Irish America

Irish America

Interviews

An Interview with Charles Carey

By Abdon M. Pallasch
August / September 2007

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For a second- or third-generation leader of the Chicago Board of Trade, Charles Carey sure talks like a guy from the neighborhood. His voice is Ditka’s. So is his physique.  “I guess that comes from spending too much time in the pits,” Charles Carey laughed, motioning to the cavernous room down the hall from his office where traders still stand in “open outcry” pits shouting … [Read more...] about An Interview with Charles Carey

P.J. O’Rourke

By Chuck Leddy
August / September 2007

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“The funniest writer in America” talks to Chuck Leddy about some serious issues. P.J. O’Rourke, one of America’s most popular political satirists, has built his career skewering the absurdities and hypocrisies of political life. Time magazine has called him “the funniest writer in America,” and he’s the bestselling author of a dozen books that blend his laugh-out-loud humor … [Read more...] about P.J. O’Rourke

Ardal O’Hanlon: A Comic Worth His Salt

By Lauren Byrne, Contributor
June / July 2007

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Best known to TV audiences from the sitcoms Father Ted and My Hero, Ardal O’Hanlon decided it was time to develop his “own thing.” He talked to Lauren Byrne after a stand-up gig in Boston. Sitting at an out-of-the-way alcove in the Park Plaza Hotel on his first visit to Boston, Ardal O’Hanlon is describing Ireland’s economic doldrums in the 1980s and how they shaped his career. … [Read more...] about Ardal O’Hanlon: A Comic Worth His Salt

John Banville: A Master Stylist Turns to Crime

By Lauren Byrne, Contributor
June / July 2007

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Like James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, the name John Banville is frequently mentioned in the reverent tones reserved for writers more often invoked than read. His prose, lush and hypnotic, is flecked with mordant humor, but even his most ardent fans agree it can be difficult to register a chuckle amid the ruminations in such novels as The Untouchable, Eclipse, and even his Booker … [Read more...] about John Banville: A Master Stylist Turns to Crime

Maeve Binchy: The Queen of Chick Lit

By Sharon Ní Chonchúir, Contributor
June / July 2007

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UPDATE: Maeve Binchy, one of Ireland's national treasures, passed away on July 30, 2012, in Dublin. Sharon Ní Chonchúir's 2007 interview with Binchy, below, captures her incredible spirit and down-to-earth philosophy. Maeve Binchy couldn’t be more apologetic. She is sincerely fond of her American fans and is disappointed to have to let them down. “I can’t come to America for … [Read more...] about Maeve Binchy: The Queen of Chick Lit