Edythe Preet writes about Ireland’s relationship with its signature crop. Back in first grade, my “see Spot run” primer told how Dick and Jane grew potatoes in their backyard and roasted them in an autumn leaf bonfire. If those kids can do that, I thought, so can I. Mom supplied a few spuds that had begun to sprout “eyes,” and we buried them in a skimpy strip of dirt edging … [Read more...] about Sláinte! All Hail the Humble Spud
Issues
Andrew Taylor’s Year of Nothing but Potatoes
Between January 1, 2016 and January 1 of this year, Andrew Taylor lost over 100 pounds, going from 335 to 212 lbs., on a diet of nothing but potatoes. “I haven’t weighed myself since January, but my clothes all fit the same,” he told me over the phone this past June. Irish America covered Taylor’s story earlier this year (February / March), but we thought we’d check back in … [Read more...] about Andrew Taylor’s Year of Nothing but Potatoes
It’s a Long Way to Tipperary
Tom Deignan examines the WWI marching tune. ℘℘℘ Fans of legendary actress Mary Tyler Moore – who died in January at the age of 80 – may recall the final episode of the groundbreaking Mary Tyler Moore Show, which aired 40 years ago, in 1977. The TV news team at the center of the show had just wrapped up their own final episode. They hug and cry but, in the final scene, walk out … [Read more...] about It’s a Long Way to Tipperary
Sons of Our Shakespeare
The tragic story of Eugene O’Neill’s sons, both of whom died by suicide. A four-time Pulitzer Prize winner and 1936 Nobel laureate, playwright Eugene O’Neill has reigned as the undisputed Irish American heavyweight champion of drama. His private life, however, was far less enviable than his career trajectory. At age 23, while living in a rooming house on Manhattan’s Fulton … [Read more...] about Sons of Our Shakespeare
The Irish and Suicide
According to a 2017 report by UNICEF, Ireland has the fourth highest rate of teen suicide of E.U. or O.E.C.D. nations. Furthermore, Ireland has Europe’s highest rate of suicide among girls. “While the overall number of people dying by suicide has declined,” James Doorley, National Youth Council of Ireland deputy director, notes, “there has been an increase among young men. … [Read more...] about The Irish and Suicide