In his 2002 memoir Merv: Making the Good Life Last, show business legend Merv Griffin recalled the moment when it seemed he’d finally made it in the entertainment world. People started looking at him differently, in good ways and bad. His father’s reaction, however, was what fascinated Griffin. “You did good, buddy, keep it up,” Griffin recalled his dad saying. “In the manner … [Read more...] about A Legend Who Loved Ireland
Issues
Genius and a Gent: Bill Walsh Remembered
When Bill Walsh took over the head coaching job of the San Francisco 49ers in the late 1970s, the team was among the worst in the National Football League. In just a few years, Walsh transformed them into the dominant franchise of the 1980s and early 1990s. No wonder Walsh – who died at the age of 75 in late July – came to be called “the genius.” The Irish-American coach, … [Read more...] about Genius and a Gent: Bill Walsh Remembered
The First Family of Irish America
Back in July, Bronx Irish Catholic Edwin F. O’Brien, after a 40-year career as a priest, military chaplain and aide to two cardinals, was named the new Archbishop of Baltimore. The archdiocese O’Brien will lead numbers more than a half-million Catholics, with 200 priests, five Catholic hospitals, two seminaries and 151 parishes, including two cathedrals, The Baltimore Sun … [Read more...] about The First Family of Irish America
A Rockaway Welcome for Wounded Warriors
By Tara Stackpole
October / November 2007
October / November 2007
It could be a scene unfolding in any small town in America, grateful people welcoming home war heroes. Not too common anymore, except in Rockaway Beach, New York, where it has become an annual event. We are not talking about ordinary soldiers, although ordinary could not describe any soldier during wartime. The soldiers in this parade have sacrificed much and Rockaway has … [Read more...] about A Rockaway Welcome for Wounded Warriors
Chuck Feeney: The Billionaire Who Wasn’t
The Billionaire Who Wasn’t by Conor O’Clery tells the story of Chuck Feeney, a young Irish-American who became rich beyond his dreams, only to give it all away through his fund Atlantic Philanthropies. The following excerpt opens just after Feeney graduated from Cornell College in 1965 with a degree in hotel administration. By mid-summer of 1956, Chuck Feeney still had no idea … [Read more...] about Chuck Feeney: The Billionaire Who Wasn’t