Enter any bookstore, be it mom and pop or chain retailer, and there are sure to be stacks upon stacks of coffee table books with Irish photographs. But now comes one so lovely it seems more suited for an auction house than a coffee table. Gerald Hoberman has produced a book of breathtaking photographs that he took throughout the isle and has paired them with the informative and … [Read more...] about Absolutely Beautiful
Ireland
Croke Park Today
Brian Rohan visits Croke Park and finds it utterly changed, except for the heartbreak. ℘℘℘ Twenty years ago, it seemed only politicians and priests had plastic molded seats. Twenty years ago, under-12s were thrown over the turnstiles, no tickets necessary. And 20 years ago the concession stands definitely did not sell "Chicken Tikka on Pita Bread." From my seat behind the … [Read more...] about Croke Park Today
Paddy’s Gold
In my father's town, Carndonagh, County Donegal, Ireland, market day still goes on in a muddy field, behind "the diamond," the town center, a ritual preceding memory. I walked down to it just the once, because he wanted me to see it. Young cows and bullocks and sheep and pigs mill about in the damp, gray early morning. The steam rising from their manure piles and urine puddles … [Read more...] about Paddy’s Gold
Reid Takes Over as Northern Secretary
The departure of Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson in late January caused few tears in Ireland. Mandelson, whose tenure in the North was supposed to restart his political career, left under a cloud. He was pulled from the job by British Prime Minister Tony Blair over alleged involvement in a passport scandal. It was the second time that Blair was forced to sack … [Read more...] about Reid Takes Over as Northern Secretary
Chapter & Hearse
"For twelve long years I've suffered this damned cat.../ though more than once I've threatened violence/ the brick and burlap in the river recompense/ for mounds of furballs littering the house." – "Grimalkin" "Grimalkin," Tom Lynch informs me, "is dead." I couldn't help it, I had to know. The cat lasted almost eight years after the poem was written. "I had told … [Read more...] about Chapter & Hearse