Irish America
Irish America
Last week I was taste-testing whiskeys prepping for my St. Patrick’s Day party, listening to Willie Nelson croon “Whiskey River”, when the whiskey did, in fact, “take my mind”. The next thing I knew, I was on the Sotheby’s auction website bidding on The Richard Gooding Collection. Who is Richard Gooding you ask? He was the scion of the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company, which his … [Read more...] about Lost Irish
Author Mark Twain once famously quipped about the great exaggerations fueling rumors of his death. But the legendary Malachi McCourt topped even Twain, by noting that - exaggerated or not - death “need not be fatal.” That was the title of one of McCourt's many books. And, in some ways, it was the guiding principle of his extraordinary life - acting on stage and screen, telling … [Read more...] about Malachy McCourt, “Death Need Not Be Fatal”
“I'm a very, very proud Irish man standing here tonight." The Irish didn’t have a lot of nominations at this year’s Academy Awards - but they walked away with one of their biggest wins ever. And this time next year, Cillian Murphy may well be up for another Best Actor statue, for an upcoming film based on an Irish novel, by an Irish writer, about some of the darkest shadows … [Read more...] about A Historic Irish Win at the Oscars
"I Never Did Like Politics": How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters Terry Golway literally wrote the book on Tammany Hall, the Irish-dominated political machine that changed American politics - for better and worse. His 2014 study Machine Made: Tammany Hall and the Creation of American Politics is the acknowledged authoritative history of the … [Read more...] about “I Never Did Like Politics”
Growing up in New York City, I lived in the heart of the American melting pot. There seemed to be a festival or parade celebrating the city’s nationalities and ethnicities nearly every weekend. It was a great way to meet new people and experience the cultures of my hometown. Every year on March 17, it was my family’s turn, and this kid from Queens was always amazed at how many … [Read more...] about Irish Roots and Rituals
