On St. Brigid's Feast Day, February 1, over 400 people gathered in Chicago's Drake Hotel to honor women who have shown Brigid-like qualities of justice, compassion and generosity. The Brigid Awards, now in their third year, are the brainchild of Mary Pat O'Connor, who was featured in Irish America Nov./Dec. article on professionals working overseas with the Irish aid agency, … [Read more...] about The Brigid Awards
Issues
Threat to Peace from Loyalist Bombers
Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) have carried out more than 50 sectarian attacks on Catholics. since the New Year. In early February an old girl lifted a pipe from her garden and carried it into her home. Little Cleona Magee's brush with death at her west Belfast home sparked off a chorus of condemnation aimed at the UFF, British Army explosives experts who were called to … [Read more...] about Threat to Peace from Loyalist Bombers
An Irish Laugh-In
Irish comedy has successfully crossed the pond, judging by the feedback from the New York Irish Comedy Festival. No less a celebrity than Moby turned up for the BBC America screening of Father Ted at Manhattan's Tribeca Bar & Grill to open the festival, and he then quizzed co-writer Graham Linehan during the Q&A which followed. Father Ted, a big hit in Britain and … [Read more...] about An Irish Laugh-In
Jordan to Film Ned Kelly
Irish director Neil Jordan, currently filming The Gambler with Nick Nolte, in France, recently beat off stiff competition for the film rights to Peter Carey's best-seller The True Story of the Kelly Gang. In the novel, Carey, an Australian who won the Booker Prize for Oscar and Lucinda, gives a first person account of his country'y most powerful legend, Ned Kelly, the son of … [Read more...] about Jordan to Film Ned Kelly
Friel Donates His Works
Brian Friel, the Irish playwright who has had a string of successes on Broadway, starting with Tony-winning Dancing at Lughasa (later made into a film starring Meryl Streep), has presented his archived works to the National Library in Ireland. The collection includes manuscripts and early drafts of his 26 plays and correspondence with literary figures such as Seamus Heaney, … [Read more...] about Friel Donates His Works