In January, actress Saoirse Ronan stopped by the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She was there to promote her movie Brooklyn, but the conversation moved into Ronan teaching Colbert (whose ancestry is 15/16 Irish) both how to speak with an Irish accent and how to pronounce traditional Irish names – something that has no doubt been a problem since at least the eighth century, … [Read more...] about A Guide to Pronouncing
Irish Names
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A Guide to Pronouncing
Tourism Ireland Capitalizes on Skellig Michael’s Star Wars Cameo
A long time ago, on an island six miles off the Irish coast, a Christian monastery was built on a place called Skellig Michael sometime between the 6th and 8th century. Now, the island and the interest it captures has been given a boost in popularity thanks to its cameo appearance in the most recent installment of Star Wars. J.J. Abrams, the director of Star Wars: The Force … [Read more...] about Tourism Ireland Capitalizes on Skellig Michael’s Star Wars Cameo
A Lavender and Green Parade for NYC
The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year added two first-time marchers to the roster: The Lavender and Green Alliance, a group of LGBT Irish, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had boycotted the parade since he first took office until it became inclusive for gay and lesbian groups. Brendan Fay, who founded this Irish LGBT organization in 1994, made … [Read more...] about A Lavender and Green Parade for NYC
Surprising Irish Links in NYC’s Mayoral Mansion
Built between 1799 and 1809 by Ezra Weeks, Gracie Mansion is the mayoral residence in New York, and it’s likely that Irish builders, artisans, and tradespeople were numerous among the construction team, and the ballroom’s chandelier is Irish crystal, donated to the house by the descendants of William Russell Grace, the city’s first Catholic mayor, who was born in 1832 in County … [Read more...] about Surprising Irish Links in NYC’s Mayoral Mansion
O’Reilly’s Tattoo Machine:
Fine Art for the Masses
More than 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo. The vast lot of them got inked by way of an electric tattoo machine. And chances are they have no idea who invented the electric tattoo machine: Samuel O’Reilly.
His rambunctious, enigmatic life began in May 1854 in Waterbury, Connecticut. Both his parents were Irish immigrants, and he was the oldest of five children. At … [Read more...] about O’Reilly’s Tattoo Machine:
Fine Art for the Masses