Three Irish Americans are among the recipients of this year’s Presidential Distinguished Service Awards for the Irish Abroad. Northwell Health executive, Michael J. Dowling, cultural scholar James W. Flannery, and oncologist Dennis J. Slamon were recognized alongside the likes of actress Fiona Shaw, and Professor Mitsuko Ohno of Japan, for their achievements in a wide range … [Read more...] about Presidential Distinguished Service Awards Announced
James Flannery
The Last Word:
The Walk of a Queen
Reflections on Queen Elizabeth's historic trip to Ireland.
The recent four-day visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland – the first by a reigning monarch in a hundred years – was a stunning triumph, capped by the five-minute standing ovation she received at a musical performance on her final night in the Irish capital. That performance included excerpts from Riverdance, which … [Read more...] about The Last Word:
The Walk of a Queen
The First Word: Payback Time
The Ireland I grew up in was doubtful of its own identity. The school curriculum reflected a post-colonial lack of confidence and ignored Irish poets and prose writers in favor of English scribes. While I'm grateful for the grounding I was given in Shakespeare and the like, I mourn the fact that the words of Yeats will never come trippingly off the tongue like say, the poems … [Read more...] about The First Word: Payback Time