Five years after the tragic loss of their mother and sister, the five Murray daughters and their father, Sean, continue to thrive. Tie-dyed sheets line the back of a Chevy Chase classroom where a group of preteen girls sit discussing some of the weightier topics of adolescent life: Why do we feel the need to conform? Is it harder to stick up for ourselves or for someone else? … [Read more...] about The Girls Are Alright
Issues
John Duddy: Actor
Middleweight champion John Duddy on hanging up his gloves. In 2011, John Duddy retired from boxing. Living in New York, the popular Derry native had compiled a 29-and-2 record with 18 knockouts. He’d experienced the thrill of fighting before cheering crowds in Madison Square Garden and also in his beloved Ireland. Now, at age 35, Duddy is pursuing a new career. He wants to … [Read more...] about John Duddy: Actor
Reflections in Bere Island
A community of healers gathers for a retreat on the role of spirituality in healing. Bere Island is a small island a mile off the southwest coast of West Cork. Twice as long as it is wide and covering an area of about 20 square miles, it has a population of slightly over 200 people. You can travel to Bere Island by one of two ferries and this in itself is an experience, as the … [Read more...] about Reflections in Bere Island
What Are You Like? Mary Pat Kelly
Author Mary Pat Kelly weaves historical characters such as Maud Gonne, William Butler Yeats, Countess Markievicz, Michael Collins, and Eamon de Valera, as well as Gabrielle Chanel, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and Nora Barnacle, into her new novel Of Irish Blood, a vivid and compelling story inspired by the life of her great-aunt, and the sequel to her best-selling and … [Read more...] about What Are You Like? Mary Pat Kelly
Gemma Hayes:
Crowd-sourcing Her Sound
The Irish musician, singer-songwriter, and composer Gemma Hayes on making music her way.
I’ve never done an interview with a baby before,” says an apologetic Gemma Hayes who has just run off to comfort her crying son. One-year-old Max hasn’t take kindly to being left with the nanny while his mum sits down to talk about her new album.
“Oh yeah, the album,” she begins … [Read more...] about Gemma Hayes:
Crowd-sourcing Her Sound