Mystery Declan Hughes offers another look at modern Dublin’s dark side in his latest suspense novel The Price of Blood. Private eye Ed Loy is down on his luck and broke, so he has no choice but to take what seems to be an unsolvable missing persons case. All he’s got to go on is “Father Vincent Tyrell,” a priest who’s been reported missing by his brother F.X., a prominent … [Read more...] about Review of Books
Tom Deignan
Irish Eye on Hollywood
Saoirse Ronan (featured in our Top 100, page 44) didn’t take home an Academy Award at the big show on February 24, but the 13-year-old Hollywood star has a busy 2008 planned. Ronan was nominated as a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in Atonement. Prior to the Oscars, Ronan was happy just to be going to the show, which was nearly canceled because of the prolonged … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood
Irish Eye on Hollywood
Many TV critics have argued that since The Sopranos went off the air, HBO has been a bit adrift. Well, now the cable channel is turning to Irish stage and screen veteran Gabriel Byrne for what can only be described as a bold experiment. Having had some success with shows revolving around psychiatrists and their patients (remember Tony Soprano and Dr. Melfi?), Byrne will star in … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood
The Irish in California
in 2005, when it became clear that the Ronald Reagan Pub in Ballyporeen, Tipperary was no longer a viable novelty to locals or tourists, Irish-American businessman and Republican booster Frederick Ryan Jr. facilitated the bar’s relocation to Simi Valley, California, also the site of Reagan’s presidential library. This anecdote is humorous and poignant, and – for Irish critics … [Read more...] about The Irish in California
Review of Books
Irish Century Series One of the most ambitious projects in recent Irish fiction will be completed when Morgan Llywelyn’s 1999: A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace is published in February. ($24.95 / 400 pages / Forge). This is the fifth and final entry in Llywelyn’s Irish Century series, in which the prolific author traces the history of 20th-century Ireland … [Read more...] about Review of Books