’s Groovy Arts Minister
The Irish and Abolition
By Robin Bardovick
January/February 1996
Observations of African-American and Irish Abolitionists During his career, O'Connell was elected Mayor of Dublin and a member of the British Parliament. However, he was refused his seat in the House of Commons because the law prohibited Catholics from serving in government. The British finally passed the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829, thereby seating him in Parliament in … [Read more...] about The Irish and Abolition