"There were men and women, over their fences, shouting names and spitting and pulling people's hair...and then a bomb flew over. Father Troy told us all to run. I thought everyone was going to die." Roisin Crawford was nine years of age during the infamous Holy Cross protest of 2001, when a group of Loyalist protesters, claiming provocation from local Republicans (including … [Read more...] about Holy Cross, the Untold Story
Books
A Sampling of the Latest Irish Books
RECOMMENDED Roddy Doyle -- already acclaimed for memorable portraits of Dublin such as The Commitments and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha -- turned Irish historical fiction on its ear in 1999 with his novel A Star Called Henry. The setting was Ireland at the beginning of the 20(th) Century, a time of upheaval, betrayal and bloodshed. Not surprisingly, most authors have treated this … [Read more...] about A Sampling of the Latest Irish Books
Meet Eve Bunting
It was only natural that the young Eve Bolton would grow up to be a writer, and a very prolific one who would produce more than 200 books for children. From her earliest years in Maghera, a small town in County Derry, books and stories filled her life. Both of her parents were great readers. Eve remembers sitting in her father's lap and being read to. "It was always poetry. He … [Read more...] about Meet Eve Bunting
Review of Books
RECOMMENDED Early in his new memoir Pull Me Up, New York Times columnist Dan Barry writes: "Noreen Barry, née Minogue, originally of Shanaglish parish, County Galway, and lately and sporadically of Sts. Cyril and Methodius parish, Deer Park, Long Island, died on a rainy morning in February; she was all of sixty-one. And that should have been that: another Irish mother dies and … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Book Reviews
A sampling of the latest Irish books. ℘℘℘ RECOMMENDED "The reason I wanted to be a Gopher was simple: them gangsters never had to work for a living." This is famed New York gangster Owney Madden, speaking in the crackling voice which runs throughout Michael Walsh's gritty new novel And All the Saints. Madden rose from a tough youth in an Irish ghetto in England to become one … [Read more...] about Book Reviews