On November 2, 1759, a veritable riot broke out along several blocks of lower Manhattan. The target of the torch-bearing crowds was a man deemed to be a “rogue” and informer named George Spencer. Spencer survived the crowds’ wrath, though he was banged up with bruises and cuts. What Spencer – or the mob – did not know was that they would be swept up into events which would have … [Read more...] about Trading With the Enemy: Irish Merchants
Tom Deignan
Irish Eye on Hollywood
Dublin native Colin Farrell is teaming up with Irish-American screenwriter William Monahan for a new film, which seems to be an homage to a classic. Farrell – who will be seen later this year subbing for Heath Ledger in the dead actor’s final movie The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus – will star in London Boulevard. The film, which also features Anna Friel and Keira Knightley, … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood
How the Irish Took Over Cable TV
It’s been 10 years now since HBO took a chance on a little drama called “The Sopranos” and changed the face of television. When “The Sopranos” hit the airwaves in 1999, no one could have predicted that this offbeat drama about the mob and psychoanalysis would have been the first of many great cable dramas to win prestigious awards and earn huge ratings. But here’s another … [Read more...] about How the Irish Took Over Cable TV
Review of Books
Recommended Over the last decade or so, Brooklyn has gone from a byword for gritty urban life – the place where Pete Hamill and Spike Lee told their stories – to a punch line referring to the chic hipsters who have flocked to the borough. Colm Toibin might seem an unlikely candidate to add a fascinating new chapter to Brooklyn’s literary life. After all, his novels, such as … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Irish Eye on Hollywood
Now that Liam Neeson has done the Hollywood blockbuster thing with his very big, very violent hit Taken, he can return to the kinds of movies which have made him such a respected actor. Neeson is currently out shopping Five Minutes of Heaven, a drama about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This, of course, is a very personal issue for Neeson who was born in Ballymena, Antrim, … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood