Melissa McCarthy is taking Hollywood by storm in her own signature manner. The star of Mike & Molly and Bridesmaids talks to Patricia Danaher about her Irish roots, family and road to fame. There is no one more amazed than Melissa McCarthy at where she is today. “Overnight success” was 22 years in the making for the Chicago-born actress who was nominated for a 2012 Oscar … [Read more...] about Melissa McCarthy: The Scene Stealer Goes Center Stage
Issues
Believe in Boston: Reflections on the Boston Marathon
Following the unspeakable tragedy, the city of Boston showed amazing courage and resilience. Michael Quinlin writes of how the race served as an inspiration from the beginning. To prepare for the Boston Marathon you must approach it as a pilgrimage, a personal journey into your interior, a promise you make to yourself that you will triumph through sheer endurance and tenacity, … [Read more...] about Believe in Boston: Reflections on the Boston Marathon
Mary Lavin’s American Roots
In the male-dominated field of Irish writers, Mary Lavin was a pioneer. Daphne Wolf examines Lavin’s American roots and the influence they may have had on her work and spirit. Cleaning out old books from my parents’ house, I salvaged a yellowed paperback titled Irish Short Stories and Tales (with a price tag of 35¢). Inside were stories by James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, … [Read more...] about Mary Lavin’s American Roots
What Are You Like? Miss America Mallory Hagan
A native of Opelika, Alabama, Mallory Hagan moved to Brooklyn, New York in 2008, at the age of 19, with $1,000 and big ambitions. While studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she won a succession of beauty pageants at the city and state level: she was Miss Brooklyn 2010, Miss Manhattan 2011, Miss New York City 2012 and Miss New York 2012. On January 12, she was … [Read more...] about What Are You Like? Miss America Mallory Hagan
The Collins Clan
Collins, also sometimes found as Cullane or O’Cullane, is one of the most common surnames in Munster. It originates from the sept of Ó Coileáin, which extended from County Cork to south Limerick. The name itself is thought to come from the Irish coileán, meaning a whelp or a young dog. In the 13th century, the Ó Coileáins were chased southward into Cork after losing a war with … [Read more...] about The Collins Clan