The story of playwright Mary Chase and how the classic comedy Harvey was influenced by her Irish heritage. During summertime in cities and towns across the U.S., movies are screened outdoors. Scheduled for showing during the summer of 2016 at New York City’s Bryant Park Film Festival was a 1950 Academy Award-winning comedy based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play – Harvey, … [Read more...] about Mary Chase: The Woman Behind “Harvey”
Issues
Tim Kaine's Irish Roots
Just how Irish is the Democratic vice-presidential nominee? And what does Tim Kaine's family tree have in common with Downtown Abbey? ℘℘℘ No sooner had Hillary Clinton announced Tim Kaine as her running mate than articles on his roots began to appear – mostly about his inherent Irishness. There’s good reason for this, as he is of mostly Irish heritage – about 80 percent, with … [Read more...] about Tim Kaine's Irish Roots
Roots: That Keegan Fire
The family name Keegan developed from McEgan, the Anglicized form of MacAodhagain (pronounced mack-HYOO-gan), meaning “son of Aodhagain.” When familial prefixes fell into disuse during the submergence of the Irish language, the “c” of “Mac” was occasionally retained, later becoming the initial “K.” Aodhagain is a diminutive of Aodh, the name of an ancient pagan god of the … [Read more...] about Roots: That Keegan Fire
Sláinte! The Magic of Mushrooms
By Edythe Preet, Columnist
From fairy rings to the perfect Thanksgiving side dish, mushrooms have fascinated people since antiquity. ℘℘℘ Alert! Savvy insider grocery tip I’ve kept secret for several decades ahead! One crisp November afternoon while shopping for my Thanksgiving feast ingredients, I was selecting perfect mushrooms one by one from an overflowing display for my yummy wild rice side dish. I … [Read more...] about Sláinte! The Magic of Mushrooms
Review of Books
Books of Irish and Irish American interest. ℘℘℘ From Elsewhere By Ciaran Carson In a new collection of translations, Belfast poet Ciaran Carson tackles the late modern poetry of Jean Follain, a poet/lawyer of whom Carson refreshingly admits in the introduction he was unaware until the age of Internet, where he had to look him up. That two poets whose lives overlapped for a … [Read more...] about Review of Books