Leading historians reveal the American story behind Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising with new books and exhibitions that explore America’s role in the Rising. “No people ever believed more deeply in the cause of Irish freedom than the people of the United States.” —President John F. Kennedy, Leinster House Dublin, June 1963 On April 24, 1916, carrying a new tricolor flag, a small … [Read more...] about 1916 – 2016: Proclaiming the American Story
Turlough McConnell
Made in (18th Century) Ireland
The new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690 – 1840, is a legacy tribute to the last Knight of Glin. Popularly known as the “long 18th century,” beginning with the ascendancy of William and Mary over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1689 and culminating at the brink of Ireland’s Great Hunger in the … [Read more...] about Made in (18th Century) Ireland
Ulster Scots at Stone Mountain Highland Games
For 38 years, Stone Mountain Park, northeast of Atlanta, Georgia, fills with the sounds of bagpipes, fiddles and harps during the third weekend in October for the Stone Mountain Highland Games and Scottish Festival. Expect thousands of Scots to don their family tartans for this year’s festival October 16-18. Last year the Ulster Scots were there in full force; their pavilion … [Read more...] about Ulster Scots at Stone Mountain Highland Games
Irish Art in London is the Prey of the Celtic Tiger
The London art world was taken by surprise at its annual auctions this spring when the Irish rich, clamoring for Irish art, replaced the usual art buyers. Even the experts were impressed. Grant Ford, director of Sotheby’s contemporary art worldwide, said: “Perhaps the biggest difference was the influx of new wealth from moguls of the Celtic Tiger – they have jumped into the … [Read more...] about Irish Art in London is the Prey of the Celtic Tiger
A River Runs Through It
One Irishman's Dream Becomes Another's Reality Joe Dowling stands in the amber glass ninth-floor lobby of the Dowling Studio in the gleaming new Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis. Outside the mighty Mississippi runs alongside the cobalt building designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel. This architectural marvel, which cost $125 million, is instantly impressive, its … [Read more...] about A River Runs Through It