During his St. Patrick’s Day visit to the White House, Taoiseach Enda Kenny presented President Obama with an official Certificate of Irish Heritage. These certificates, which all members of the Irish diaspora with at least one relative born in Ireland are welcome to apply for, recognize the recipients’ Irish ancestors – in this case, Obama’s maternal … [Read more...] about Certificate of Irish Heritage for Obama
Issues
Irish Eye on Hollywood
1. The girl with the dragon tattoo is going to become the girl with the Irish accent. Rooney Mara – star of the smash hit horror flick based on Stieg Larsson’s trilogy of novels – is slated to star in a big-screen adaptation of Colm Toibin’s best-selling novel Brooklyn. The screenplay will be written by acclaimed British novelist Nick Hornby, whose novels include High Fidelity … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood
John Cusack on Poe and The Raven
Exploring a character forced to grapple with inner demons is a familiar task for actor John Cusack, who has portrayed quite a few anguished souls throughout his versatile film career. From his role as an existentially suffering puppeteer in Charlie Kaufman’s absurdist Being John Malkovich to his – not one but two – turns at playing troubled assassins (first in Grosse Pointe … [Read more...] about John Cusack on Poe and The Raven
Economics, Family Style at Glucksman Ireland House
The third annual Who Do We Think We Are? day-long program, presented and organized by Glucksman Ireland House at New York University, took place on Saturday, April 21. This year, the theme was Economics, Family-Style, exploring the Irish and Irish-American family. Throughout the day, prominent writers, artists and scholars explored and discussed how finances influenced family … [Read more...] about Economics, Family Style at Glucksman Ireland House
The Naming of Winged Fist Way
A stretch of 43rd Street and 48th Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens, received a second name on March 10. Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, it became Winged Fist Way, in honor of the Irish American Athletic Club. The I-AAC, whose members were known as The Winged Fists, thrived in Sunnyside at the beginning of the 20th century as one of New York’s first inclusive, multicultural … [Read more...] about The Naming of Winged Fist Way