The potato blight arrived in Ireland in the late summer of 1845.Pest, parasite, fungus, invisible and invincible,it stuck across Europe, the same sudden, unstoppable invasion everywhere. Infection, corruption, devastation.But Ireland was a special case.Ireland was a place where for millions of people, the potato was neither staple nor supplement, but sustenance: … [Read more...] about Remembrance
Issues
U.S. Call for Finucane Inquiry
The U.S.-based National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) has called on the British government to set up a full judicial inquiry into the 1989 murder of Pat Finucane, the Belfast lawyer. One of Northern Ireland's leading defense attorneys, Finucane, who often represented clients accused of IRA crimes, was shot dead in front of his family on February 12, 1989. A … [Read more...] about U.S. Call for Finucane Inquiry
The Bellow of Great Airs
The wood-paneled wall of Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall opened like the ribcage of a Leviathan. And two giant voices emerged. One was the drone of the pipes, the other was of the human tongue, the decibels of high and low that make poetry. Both were ancient, borne into the present and burrowed deep in the listeners' bones. The audience hushed. And then the cotton-haired … [Read more...] about The Bellow of Great Airs
Irish Theater Loses a Voice
The creative community suffered a grievous loss when actor, drama teacher, artistic director and founder of the Focus Theatre in Dublin, Deirdre O'Connell, died at her home in Dublin on June 9. Born to Irish immigrants – her mother was from Cork, her father from Sligo – in the Bronx, New York in 1939, Deirdre was encouraged by her parents in her desire to act from an early … [Read more...] about Irish Theater Loses a Voice
Ellis Island in Cyber Space
In April of 2001 Ellis Island opened its doors to more people than ever before with the launching of their web site, www.ellisislandrecords.com. The site contains essentially all the immigration records the famous gateway to America has stored. Compiling such an enormous amount of information seemed as vast and daunting as the ocean the immigrants crossed, but with sortie … [Read more...] about Ellis Island in Cyber Space