Recent Irish and Irish American Obituaries Eugene Byrne 1945-2011 Irish folk singer, festival organizer and tour guide Eugene Byrne passed away at his home in Dover, N.H. on March 24, after a long battle with cancer. He was 65. As a folk singer, Byrne, who was born in Dublin, made the stages at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Merv Griffin Show and venues around … [Read more...] about Those We Lost: Recent Passings in the Irish-American Community
Music
What Are You Like?
Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains The leader and founder of The Chieftains, six-time Grammy-winners and the world’s most popular Irish traditional music group, grew up in Donnycarney, Co. Dublin and inherited his love of music from his parents. His first instrument was a plastic tin whistle. He later graduated to the uilleann pipes learning to play from the great pipe master Leo … [Read more...] about What Are You Like?
Music Reviews
Reviews of recent releases from Irish and Irish-American artists. Barleyjuice Skulduggery Street A band sure to come under their fair share of Pogue comparisons, Barleyjuice’s new album Skulduggery Street is a collection of energetic songs with a punk rock bite. The early tracks walk a dangerous line that could pigeonhole them into the same street-rock-meets-pub-seisiun that … [Read more...] about Music Reviews
Those We Lost: Recent Passings in the Irish-American community
A Tribute to Those who have Passed John Barry 1933-2011 Oscar-winning composer John Barry died on January 30 from a heart attack, at age 77. Barry’s compositions heightened the drama and complimented the moods of films such as Out of Africa, Dances With Wolves, Midnight Cowboy and Born Free. He was also the man behind the iconic music heard in all of the James Bond … [Read more...] about Those We Lost: Recent Passings in the Irish-American community
The First Word: Imagine Ireland
By Patricia Harty, Editor-In-Chief
“An Irishman’s heart is nothing but his imagination.” – George Bernard Shaw (John Bull’s Other Island) Gabriel Byrne says that the line between reality and imagination is very thin. I concur. Perhaps it’s because my father filled my head with stories of banshees and haunted fields with gates that never stayed shut. Perhaps it’s simply the beauty of the Irish countryside – … [Read more...] about The First Word: Imagine Ireland