Karen Corr, one of the top pool players in the world, talks to Jill Fergus. ℘℘℘ "So, should we play a game?" It's just a game of pool, after all, but when the words are spoken by Karen Corr, the number one female player in the world, it does give one cause for trepidation. Nicknamed the "Irish Invader," Corr, the Northern Irish-born player, was in New York last October to … [Read more...] about Cool Hand Corr
Jill Fergus
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 sang … [Read more...] about The Blue Ribbon
Stairway to Heaven
Story by Jill Fergus, photographs by Peter Matthews
August / September 1999
When I was a little girl visiting Ireland for the first time, my grandparents' farm in County Mayo was right in the shadow of Croagh Patrick -- in fact, you could see the mountain from the kitchen window. Though just 2,510 feet, it loomed in the fog and mist like Ireland's own Everest. I remember being told that Croagh Patrick, called the "reek" by locals, was a holy mountain … [Read more...] about Stairway to Heaven