The Flax Trust honored James Nesbitt, actor and chancellor of Ulster University, and John Kelly, a partner at Hanover Stone Partners LLC, at its 21 Club Banquet on October 7. It was the organization’s 25th annual New York event, and a packed audience were in attendance. The Trust, formed in Belfast in 1977, is committed to the reconciliation of a divided community through … [Read more...] about Flax Trust Honors James Nesbitt, John Kelly
Issues
The Eugene O’Neill Award
Patricia Harty, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Irish America, received the prestigious Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award from Irish American Writers and Artists, Inc., on October 19, on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the magazine. Luminaries who were in attendance included journalist and writer Pete Hamill and playwright John Patrick Shanley. Hamill … [Read more...] about The Eugene O’Neill Award
The Celtic Heart
of North America
For nine days in October, Cape Breton Island is home to a unique celebration of music and culture, with the finest of storytellers, musicians, and dancers from around the globe taking part in the festivities. John Kernaghan was there, awash in nostalgia.
The estrangement ran for more than 45 years, but when a vagrant Irish heart landed on the shores of Cape Breton, love was … [Read more...] about The Celtic Heart
of North America
Smoky The Lucky War Dog
The famous war dog who served in World War II, and Bill Wynne, the U.S. Army Air Force G.I. who adopted her. The first time Cpl. William Wynne saw Smoky, he found it hard to believe she was a dog. “She was as big as my G.I. shoe,” Wynne says. “She weighed all of about four pounds.” In addition, the animal was almost bald; someone had hacked off most of her fur in an attempt … [Read more...] about Smoky The Lucky War Dog
“Kathy White House”
Were she alive today, the odds are that Kathy Buckley would be as well-known as celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. Sharon Ní Chonchúir profiles the Irish woman who was head cook for three U.S. presidents. Kathy Buckley was born in Upper William Street in Listowel, Co. Kerry. She was the eldest of seven. Her father worked as a cooper in a workshop at the rear of … [Read more...] about “Kathy White House”