Brian Mallon’s epic novel chronicling the life of Shane O’Neill, the 16th century Irish chieftain, is reviewed by Fionnula Flanagan. ℘℘℘ Here is the great dark cloak of Irish Elizabethan history spread out before us. Its threads are spun from loyalty, intrigue, betrayal, lust, terror, thievery, and extraordinary courage, ferocity in battle, savagery in revenge, and passion in … [Read more...] about Shane O’Neill Was “The Grand Disturber” of Elizabethan Ireland
Literature
1916: Portraits and Lives
A Beautiful Tome
Unheralded men and women became leaders in the crucible of 1916. A new book by the Royal Irish Academy offers portraits and biographies of those involved in the Rising.
Irish people are raised on stories of 1916. We’re told of Pádraig Pearse reading the Proclamation of the Republic from the steps of Dublin’s G.P.O., James Connolly facing a firing squad strapped to a chair, … [Read more...] about 1916: Portraits and Lives
A Beautiful Tome
Review of Books
Irish Hunger and Migration: Myth, Memory and Memorialization Edited by Patrick Fitzgerald, Christine Kinealy, and Gerard Moran The biennial Ulster-American Heritage Symposium, which explores Ulster’s connections with the United States, celebrated its 20th anniversary at two venues in 2014: Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and the University of Georgia in Athens. Since … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Frank McCourt Prize Awarded
Above, left to right: Writers Brendan Costello, Mary Pat Kelly, John Kearns, Emily Ren, and Malachy McCourt. Ren was awarded the Frank McCourt Literary Prize in June, presented annually to a graduating senior who demonstrates an outstanding potential to be a writer. The Frank McCourt High School of Writing, Journalism and Literature is a screened-admissions public high school … [Read more...] about Frank McCourt Prize Awarded
“I Believe in Her:” An
Interview with Author
Kevin Jack McEnroe
At 29, Kevin Jack McEnroe calls his grandmother, the actress Joanna Moore, his “guardian angel.” He credits her, and his debut novel Our Town, a fictionalized account of Moore’s life and struggles with failed relationships and substance abuse, with helping him come to know himself better. So much so that got a tattoo of her on his left arm just after the book was … [Read more...] about “I Believe in Her:” An
Interview with Author
Kevin Jack McEnroe