Frank McCourt has gone from retired New York City high school teacher to 66-year-old international celebrity in a matter of months. Almost a year after the publication of Angela's Ashes, McCourt tells Brian Rohan "it's been lovely, thank you, but I wouldn't mind a bit of peace and quiet, either...." Frank McCourt sits in the back room of the Old Town tavern, acting not at … [Read more...] about The Year of Living Famously
Frank McCourt
Angela’s Ashes Loses Its Voice
Anyone who has read Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes -- and by now that probably takes in about half the planet -- knows that what makes McCourt's memoir of an impoverished Irish childhood so magical is the unique "voice" the author uses to tell the story. McCourt struggled for many years until he "started writing in the voice of a child, immediate, urgent and without hindsight … [Read more...] about Angela’s Ashes Loses Its Voice
Christmas Movies
By Tom Deignan
IA Newsletter December 18, 2021
IA Newsletter December 18, 2021
“It’s the holiday season…” So sings Andy Williams - as have many other crooners - in the classic Christmas song “Happy Holidays.” For many Irish Americans, that “holiday season” means it’s time for our annual trip to Macy’s in New York City where, in 1947, Irish Hollywood legend Maureen O’Hara portrayed a busy holiday parade planner, in the beloved Yuletide flick Miracle on … [Read more...] about Christmas Movies
Hibernia Happenings
Galway Guide Is a Bird in the Hand Visitors to Galway and other parts of the West of Ireland are well advised to pick up a handy new magazine which contains extensive information on where to eat, dance, drink, hang out and generally just be seen. Magpie magazine, launched last year by the highly successful Galway Advertiser group, also features regular articles on a … [Read more...] about Hibernia Happenings
A Night to Remember
Frank McCourt's second book, 'Tis, follows, where Angela's Ashes leaves off with the young Limerick man making his way in New York. In the following excerpt, Frank's pal Paddy McGovern takes him to an Irish dance hall. Paddy Arthur McGovern warns me that if I keep on listening to that noisy jazz music I'll wind up like the Lennon brothers so American I'll forget I’m Irish … [Read more...] about A Night to Remember