An Evening with Edna O'Brien at NYU's Glucksman Ireland House Edna O’Brien threw down the gauntlet straight away. In discussing her latest collection, Saints and Sinners, at Glucksman Ireland House on May 31, she explained that Miss Gilhooley, the romantic librarian in the story “Send My Roots Rain,” had tried to organize literary evenings but found that “people only came … [Read more...] about A Night for Saints and Sinners
Issues
Sláinte: Oysters Galore
Edythe Preet explores the history of Ireland's favorite bivalve, from Mesolithic times to today's Galways Oyster Festival. Opening an oyster can be a daunting task. Those little critters clamp their shells shut tight as a bank vault and don’t take kindly to being pried open with a sharp blade. Not only that, but wielding an oyster knife is an easy way to slice off a thumb, … [Read more...] about Sláinte: Oysters Galore
Roots: The Gleeson Clan
The surnames Gleeson and Gleason developed from the Irish name O Glasain, which originated in East County Cork. The Gaelic prefix “O” means male descendant of, and Glasain derives from “glas,” literally meaning “green” in the sense of inexperience as opposed to the color. There are many variations of the name, including Gleason, Glisane, Glison, Glyssane, O’Gleasane and … [Read more...] about Roots: The Gleeson Clan
Those We Lost: Recent Passings in the Irish-American Community
William Craig 1924-2011 William Craig, a controversial political leader from Northern Ireland who founded the Ulster Vanguard, died April 25 at the age of 86. Craig’s political career ended in 1979 but his influence on Northern Ireland’s politics will not soon be forgotten. While studying to become a solicitor at Queen’s University in Belfast, Craig founded the Unionist … [Read more...] about Those We Lost: Recent Passings in the Irish-American Community
Photo Album: She Liked Nice Things
Family photographs from Irish America readers. In the family room of my childhood home there was a large wall covered with photographs – vintage tintypes and black-and-whites were set among school portraits of the kids and snapshots from family vacations. My grandma Agnes and I would sit in that room for hours, playing a little game: I pointed to an old picture and she … [Read more...] about Photo Album: She Liked Nice Things