Irish America

Matthew Skwiat

Oscar Wilde Play Banned in Russia

By Matthew Skwiat, Contributing Editor
August / September 2015

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Plans to stage a 1997 play based on Oscar Wilde: “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde” were halted after the Russian government barred the company from accepting any foreign funds for “artistic purposes” according to The New York Times. The much lauded New Drama theater in Moscow was attempting to put on Moises Kaufman’s play with funding from the U.S … [Read more...] about Oscar Wilde Play Banned in Russia

40th Anniversary AIF Gala Raises $4.3 Million

By Matthew Skwiat, Contributing Editor
August / September 2015

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The 40th annual American Ireland Fund’s New York Dinner Gala raised $4.3 million this year, more than any in the Fund’s past. Over 1,000 guests attended the May event in New York City, including Ireland’s Minister for the Diaspora Jimmy Deenihan and Ireland’s Ambassador to the U.S. Anne Anderson. And special guest Senator George Mitchell was honored for his work in Northern … [Read more...] about 40th Anniversary AIF Gala Raises $4.3 Million

Ireland Has Highest Alcohol and Tobacco Prices in EU

By Matthew Skwiat, Contributing Editor
August / September 2015

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Ordering a whiskey or a pint in Ireland may find you with a subtle pain emanating from your wallet. A newly released survey found that tobacco and whiskey costs are 70 percent higher in Ireland than the rest of the countries in the EU. The National Off Licence Association director Evelyn Jones greeted the news with an attack on the Irish government, saying that the results of … [Read more...] about Ireland Has Highest Alcohol and Tobacco Prices in EU

Irish at Risk for Tay-Sach’s

By Matthew Skwiat, Contributing Editor
August / September 2015

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A growing awareness within the medical community of the risks of the auto-degenerative disease Tay-Sachs and its prevalence within the Irish and Irish-American community is on the rise. Before pandemonium spreads, it is important to note that fewer than 30 children in America are afflicted with the disease each year and that one in 300 are estimated to have a faulty gene that … [Read more...] about Irish at Risk for Tay-Sach’s

Review: "Oscar" Runs Wilde at Opera Philadelphia

By Matthew Skwiat, Contributing Editor
April / May 2015

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A new opera dealing with the trials and imprisonment of the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde made its East Coast debut this past February. It was put on at the charmingly lavish Opera Philadelphia by composer and co-librettist Theodore Morrison and English opera director John Cox, a year following its debut in Sante Fe, New Mexico in 2013. Wilde’s plays bursted with wit, … [Read more...] about Review: "Oscar" Runs Wilde at Opera Philadelphia