Brian Keenan, Belfast-born, was teaching English at the American University of Beirut when he was kidnapped by fundamentalist Shi'ite militiamen on April 11, 1986. It was during the Lebanese Civil War. His captors mistakenly took him for British. Released in August, 1990, he went on to write an acclaimed memoir about his captivity, called An Evil Cradling. He was in New York to … [Read more...] about A Journey Beyond Imagination
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The Mission Girls
UPDATE MARCH 2, 2012: The Irish Mission at Watson House Project intends to use the historical Mission premises for the permanent exhibition of Irish women’s emigration, a center to study the records which we plan to digitize, a family research center and a space for a regular series of symposia on Irish immigration and Battery Park area heritage. The exhibit was opened on … [Read more...] about The Mission Girls
Sláinte: A Winter’s Tale
Just because I live in Los Angeles doesn’t mean I’m an Angeleno. Natives here love that it’s sunny and quasi-summer all year long. Not me. Locals think I’m crazy. Crazy like a fox, I say. When it’s cold, you can put on a sweater. When it’s hot, you’re out of luck. I pine for seasons. Some of my dearest memories carry me back to the winters of my Philadelphia youth. Sure, it … [Read more...] about Sláinte: A Winter’s Tale
At Rainbow’s End: An Interview with Jim Norton
Tony-winning Irish actor Jim Norton has returned to Broadway in Finian’s Rainbow, a joyful big-budget revival of a golden-era classic that’s become that rare thing: an almost critic-proof Broadway musical. CAHIR O’DOHERTY talks to the veteran Irish actor and his A-list Broadway castmates about starring in the most hotly anticipated show of the season. Irish poet and dramatist … [Read more...] about At Rainbow’s End: An Interview with Jim Norton
Remembering Frank McCourt
Why We Loved Him Tom Cahill, Colum McCann, Peter Quinn, and others pay tribute to Frank McCourt I saw Frank a couple of weeks before he passed. It was at the Irish Repertory Theatre gala fundraiser in June. He had just finished his last round of chemo. He looked fine. I spoke to him for a couple of minutes but I didn’t say anything that I wanted to say. Frank was my hero … [Read more...] about Remembering Frank McCourt