The Irish language film Kneecap is about the rise of a Belfast-based hip-hop trio. We come from a very very serious place,” Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh or “Mo Chara” from Kneecap, the Irish Language Hip-Hop Trio from West Belfast, told Rolling Stone Magazine. “If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.” His sidekick, Naoise Ó Cairealláin (“Moglaí Bap”) agreed. “Sometimes when you’re left with an … [Read more...] about Film Review: Kneecap
Mary Pat Kelly
Mayor Lilian Seenoi-Barr of Derry and Strabane Makes History
IA Newsletter, June 8, 2024
“I am proud to be a Maasai woman and a Derry girl,“ Mayor Lilian Seenoi-Barr, the first black person to be mayor anywhere in Northern Ireland, told a cheering crowd in the Guildhall on June 3. Colum Eastwood, MP, leader of her party, the SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party), stood with her on what he called “a fantastic night in the City of Civil Rights.”
Born in Narok … [Read more...] about
The Good Friday Agreement and Beyond
Irish America Newsletter June 17, 2023
“I was worried about my cousins getting killed,” Kevin Sullivan, Project Director for the Ad Hoc Committee to Protect the Good Friday Agreement said. “My mother was born in Sixmilecross, County Tyrone. My father was a career Army officer, and we lived abroad quite a bit. I often went back to my mother’s home place. I saw when the violence began and felt my own family was at … [Read more...] about The Good Friday Agreement and Beyond
Honoring the Trailblazing Journalist Mary Maher
IA Newsletter December 4, 2021
1940 - 2021“Mary Maher of Chicago,” said Maeve Binchy, fellow Irish Times journalist and life-long friend, “had the great advantage of not knowing the sacred cows, and by the time she did know, she had enough courage not to care about them.” This quote is part of an obituary that tells an incredible story. It’s the mid-60s and a young woman with roots in Killenaule, County … [Read more...] about Honoring the Trailblazing Journalist Mary Maher
Irish Women Writers Celebrated in New York
Photos by Nuala Purcell
IA Newsletter December 4, 2021
I’m not going to tell you too much about, Look! It’s A Woman Writer!: Irish Literary Feminisms 1970 – 2020 edited by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne. Because, as Frank McCourt once said, “You can buy the damn book and read it yourself.” And you should.I read it in one cover-to-cover session, fascinated by these women writers. Each has her own individual characteristics and unique story, … [Read more...] about Irish Women Writers Celebrated in New York