Ed: This post originally appeared in the February / March issue of Irish America after Bridget English was sent on assignment to attend the Yeats International Summer School the previous summer. The Yeats summer school is now in its 56th year and still accepting applications. Click here for more information or apply. For almost fifty years now, Sligo has played host to the … [Read more...] about The Magic of Yeats Country Lives On
Issues
Innocence Shattered By Kennedy’s Assassination
By Michael C. Finnegan
February / March 2008
February / March 2008
“Wish I’d been a kid back then.” That’s my children’s usual reaction after listening to story swapping at family gatherings. “Then” was the 1960s. While they think of tie-dyed shirts, rock-’n’-roll and sit-ins, I remember before all that – to a time some people called Camelot – a brief shining moment when America charged headlong into the future but also firmly … [Read more...] about Innocence Shattered By Kennedy’s Assassination
She Writes What She Knows: Alice McDermott
More than any other writer over the past quarter century, Alice McDermott has chronicled the joys and tragedies of Irish-American families. Alice McDermott’s novels explore love, loss, faith and family in the world of Irish Catholics living in post-World War II suburban Long Island, New York, where the author grew up. Charming Billy tells the story of Billy Lynch, his lost … [Read more...] about She Writes What She Knows: Alice McDermott
Review of Books
Irish Century Series One of the most ambitious projects in recent Irish fiction will be completed when Morgan Llywelyn’s 1999: A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace is published in February. ($24.95 / 400 pages / Forge). This is the fifth and final entry in Llywelyn’s Irish Century series, in which the prolific author traces the history of 20th-century Ireland … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Ceol Na nGael
By Ian Worpole, Contributor
February / March 2008
February / March 2008
About ten years ago I stumbled into the traditional Irish music scene and life has never been quite the same. My first article for this magazine was about that experience, but this time around I’d like to delve into the truly arcane world of The Fleadh Choil (literally, Festival of Music), or The All-Ireland Championships (AIC). Now, if you’ve ever been to any Irish session, … [Read more...] about Ceol Na nGael