Through an 18th-century document up for auction in Whyte’s Auctioneers Eclectic Collector sale, new light has been shone on the Irish ancestry of Elvis Presley and his family’s origins in Ireland and America. The document is of a legal nature and concerns claims of abuse by a group of men in Hacketstown, Co. Carlow, which were made by William Presley, Elvis’s … [Read more...] about The King’s Irish and American Roots
Music
Beyond the Bog Road
The first new album in 10 years from fiddle virtuoso Eileen Ivers traces traditional Irish music to Canada’s Nova Scotia, and through the Scots/Irish root of Bluegrass and Old-Time music of Appalachia, and on to the Cajun sounds of the South. “The bog roads of Ireland were paths into ancient sod fields, laboriously farmed to provide an essential source of fuel and … [Read more...] about Beyond the Bog Road
In New Joyce Musical, Nora Barnacle Comes First
A new Off-Broadway musical seeks to tell the story of the passionate, tumultuous, and prolific relationship between James Joyce and Nora Barnacle through Nora’s perspective of their nearly 40-year romance. We sat down with Whitney Bashor, who plays Nora, as well as some of the crew, to see how the show came together and how the story of Nora and Joyce might resonate with … [Read more...] about In New Joyce Musical, Nora Barnacle Comes First
An American Tribute to Ireland’s Poet-Patriots
Richard B. Evans, an American-born composer and musician, has been immersed in Irish music and culture for decades, and his exploration of the events leading to 1916 is about to come to American audiences in a live, full-length musical production commemorating the Centennial. Ireland’s Poet-Patriots is a full evening’s concert marking the centennial of the Easter Rising and … [Read more...] about An American Tribute to Ireland’s Poet-Patriots
Time to Say Goodbye to the Irish National Anthem?
Historian Christine Kinealy wonders if the Irish national anthem is still relevant today. ℘℘℘ Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland, Some have come from a land beyond the wave, Sworn to be free … Ninety years ago, as the newly created Free State was coming to terms with ten years of turmoil, which included war, civil war and partition, it simultaneously was trying … [Read more...] about Time to Say Goodbye to the Irish National Anthem?