Irish America magazine's Top 100 awards ceremony. Of all our Top 100 awards ceremonies, this year's was perhaps the most moving as we celebrated real heroes. Irish American of the Year, Dr. Jerri Nielsen, who battled breast cancer while stationed at the South Pole, movingly contrasted the community of survivors she lived with at the polar station with the divisiveness of … [Read more...] about A Night to Remember
Patricia Harty
Broadway in Their Pockets
Two years ago they were hardly known, now Séan Campion and Conleth Hill are the toast of Broadway. In a departure from the world of big-budget films and special effects, Conleth Hill, 37, and Séan Campion, 41, create a world of characters and situations on a nearly bare stage with no props, as they bring to life the story of a Hollywood film-crew's effect on a small … [Read more...] about Broadway in Their Pockets
The First Word: Afraid of the Dark
The Irish writer John B. Keane once said of my home town that "they should build a wall around it and let no man in and let no man out." I don't know why he said that about An tAonach, which means Fair or Market place. (The town was named Nenagh by the English during that great renaming which saw Gaelic names replaced by ones which bore no relationship to the Irish.) … [Read more...] about The First Word: Afraid of the Dark
The Brigid Awards
On St. Brigid's Feast Day, February 1, over 400 people gathered in Chicago's Drake Hotel to honor women who have shown Brigid-like qualities of justice, compassion and generosity. The Brigid Awards, now in their third year, are the brainchild of Mary Pat O'Connor, who was featured in Irish America Nov./Dec. article on professionals working overseas with the Irish aid agency, … [Read more...] about The Brigid Awards
The First Word: Carry On, Mr. President
Dear Editor: Re: "Thank You, Mr. President" Just because Ms. Harty got her night in the Lincoln Bedroom, we're all supposed to admire an underachiever, a national embarrassment and a degrader of women. Is it required to be a Democrat to read Irish America? Sincerely, (Mrs.) Josephine K. Maloney Matawan, New Jersey Dear Josephine: Thank you for … [Read more...] about The First Word: Carry On, Mr. President