How the tradition of hospitality to strangers has its roots in an ancient law. ℘℘℘ For more than a thousand years Ireland was regulated by the Brehon Laws. Here are a few of my favorite examples. If a person was stung by one of a beekeeper’s bees, the injured party was owed a portion of the hive’s honey. Yum! If a woman’s husband went off wandering and stayed away too long, the … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Land of a Thousand Welcomes
Issues
Music Reviews
CONTEMPORARY: Glen Hansard • Rhythm and Repose It is almost hard to believe that, with decades of successful records, an Oscar and a Tony, it was only this year that Glen Hansard (of Once fame) released his first solo album. Rhythm and Repose is an earnest and vivid collection from the Irish songwriter known for his work with bands The Frames and The Swell Season. Given … [Read more...] about Music Reviews
Review of Books
Recently published books of Irish and Irish-American interest. Recommended: Summer Mysteries The Lost Years Mary Higgins Clark’s latest novel, The Lost Years, is a mystery-suspense exploring the topics of brain-altering illness (a Higgins Clark favorite) and Biblical scholasticism (a new one). The story centers around the shooting and death of a retired professor. A letter, … [Read more...] about Review of Books
The Last Word: A Handshake on the Road to Reconciliation
The day after his groundbreaking handshake with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness delivered the following speech (which has been condensed for publication) at a Sinn Féin event in Westminster. Though he describes the handshake as political, highly significant and very symbolic, McGuinness doesn’t believe that the journey to … [Read more...] about The Last Word: A Handshake on the Road to Reconciliation
Family Album:
Denny-Fitz and Hanna
Our grandfather Dennis O’Connor was born in 1864 near the town of Abbeyfeale, in County Limerick. He and his 10 siblings were raised in a four-room cottage on a small farm bordering the River Feale. Dennis and his younger brother Michael immigrated to America in 1888. They stepped off a Rock Island freight train near the small town of Grayson, Missouri to begin their lives in … [Read more...] about Family Album:
Denny-Fitz and Hanna