Irish talent meets American controversy in the upcoming film Icon. Icon is a biopic about American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who won seven consecutive Tour de France races and survived cancer, only to be brought down by revelations that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Ben Foster will portray the cyclist, while Roscommon native Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, This is 40) will … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood
Tom Deignan
Irish Eye on Hollywood
A highly-anticipated award-winning film about a determined Irish woman will get a big U.S. release this May. Entitled Noble, the film stars Drogheda native Deirdre O’Kane, who once described the film’s title character as “Ireland’s smoking, swearing, and singing answer to Mother Teresa.” The film explores the hard life and charitable work of Christina Noble, who created a … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood
Forty Shades of Brooklyn
With a film version of Colm Tóibín’s 2009 novel Brooklyn, coming to American theaters later this year, Tom Deignan looks at the borough that was home to so many mid-century Irish immigrants. Back in January, a new generation of Brooklyn high school students were exposed to the beautiful prose of one of Irish America’s most gifted writers, Pete Hamill. “Bridge of Dreams,” an … [Read more...] about Forty Shades of Brooklyn
Golden Globe Moments and Oscar Nominations
At the Golden Globes in January, Michael Keaton took home the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy prize for Birdman, beating out two other actors with Irish ties – Chicago-born Bill Murray, and Ralph Fiennes, who was born in England but raised in Ireland. St. Vincent (starring Murray as well as fellow Irish American Melissa McCarthy) was also nominated for Best Motion Picture … [Read more...] about Golden Globe Moments and Oscar Nominations
The Irish and World War I
One hundred years ago this summer, the story goes, a Daily Mail war correspondent named George Curnock followed British Expeditionary Forces as they made their way across the English Channel to aid the French in what most believed would be a brief skirmish with the Germans. In mid-August 1914, Curnock heard the Connaught Rangers singing a raucous tune as they marched through … [Read more...] about The Irish and World War I