“Like Joyce she has lived in exile but never forgotten a single thing.” – Professor Declan Kiberd, UCD School of English and Drama, speaking about Edna O’Brien. UCD awarded O’Brien the Ulysses Medal in 2006. To start the New Year off right, we bring you our “Arts Special” issue, featuring a plethora of interviews (and feathers in the case of hatter Philip Treacy), books, … [Read more...] about The First Word: The Grip of Mother Ireland
The First Word
The First Word: Epic Journeys
I remember as a young immigrant strolling down Fifth Avenue and stopping to look in the windows at Tiffany’s. I was enthralled. I lived in the Bronx and most evenings after my shift I headed to the subway or took a Checker cab with the other waitresses, girls from all over Ireland. Like generations before us we were “brought up to leave.” We emigrated in our thousands, … [Read more...] about The First Word: Epic Journeys
The Spirit Of Endurance
“Am I the first Scots-Irish person on your cover?” Senator John McCain asks. “Yes. But it’ s all the same DNA.” He doesn’t seem to hear me. He’s busy being photographed by Kit DeFever. I’m about to tell him about Scotland being the only place the Irish ever colonized – the Scotti being Gaelic speakers from Ireland who settled in Argyle – but I stop myself. I’ve noticed in the … [Read more...] about The Spirit Of Endurance
Close Encounters
" I always keep thinking of James Connolly and the great calm and dignity that he showed right to the very end, his courage and resolve." - Bobby Sands As I’m writing this, I can hear the sound of bagpipes. Wafting up to my 21st floor office, high above busy Sixth Avenue, are the mournful strains of “Sean South from Garryowen.” It’s a reminder that one can never really be … [Read more...] about Close Encounters
The Top 100
"I'm, Irish. There are some things more important to me than money." - POLICE COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY Our Top 100 is about many things, but more than anything, it's about heart. It's about an 11-year-old giving up play time to practice Irish dance and winning the World Championship in Ireland. It's about a snowboarder going for the gold and coming up just short, and a skater … [Read more...] about The Top 100