“Our focus is to create ladders of opportunity to help people get to the middle class through the construction trades. That's really why you do it.” – Sean McGarvey This year’s Hall of Fame honorees reflect the length and breadth of the Irish-American experience. They show us the extraordinary impact that the Irish have had in every aspect of American life – the arts, … [Read more...] about First Word: Dreamers
First Word
First Word:
The Dreamer of Dreams
"We are the music makers / And we are the dreamers of dreams, / Wandering by lone sea-breakers, / And sitting by desolate streams; / World-losers and world-forsakers, / On whom the pale moon gleams: / Yet we are the movers and shakers / Of the world for ever, it seems. – “The Music Makers” by Arthur O’Shaughnessy
Welcome to our annual Business 100 issue. Congratulations to … [Read more...] about First Word:
The Dreamer of Dreams
First Word: A True Friend of Ireland
My first home in America was in the Bronx, a basement apartment on Briggs Avenue off Fordham Road. It was a happy time. We were a revelry of young Irish immigrants caught up in the glorious freedom of having shed parents and small towns and farms for apartments and subway trains that we took down into the city to work as waitresses and bartenders. At the end of the day we’d … [Read more...] about First Word: A True Friend of Ireland
First Word: Trailblazers Past & Present
It was the first time that I knew the full weight of Irish America. Coming from a small country with few people, it’s difficult for an immigrant to grasp that in a place as big as America, the Irish could wield such power. I’m talking about the first Irish-American Presidential Forum in 1992. It was arranged by then-assemblyman John C. Dearie. I don’t remember the venue, but I … [Read more...] about First Word: Trailblazers Past & Present
First Word: The Gift of Heritage
Happy Christmas to all our readers. I love this time of year. New York is abuzz with lights and window displays, and good cheer. ’Tis the season… To make time for a little reflection to go along with a lot of celebration. To look back on the year, remember the highs and let go of the lows, and look forward to what’s to come. The holidays are a time when stories get handed … [Read more...] about First Word: The Gift of Heritage