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The Troubled Life of Maeve Brennan

By Elizabeth Toomey, Contributor
June / July 2005

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In her new biography of Maeve Brennan, Angela Bourke includes two photographs taken around 1948. In one, Brennan, a delicate-looking young woman dressed in black, is sitting in front of the fire looking over her shoulder, a cigarette in her left hand. With her hair fixed tightly in a bun and her lips pursed, she looks like a fashion model. In another photo from the same shoot, … [Read more...] about The Troubled Life of Maeve Brennan

The Troubled Life
of Maeve Brennan

By Elizabeth Toomey, Contributor
June / July 2005

by 3 Comments

In her new biography of Maeve Brennan, Angela Bourke includes two photographs taken around 1948. In one, Brennan, a delicate-looking young woman dressed in black, is sitting in front of the fire looking over her shoulder, a cigarette in her left hand. With her hair fixed tightly in a bun and her lips pursed, she looks like a fashion model. In another photo from the same shoot, … [Read more...] about The Troubled Life
of Maeve Brennan

The Irish Scrubwoman

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In the days when "No Irish Need Apply," my maternal grandmother, Margaret McCabe Ackerson, was lucky to find work scrubbing office floors to support her five children. My aunt remembers sitting as a little gift on the curb in front of their East 29th Street, Manhattan tenement until her widowed mother came home around midnight. This was not the American dream Margaret's father, … [Read more...] about The Irish Scrubwoman

Meet Eve Bunting

By Marian Betancourt, Contributor
June / July 2004

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It was only natural that the young Eve Bolton would grow up to be a writer, and a very prolific one who would produce more than 200 books for children. From her earliest years in Maghera, a small town in County Derry, books and stories filled her life. Both of her parents were great readers. Eve remembers sitting in her father's lap and being read to. "It was always poetry. He … [Read more...] about Meet Eve Bunting

Irish American of the Year John Sweeney: Defending America’s Workers

By Sarah Buscher, Contributor
April / May 2004

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Sitting with me in the sleek conference room of the AFL-CIO's executive suite overlooking the White House, John Sweeney presents a striking contrast to his surroundings. Portly in his suspenders and rumpled shirt with his jacket nowhere in sight, he appears totally unassuming. It would be easy to underestimate the man at first glance. The only way to gauge his emotions is by … [Read more...] about Irish American of the Year John Sweeney: Defending America’s Workers