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by Tom DeignanRecent Posts
- Why 'The Quiet Man' endures
- Tom Deignan: The green roots of the yellow ribbon tradition
- Helen Gahagan Douglas – the original movie star politician
- The Irish Catholic Church's 'Tea Party'
- The real problem with stereotypes, Irish or otherwise
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Why 'The Quiet Man' endures
This St. Patrick’s season you surely came across it. On Turner Classic Movies or on a DVD player.
John Ford’s 1952 film The Quiet Man has been a St. Patrick’s Day staple for nearly 60 years now.
And for just as long the film has had its detractors. Those who grumble that the film is little more than a brightly-colored jaunt through Irish stereotypes -- the drunks, the brawlers and all those befreckled redheads.
Tom Deignan: The green roots of the yellow ribbon tradition
Did you ever wonder why people wear yellow ribbons to express their respect for soldiers? Was it that song from decades ago? That one about the yellow ribbon on the oak tree?
Is that also (if you will) the root of the new movie called The Yellow Handkerchief, starring William Hurt and Twilight's Kristen Stewart, which carries this mysterious obsession with yellow garments into the 21st century?
Helen Gahagan Douglas – the original movie star politician
These days they seem even more tired than a cliché – celebrity politicians.
You’ve got second-generation pro wrestling titan Linda McMahon running for public office in Connecticut. You’ve got comedian Al Franken serving in the U.S. Senate from Minnesota, the same state which – speaking of wrestling – once elected Jesse “The Body” Ventura as governor.
The Irish Catholic Church's 'Tea Party'
Given the problems he’s faced with these days -- health care, Iraq and now the exodus of Democrats such as Patrick Kennedy and Evan Bayh from the House and Senate -- President Obama probably looks back fondly on the days when the biggest problem in his life was a bunch of angry Irish Catholics at Notre Dame.
Last year, Obama was invited to give the commencement speech at the Catholic university famous for its Fighting Irish sports teams. Some people applauded the invite, since colleges are supposed to be a forum for debate.
Others, however, were outraged.
The real problem with stereotypes, Irish or otherwise
British comedian Ricky Gervais caused a bit of trouble a few weeks back when he cracked a joke about body hair, Colin Farrell and alcoholism at the Globes.
It’s worth adding, however, that Gervais was not doing a solo performance. He was very much part of a loud and plentiful chorus.
Ireland shares story with U.S. small towns
Drogheda, Co. Louth native Patrick Carr has encountered good fortune and bad on a road which has taken him from Ireland to some of the smallest towns in the U.S.
Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan under fire in terror war
John Brennan grew up in New Jersey, the son of an Irish immigrant named Owen.
Brennan, who this week was dubbed President Obama’s “public face for counter terrorism policy,” was educated by the Jesuits, in high school as well as at Fordham University. Brennan has said a sense of public service was instilled in him, at home and at school, and thus he traveled widely and, after college, began a 30-year career at the CIA, working closely with Obama, as well as Presidents Bush and Clinton.
Despite this impressive resume -- Obama seriously considered naming Brennan CIA director following the presidential election -- it was not until the so-called underwear bombing of Christmas Day that the spotlight turned to Brennan.
New attack on Obama from 'birther' conservatives
He is a president with a father born in another country. Whispers, and occasionally shouts, arise that he is not a fit candidate for the White House.
He overcomes those obstacles, but for a core group of critics the charge that he is an unconstitutional president never goes away. They spend time trying to convince their fellow Americans that a man with no legal ties to the nation he governs is serving as commander in chief.
What has 2010 in store for Irish America?
It’s been another wild year for Irish Americans, but what will next year bring?
Sit back as we gaze into the crystal ball. What will each month of 2010 bring?
JANUARY: Following the success of their tacky new reality show Jersey Shore, in which Italian Americans proudly act like buffoons and call themselves “guidos,” MTV announces its next reality venture -- Irish Riviera. That’s right, MTV will throw a bunch of Irish lads and lassies into a Rockaway Beach bungalow while we sit back and watch the fireworks.
The guys and gals philosophize about religion, Northern Ireland and whether or not they will get a “Mick” or “donkey” tattoo, following a breakfast of Irish car bombs.
Tiger Woods and the immigration dilemma
Irish-born World War II veteran James Patrick O’Donnell has lived a long, vibrant life. He came to the U.S. at the age of four with his family.
He fought alongside members of the greatest generation, serving as a machine gunner in Europe. He then lived in New York and Connecticut for decades before moving to the south to care for an ailing family member.
Along the way, of course, O’Donnell became an American citizen.
Rebels, like George Carlin, taught us how to laugh
In his new, posthumous autobiography, the late, great George Carlin writes about how his Irish Catholic parents brought the legendary comedian into this world.
“I was conceived in a damp, sand-flecked room of Curley's Hotel in Rockaway Beach, New York. August 1936. At the Paramount Theater in Times Square, Bing Crosby and Frances Farmer starred in "Rhythm on the Range.''"
“Meanwhile at Curley's Hotel on Beach 116th Street, Mary and Patrick Carlin starred in yet another doomed Catholic remake of Rhythm in the Sack.”
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