Gregory Peck, the Hollywood legend, will long be remembered for his Oscar-winning performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and his roles in such classics as The Yearling, Gentleman's Agreement and Roman Holiday. Here he recalls a visit to his relatives in County Kerry.
I love Wicklow, but I suppose if we ever rented or bought a cottage it would be in County … [Read more...] about Gregory Peck Hollywood Legend
Irish American
Gregory Peck
The Bearing of the Green
Some thoughts on being Irish-American. As a proud Irish-American, I begin with a simple assumption: there is no way to precisely define that elusive, complex human category called the Irish-American. The tools of sociology are as inadequate to the task as the forms of the Census Bureau, and the jeweler's art of the lexicographer can't come close to an answer. This should … [Read more...] about The Bearing of the Green
Tip O’Neill
Master of the House
Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1953 to 1987. His 10-year tenure as Speaker of the House was the longest consecutive run in U.S. history. Here he recalls growing up in Boston with his widower father, his relationship with President Reagan, and how the pendulum swings in American politics and will swing back.
October, 1986: Weaned on … [Read more...] about Tip O’Neill Master of the House
Irish Memories
Thomas Fleming writes of the struggles and triumphs of an Irish-American family. ℘℘℘ My County Mayo-born grandfather, David Fleming, could not read or write. He had a brogue so thick I couldn't understand a word he said. But I knew one thing. He was Irish and proud of it. He had a favorite poem that he made me memorize and recite when I was six. It was called "Why I Named … [Read more...] about Irish Memories
Pat Riley
The Coach
When Pat Riley coached the New York Knicks basketball team, journalist Pete Hamill listed him in a Thanksgiving column as "one of the things New Yorkers should be grateful for." Riley now coaches the Miami Heat and is a motivational speaker. He is the author of The Winner Within.
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When I was about nine years old, my father told my brothers to take me down to Lincoln … [Read more...] about Pat RileyThe Coach