Irish America

classic interviews

Gerry Adams

The Leader

Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief
October / November 2000

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Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin, is the most well-known Irish politician outside the island of Ireland. As a civil rights activist in Northern Ireland in the late sixties, a victim of Britain's oppressive internment policy in the seventies, and a purported I.R.A. member, Adams' life story reflects the evolution of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. The following excerpt is … [Read more...] about Gerry Adams

The Leader

Gregory Peck

Hollywood Legend

Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief
October / November 2000

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Gregory Peck, the Hollywood legend, will long be remembered for his Oscar-winning performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and his roles in such classics as The Yearling, Gentleman's Agreement and Roman Holiday. Here he recalls a visit to his relatives in County Kerry. ℘℘℘ I love Wicklow, but I suppose if we ever rented or bought a cottage it would be in … [Read more...] about Gregory Peck

Hollywood Legend

Tip O’Neill

Master of the House

By Susan O'Grady Fox, Contributor
October / November 2000

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Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 to 1987. His 10-year tenure as Speaker of the House was the longest consecutive run in U.S. history. Here he recalls growing up in Boston with his widower father. ℘℘℘ Growing up as a youngster, you were instilled with three things. The first was the "No Irish Need Apply" signs and what those … [Read more...] about Tip O’Neill

Master of the House

Seamus Heaney

Poetic Champion

By Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief & Kate O'Callaghan, Contributor
October / November 2000

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A native of Northern Ireland, Seamus Heaney won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. The following excerpts are taken from interviews conducted with him in 1986 and shortly after he won the Nobel in 1996. ℘℘℘ Poetry summons you. That's been my own experience. The real difficulty about being a poet is not in the writing. It's surviving the silence, surviving lack of … [Read more...] about Seamus Heaney

Poetic Champion

Helen Hayes

First Lady of Theater

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Dubbed the "First Lady of the Theater," Helen Hayes charmed audiences for 75 years, appearing in such theatrical productions as What Every Woman Knows, Victoria Regina, and The Glass Menagerie. In Hollywood she won Oscars for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) and Airport (1970). ℘℘℘ On her stardom: My very lack of glamour has kept me a star. To a reporter upon leaving … [Read more...] about Helen Hayes

First Lady of Theater