Howard "Bill" O'Brien, a living legend among Irish cowboys, will lead the Phoenix St. Patrick's Day parade in Arizona as the Grand Marshal. The 80-year-old replica of John Wayne has been so busy raising funds for the Irish Cultural and Learning Foundation in Phoenix that he has almost neglected the Irish Cowboys Association, an organization that he founded in 1997. Said … [Read more...] about Arizona’s Grand
Marshal Cowboy
Irish American
Arizona’s Grand
Nora McAniff: Inside People
As President of the People Magazine Group, Nora McAniff oversees the business side of some of the world's most popular magazines. It's a journey that began in 1982, when she joined People magazine's marketing team. After stints as Publisher of Life and People, she became President of People. Last year she assumed her role as group president, putting her in charge of People, … [Read more...] about Nora McAniff: Inside People
Waking the Dead
I had never really been all that comfortable with my Irish heritage. I've always been scared that our American society views the Irish as a bunch of drinkers, big talkers who cannot be relied upon. It's not accurate or even generally true, but it's out there, lurking behind many a conversation. The image of the poor, pathetic, disheveled McCourt family of Angela's Ashes haunts … [Read more...] about Waking the Dead
Puddle Jumping
The English Catholic martyr, St. Edmund Campion, lived in Dublin for a while in 1569 and here is what he wrote about the Irish: "The people are thus inclined: religious, franke, amorous, irefull, sufferable of paines infinite, very glorious, many sorcerers, excellent horsemen, delighted with warres, great almes-givers, passing in hospitalitie: the lewder sort both clarkes and … [Read more...] about Puddle Jumping
The Blue Ribbon
When I was 13 years old, my mother took my siblings and me to Rockaway Beach in New York City for the day. After we romped in the ocean and were sufficiently sunburned, we ended up at a rather run-down Irish tavern that was hosting a singing contest. Since I can carry a tune, my mother made me enter. All the entrants, adults and kids alike, sang well-known Irish songs. I … [Read more...] about The Blue Ribbon