Joseph Coffey 1938 – 2015 Sergeant Joseph Coffey, the legendary New York City detective who took on the mob and worked on some of the city’s most high-profile cases, including Son of Sam, died at home in Levittown, New York, in late September. He was 77. Coffey decided on a career with the police at an early age when mobsters shot at his father after he resisted their attempt … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Brian Friel
Springtime Brings Irish Theatre to Milwaukee
Springtime Theater in Milwaukee will feature a variety of Irish works throughout March and April in various theaters around the city. The University of Wisconsin, Madison theater program, will present Brian Friel's Philadelphia Here I Come in March, with a special St. Patrick's night performance scheduled. The play, which won a Tony Award on Broadway in 1966, is Friel's first … [Read more...] about Springtime Brings Irish Theatre to Milwaukee
Faith Healer
Brian Friel's latest play Faith Healer opened on February 7 at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. The play revolves around a faith healer named Frank Hardy who has toured with his manager (Teddy) and wife (Grace) around the rural villages of Wales and Scotland but is now returning home to Ballybeg, the fictional Donegal village that features in several of Friel's plays. The play … [Read more...] about Faith Healer
Friel Donates His Works
Brian Friel, the Irish playwright who has had a string of successes on Broadway, starting with Tony-winning Dancing at Lughasa (later made into a film starring Meryl Streep), has presented his archived works to the National Library in Ireland. The collection includes manuscripts and early drafts of his 26 plays and correspondence with literary figures such as Seamus Heaney, … [Read more...] about Friel Donates His Works
Plunging Into Irish Studies
By Peter Monaghan
March/April 1994
Seamus Deane, A Renowned Literary Scholar, Fills A Void At Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame, the home of the Fighting Irish, is the sentimental alma mater of many more actual and would-be Irish-Americans than ever have studied here. Yet until now, the most identifiably Catholic institution in the country--one where 14 of 16 presidents have been priests of Irish … [Read more...] about Plunging Into Irish Studies