I first met Jason Miller when he was a senior playing varsity basketball at St. Patrick’s, West Scranton. I was a senior playing at St. Patrick’s, Olyphant, a small town about six miles north of Scranton. We used to make small talk during warm-ups prior to the games between the two schools. At the end of basketball season, Miller was named The Catholic League’s leading scorer … [Read more...] about Nobody Hears a Broken Drum
Obituary
Those We Lost
Recent passings in the Irish and Irish American community. Brendan Burke 1988-2010 Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Brian Burke, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team, died in a car crash in Indiana February 5. He was 21. He was driving along with 18-year-old Mark Reedy when heavy snow caused their Jeep Cherokee to slide into the … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Those We Lost
Liam Clancy 1935-2009 Liam Clancy, the last surviving member of the Clancy Brothers, died December 4 in Cork, Ireland, at age 74. He had been treated for the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis. Born the youngest of 11 children in Co. Tipperary, Clancy immigrated to America in 1956 with plans for a career on the stage. He joined his older brothers Tom and Paddy in New York, and … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Remembering Frank McCourt
Why We Loved Him Tom Cahill, Colum McCann, Peter Quinn, and others pay tribute to Frank McCourt I saw Frank a couple of weeks before he passed. It was at the Irish Repertory Theatre gala fundraiser in June. He had just finished his last round of chemo. He looked fine. I spoke to him for a couple of minutes but I didn’t say anything that I wanted to say. Frank was my hero … [Read more...] about Remembering Frank McCourt
Those We Lost
George Carlin 1937-2008 George Carlin, whose father was born in Donegal in 1888, died of heart failure on June 22. Born and raised in Manhattan, Carlin served in the Air Force before embarking on his comedy career as a radio DJ. In the 1960s he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and was a regular on Johnny Carson and other talk shows. In the 70’s he was arrested for his “Seven … [Read more...] about Those We Lost