On a drizzly morning in early summer -- what the Irish refer to as a "soft day" -- I'm doing something that has become rather commonplace during my numerous travels to Ireland. I'm talking about local history with two men who live in County Mayo and work at the Delphi Mountain Lodge and Spa. We stand at the entrance to a business that was constructed with the entrepreneurial … [Read more...] about Into the West & Far East
Issues
The Irishman Who Would Be King
It may sound like a joke. But an Irishman could be the future King of England. Hard to believe? Yes. Far-fetched? Maybe. But in theory, it is a possibility. Admittedly, it would take quite a few deaths and a change in the law before it could happen. But in that case, Aaron Long whose parents are from Crosshaven, Co. Cork, could be on the British throne. Aaron is the … [Read more...] about The Irishman Who Would Be King
Farewell to Rosemary
The singing legend Rosemary Clooney died on June 29, after a long battle with lung cancer. She was laid to rest on Friday, July 5, in her hometown of Maysville, Kentucky. Clooney, 74, had been singing for more than half a century. In 1945 when she was 16 she and her 13-year-old sister, Betty, were paid $20 to sing duets of pop songs on a radio station in Cincinnati. At 23, … [Read more...] about Farewell to Rosemary
John B. Keane Remembered
On May 30, 2002, John B. Keane, author, raconteur, and much-loved Kerryman, passed away. Keane, at 73, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1994. The author of 18 plays and 32 works of prose and poetry, including Big Maggie, which played on Broadway in 1982, and The Field, which was made into an award-winning movie starring Richard Harris Keane captured the soul of rural … [Read more...] about John B. Keane Remembered
Report From Ground Zero : The Documentary
Dennis Smith's gripping best-seller Report from Ground Zero will be the basis for a documentary airing on September 10, 2002. As Smith's book did, the ABC TV special lets the survivors speak for themselves, combining their accounts with film and video of the World Trade Center's initial construction, the attack itself, and the recovery at "the piles." Some highlights from the … [Read more...] about Report From Ground Zero : The Documentary