Irish America
Irish America
Twenty-two years in the music business, three previous songs in Ireland's National Song Contest and suddenly it was all happening for Jimmy Walsh, who kept on plugging until he made it. Walsh's song "In Your Eyes" won the Eurovision Song Contest, the biggest competition of its kind in Europe which is broadcast live via satellite. Over three hundred million people watched Niamh … [Read more...] about Blazes Boylan
Election fever in the North of Ireland over the last few months was more like a head cold than a serious illness. It coughed and sighed for a while, but the few sneezes as it dissipated marked for some their political demise while for others it just helped clear out the system. The Local Government Elections in Northern Ireland are held every four years in 26 council areas. … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland Elections: Not Quite What They Seem
CONSERVATIVE ATTITUDES AND DEAD FRIENDS Edel and Pamela sit smoking in the kitchen talking freely about their friends and Pamela's two brothers who have all died of AIDS. Name after name is recited with anecdotal remarks interspersed about "his poor mother" or "didn't he used to live on St. Mary's Row." Then a young boy, as sweet as a jar of cookies and angelically polite, … [Read more...] about When Death Comes Calling
On her recent visit to the United States President Mary Robinson (49) became for Irish Americans the embodiment of a new Ireland, an Ireland in which the Irish diaspora – those 70 million worldwide who can trace their roots to the Emerald Isle – were once again welcome. Perhaps it happened as she gave her magnificent speech at Ellis Island, commemorating the first immigrant to … [Read more...] about The Vision of Mary Robinson
June 6, 1993. The faces in the crowd reflect the divides that Robert F. Kennedy managed to cross in his short life, as black and white, rich and poor, government officials and civil rights leaders stand together to pay homage and join together in a "Mass for Courage and Reconciliation," on this the 25th anniversary of his death. There are many Irish faces, of course, among the … [Read more...] about A Time for Courage and Reconciliation
