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James Foley

American Mother

By Tom Deignan
IA Newsletter
March 9, 2024

March 7, 2024 by Leave a Comment

The crowd on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at Manhattan's Swift Hibernian Lounge, off The Bowery, was energetic. In the back room, Dublin-born author Colum McCann smiled and shook many hands, while also introducing Diane Foley to many of those who’d come out to launch the co-authors’ powerful new book American Mother. In a new interview with Irish America magazine, McCann confronts … [Read more...] about American Mother

A Tale of Two Photos

By Colum McCann
IA Newsletter, March 2, 2024

February 26, 2024 by Leave a Comment

Journalist James Foley in a bunker in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. Photo: Bill Wilder

On August 9, 2014, one of the most chillingly iconic photographs of the 21st century was published online. The memory of it still sends a pour of cold along my spine. The orange jumpsuit. The black balaclava. The line between desert and sky. The knife was held casually by the executioner’s thigh. The portent. And then – in later images taken from a video still – the eerie, … [Read more...] about A Tale of Two Photos

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May 10, 1869

The Transcontinental Railroad was completed. The first spikes were driven in 1863 during the Civil War, and over the following 6 year period, over 2,000 miles of track was laid entirely by hand over rugged terrain including the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Central Pacific Company built East from Sacramento, while the Union Pacific built West from Omaha, Nebraska. Both teams tried to beat the other’s record for track laying. The Central Pacific concocted a plan to lay 10 miles in a day. Eight Irish tracklayers put down 3,520 rails, while other workers laid 25,800 ties and drove 28,160 spikes in a single day. On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, a golden spike was hammered into the final tie.

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