Irish America

Irish America

Window on the Past: Where Shall We Seek for a Hero?

Window on the Past: Where Shall We Seek for a Hero?

By Michael Quinlin

Fall 2024

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180 years after his birth on June 28, 1844, the lessons of legendary Irish rebel, patriot, poet, and activist John Boyle O'Reilly deserve to be remembered and cherished. In today’s society of discontent and distrust mingled with guarded hope and optimism, O’Reilly would be hailed simultaneously as a disruptor of the status quo, a man unafraid to speak truth to power, a … [Read more...] about Window on the Past: Where Shall We Seek for a Hero?

Film Review: Kneecap

By Mary Pat Kelly

Fall 2024

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The Irish language film Kneecap is about the rise of a Belfast-based hip-hop trio. We come from a very very serious place,” Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh or “Mo Chara” from Kneecap, the Irish Language Hip-Hop Trio from West Belfast, told Rolling Stone Magazine. “If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.” His sidekick, Naoise Ó Cairealláin (“Moglaí Bap”) agreed. “Sometimes when you’re left with … [Read more...] about Film Review: Kneecap

Country Girl: A Memoir by Edna O’Brien

By Edna O'Brien

Fall 2024

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In this excerpt from her memoir, Edna O'Brien returns to Ireland to build a house in which she hopes to avail of the "peace of that passeth understanding," only to find that even the best-laid plans can go awry. It was to Donegal, in the most northwestern tip of Ireland, that in the 1990s I headed, in order to build a house. The very place names so rough and musical, the … [Read more...] about Country Girl: A Memoir by Edna O’Brien

Book Notes: Enright Honors McGahern

By Tom Deignan

Fall 2024

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Next year will mark six decades since celebrated Irish novelist and short story writer John McGahern was censored and banned in his own country. Now, another celebrated writer – Anne Enright, Ireland’s first-ever “laureate” for fiction – is commemorating McGahern’s life and career with fond memories as well as new revelations. Back in 1965, McGahern wrote The Dark, which … [Read more...] about Book Notes: Enright Honors McGahern

Roots: O’Mahoney, McMahon and Vaughan

By James G. Ryan

Fall 2024

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The families of McMahon and O’Mahoney are related only by the common derivation of their names from the Irish name Mahon (in Gaelic Mathuna) which was a personal name, meaning a bear. The O’Mahoney or Mahony name is derived from Mathuna, a grandson of Brian Boru. The family were the Eoganacht, the regal dynasty of Munster and were one of the most prominent of West Munster. … [Read more...] about Roots: O’Mahoney, McMahon and Vaughan