Jack Donovan Foley, the American grandson of Irish immigrants, invented “foley art,” a sound-effects technique still used in films today – so subtle and perfect that viewers don’t notice anything has been added. Something was not quite right on the stage of Alice Tully Hall at New York City’s Lincoln Center one night last September. It was the U.S. premiere of the recently … [Read more...] about Jack Foley and the Art of Sound
History
Sláinte! Wine: Another Irish Triumph
The legacy of the Celts in Ireland and how, in the absence of grapes, they used their wine making skills to create a honey-wine. Odds are, you’re familiar with the fact that beer, stout and whiskey have been mainstays of Celtic culture for eons. What I’ll bet you don’t know is that the Celts also played a key role in the development of humanity’s fascination with wine. Not … [Read more...] about Sláinte! Wine: Another Irish Triumph
Roots: The Foley Family
The surname Foley is found in greatest concentration in counties Cork, Kerry, and Waterford. It is generally understood to be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó Foghladha, which translates loosely to “pirate,” or “marauder,” possibly implying distant Viking roots. It may also be an Anglicized version of the Northern Irish name Mac Searraigh, chosen for its phonetic … [Read more...] about Roots: The Foley Family
An Irish Vintage: The Concannon Vineyard
James and John Concannon uphold tradition at a winery founded by their Irish immigrant ancestor. The Concannon family has spent more than 128 years growing grapes and making wine in California, 42 miles east of San Francisco, debunking the notion that the Irish know their whiskey but not their wine. “I never knew my grandfather James, the founder of Concannon Vineyard,” said … [Read more...] about An Irish Vintage: The Concannon Vineyard
Civil War Memorials
Irish Sculptors Led the Way in Celebrating Civil War Heroes Magnificent in bearing, you find our nation’s unabashed heroes in Central Park and Lincoln Park, Boston Common and the National Mall. Still others stand like sedentary sentinels in village greens, public buildings and parks from Maine to Louisiana. Civil War monuments dot the American landscape, bronzed warriors … [Read more...] about Civil War Memorials