Irish America
Irish America
Brian Friel himself cast Catherine Byrne as Chrissy in Dancing at Lughnasa after watching an Abbey Theatre dress rehearsal of his Aristocrats in which Byrne played clare. She talked of that moment during a pause in rehearsal for Molly Sweeney in which she plays the title role. "He didn't know me," Catherine Byrne recalls, "and when I heard he was coming I thought, what's he … [Read more...] about A Touch of Friel
Liam Neeson's name is synonymous with success. The big, handsome actor from Ballymena, Co. Antrim, has become one of the leading international stars of our time. Nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, the veteran of some 35 movies has taken on the role of Ireland's revolutionary leader Michael "The Big Fella" Collins, in a Neil … [Read more...] about The Big Fella: An Interview with Liam Neeson
Tap-dancing great Donald O'Connor talks to Kevin Lewis. If living well is the best revenge, life must be sweet for dancer Donald O'Connor. In the Golden Age of Hollywood, O'Connor ranked only behind Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire because, with the exception of Singin' in the Rain (1952), he was not showcased in a dazzling series of prestigious musicals. Rather, at a critical … [Read more...] about Steppin’ Out with Donald O’Connor
The recent worldwide commercial and critical success of Celtic arts would lead the casual observer or consumer in the US to innocently assume that the Irish and the Scots have always been amicable, if not kissing, Celtic cousins. The theory is, as one Scots Gaelic historian said to me in Glasgow recently, "aren't we all the same people?" To a large extent that's true and … [Read more...] about The Scottish Irish
A descendant of Famine immigrants recounts her trip home. It was our first trip to Ireland. And it was a trip my mother, Mary Lanigan Schmidt, always yearned to make, but never did. Now dead these 12 years, she left behind so much, including her First Communion veil from 1926, now yellow with age. I took two snippets of the delicate lace and brought them with me, a part of her, … [Read more...] about Beyond the Veil
