In the male-dominated field of Irish writers, Mary Lavin was a pioneer. Daphne Wolf examines Lavin’s American roots and the influence they may have had on her work and spirit. Cleaning out old books from my parents’ house, I salvaged a yellowed paperback titled Irish Short Stories and Tales (with a price tag of 35¢). Inside were stories by James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, … [Read more...] about Mary Lavin’s American Roots
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Joe Biden’s Irish Roots
By Megan Smolenyak, Contributor
IA News April 12, 2023
IA News April 12, 2023
It’s well known that President Joe Biden spent his early years in the very Irish city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. But what about his ancestors? Genealogist Megan Smolenyak, who also traced President Obama’s Irish roots, has delved into the President’s family tree and unearthed a few surprises. How can you not love a name like Finnegan Biden? I find it charming when family names … [Read more...] about Joe Biden’s Irish Roots
A Sacred Place: Skellig Michael
Photographer and writer Chris Ryan visited the larger of the two Skellig Islands off the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, where an early-medieval monastery survives at the edge of the material world. Start at the Dublin offices of Google or Facebook, drive to the southwest tip of Ireland, hop a boat, journey seven miles out to sea, and climb 600 steps clinging to the edge of … [Read more...] about A Sacred Place: Skellig Michael
I’ll Be Back In the Springtime – JFK in Ireland
Sean Reidy, CEO of the JFK Trust, looks back on President Kennedy’s visit to New Ross in 1963, and forward to celebrations on the 50th anniversary of that visit. "I’ll be back in the springtime” were the last words spoken by President John F. Kennedy before he boarded Air Force One to return to the U.S. after his momentous visit to Ireland in 1963. His desire to return was … [Read more...] about I’ll Be Back In the Springtime – JFK in Ireland
True Grit – Sandy Fails to Derail the Xavier Knights’ Run for Glory
All they wanted was a chance for ten more days of football. Just before the end of the season, a quarter of the players and one of the coaches on the Xavier High School Knights had been forced from their homes when Superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast. But when the displaced kids voted to play on, their courage inspired the team to go on to an improbable playoff rumble … [Read more...] about True Grit – Sandy Fails to Derail the Xavier Knights’ Run for Glory