When the dust settled on September 11, 343 firefighters were listed as missing, and later pronounced dead. In this excerpt from her upcoming book, Lynn Tierney, then a deputy commissioner at the Fire Department of New York, writes about the difficult task of eulogizing her colleagues. Eulogies There came a time in my life, through the autumn of 2001, when I wrote … [Read more...] about “Be Not Afraid”
Issues
Olympic Rowing Greats
Billions of viewers watched the Tokyo Olympics this summer. And there were countless feature stories about the 1964 Olympics, when Japan first hosted the games, including a detailed recounting of the historic showdown between German and American teams in the eight-man rowing competition, a marquis event in that era, however, none mentioned the Irish American connection, until … [Read more...] about Olympic Rowing Greats
The Real Mr. Tanner
The life of Martin J. Tubridy was the inspiration for Harry Chapin’s hit song “Mr. Tanner." Story by Pat Fenton “Mr. Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest. And of all the cleaning shops around he'd made his the best. But he also was a baritone who sang while hanging clothes. He practiced scales while pressing tails and sang at local shows.” It’s been a … [Read more...] about The Real Mr. Tanner
Musical Merry-Go-Round
It's been a good year for Irish pop music. There hasn't been one big ticket album in 1999--the new U2 effort isn't expected until early 2000--but if you scratch the surface, you'll find some exciting music nonetheless. TOM DUNPHY recommends a few favorites you may want to investigate... VAN MORRISON, BACK ON TOP Van Morrison's Back on Top couldn't be more aptly named. Van … [Read more...] about Musical Merry-Go-Round
An Irish Slant on the English Language
By Dan Casey
January 2000
Terence P. Dolan's Dictionary of Hiberno-English is not like any other dictionary or, for that matter, like any other reference volume. It's the first general dictionary of the Irish dialect of English ever published and, in spite of its heady title, a good read for Irish and Irish-American word-hoarders and word-mongers -- from the burly longshoremen on Pier 54 to the … [Read more...] about An Irish Slant on the English Language