The potato blight that arrived in Europe in the summer of 1845 was, like the potato itself, an American export. The fungus that caused the blight was a microscopic organism that would not be identified scientifically for another fifteen years. But even after its identification, no effective treatment for the blight would be found till a Frenchman named Millardet would notice … [Read more...] about Why Famine Came to Ireland
January 2000 Issue
Film Forum: A Late Encounter with the Enemy
Few things are sadder than a missed opportunity. The story of the San Patricios, the Irish emigrants and their comrades of other ethnic groups who fought for Mexico during the U.S.-Mexican War of 1846-48, is rich and underexplored dramatic material. Complex and stirring issues of loyalty and heroism resound throughout the saga of the Saint Patrick's Battalion, which consisted … [Read more...] about Film Forum: A Late Encounter with the Enemy
‘Tis Frank
Frank McCourt is on an exhaustive book tour and won't get a break until the middle of December when he gets back to New York for the premiere of the movie Angela's Ashes. Towards the end of October, Irish America Editor-in-Chief Patricia Harty caught up with Frank on the phone from Palo Alto, California. How are you? Running, running, running from place to place, signing … [Read more...] about ‘Tis Frank
The Player
Mark O'Meara, golf's mister nice guy, is interviewed by John Kernaghan. Some men are defined by how they win, some by their bearing in defeat. For Mark O'Meara, golf's great grandson of Ireland, his composure on a day of personal loss but team triumph fleshes out a portrait of classical sportsman. The scene at the 17th green on the last day of the Ryder Cup competition at … [Read more...] about The Player
Hibernia Happenings
Waterford's Crystal Ball to Cap the Celebration of the Century To commemorate the 100-day countdown until the millennium the Times Square Business Improvement District President Brendan Sexton and Countdown Entertainment President Jeffrey Strauss unveiled the new Times Square New Year's Eve Ball in the Bronx, NY on September 23. Created by Waterford Crystal, the new ball will … [Read more...] about Hibernia Happenings