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Ireland needs a new James Joyce - new voice of the Irish people is on the way (IrishCentral)

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 05:19:25 PDT

James JoyceIt was my grandfather's misfortune to find himself coming to maturity among the Civil War generation Like a lot of the Irish of that era he inherited a war with the British crown and not much else His life and his legacy were shaped by that battle, and he helped hand on a new Ireland to my father's generation It was my father's misfortune to find himself at war with the conservative Catholic republic that sprang up to retard the nation's progress READ MORE

In Focus: Matt Keough - Notre Dame student and IrishCentral and Irish Voice intern (IrishCentral)

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 01:00:27 PDT

By: MOLLY MULDOON

Background: A Notre Dame student, Matt Keough lives in Rye, New York. He is currently completing an internship with Irish Central and the Irish Voice.

"Wise Irish Women" brings tales of Irish charm, luck, and love from 36 different woman's voices (IrishCentral)

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:43:15 PDT

By: JANE WALSH

Inspired by their own Irish ancestry, two cousins compiled generations of wisdom, gleaned from women of all walks of life, with one thing in common: a deep and abiding connection to Ireland.

“Speech Project” by Gerry Diver left me speechless (IrishCentral)

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:01:39 PST

Gerry DiverOne of the most interesting morsels to drop in my mailbag in many a moon is Speech Project, an album of unique compositions by Gerry Diver Diver weaves exclusive spoken word contributions from Irish music legends such as Shane MacGowan, Damien Dempsey, Christy Moore, Martin Hayes and Danny Meehan (as well as archive interviews) to create new songs from the inflections in their speech and native accents According to Diver, he was listening to a recorded interview of the late, great accordion player Joe Cooley and noticed that the voice sounded like it was in the key of B flat minor There also seemed to be a slip jig rhythm to Cooley’s voice READ MORE

Giving up on the auld Catholic guilt (IrishCentral)

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:01:38 PST

I was recently dining with a group of colleagues I hadn't seen in a while at a meal break inside of a training seminar After catching up on the frivolity -- how many kids you have now, how long have you been with the company -- one African American gal turned to me and asked out of the blue, "So, Mike, what are you giving up for Lent this year?""Uh, Catholicism?" came the reply before a wave of polite laughter (note -- I am the boss of these people, so everything I say is met with polite laughter)"They still do that?" asked another colleague"Mike asked me that during a meeting years ago and then he shared what the Lenten sacrifice had meant to him READ MORE

In Focus: Paul May - Fulbright scholar living in New York, originally from Dublin (IrishCentral)

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:08:01 PST

By: MOLLY MULDOON

Background: A Fulbright scholar, Paul May is an interaction designer and researcher based in New York. Originally from Raheny, Co. Dublin, he moved here in 2010 and currently lives in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn.

Here’s how my grandson will grow up - the joy and pride of a half-cracked elder clansman (IrishCentral)

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 04:31:28 PST

Ach, let me tell ye about our youngest MacConnell clansman Ultan that I held in my grandfatherly grasp for the first time last week, and let me please go beyond that to show how "cracked" the clan are that the morsel is joining, God love him, and beyond that again to deal with the strange realities of me being a small bit fey -- the Scottish word for psychic -- and even beyond that again into the zone occupied by the genetic cargo in this modern IrelandFirst, and factually, permit me to remark that Ultan MacConnell, first child of my son Dara and his wife Aine, is an exceptionally beautiful baby by any standards He is only about nine weeks old and already is one of those rare babies who doesn’t wear the universal baby face His is countenance is already tracked with the best features of his lovely mother and handsome father, and he has avoided the Roman nose of his paternal grandfather READ MORE

A long journey into “night” - the Irish American author Jennings Michael Burch that still strikes a chord today (IrishCentral)

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 06:31:19 PST

Jennings Michael BurchSometimes, the students are the ones who teach the teachers High school students all across New York City spent last week taking their all-important Regents exams is subjects like algebra, global history and English language arts As readers of this column may know, I’m a high school teacher in Brooklyn And so my job last week was to grade literally hundreds of those English language arts Regents exams READ MORE

The conspiracy theory that won’t go away - Robert F Kennedy and the secrets behind the assassination of JFK (IrishCentral)

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:01:23 PST

Robert F Kennedy JrEarly in Oliver Stone’s hyper-paranoid film JFK, Guy Bannister (played by Ed Asner) grumbles that he hates the fact that, by 1963, African Americans could more or less vote safely He adds, “[Blacks] get together with the Jews and the Catholics and elect an Irish bleeding heart” According to the film, Bannister -- and a whole bunch of other people -- did something to stop that “Irish bleeding heart READ MORE

Out with the old in and in with the New Year and The Gathering (IrishCentral)

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 05:15:45 PST

Illustration by Caty BartholomewI was once fortunate enough to see the birth of a filly foal to a Connemara mare on home ground beneath the Twelve Pins near Roundstone The mare selected a quiet corner of her tiny field surrounded by grey stone walls and it was on an autumn afternoon The birth was fast and explosive, the foal a slicked image amidst expired body fluids, looking more dead than alive but, within moments, struggling up on to her incredibly long and tottering spindled legs under the licking tongue of her motherShe leaned against the mare to keep her balance but shortly was suckling in the sunshine, new life against old wise stones beneath the Pins READ MORE

Matchmakers are timeless - in a modern world there’s still space for giving love a helping hand (IrishCentral)

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 06:15:28 PST

Maureen Tara NelsonIn an ever changing world, one trend that has not gone out of style is matchmaking For centuries cultures around the world have used matchmakers as a way to connect with a potential partner, because what could be more important than choosing the right person to spend your life with? After 12 years of experience in this field I know it is not an easy undertaking, nor one that should be entered into lightly With technology advancing daily, the increased divorce rate as well as the fairly modern idea of “romantic love” being one’s right, the need for a matchmaker has never been greater Arranged marriages are still a part of many eastern cultures, as they were historically READ MORE

In memory of the children who lost their lives in Newtown at Sandy Hook Elementary (IrishCentral)

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 05:00:17 PST

Even after all these years together the Dutch Nation still constantly amazes and surprises me We were watching the unbearably sad and senseless classroom slaughter on the TV news together the other evening, the unbearably horrific massacre of beautiful innocent babies and their teachers and, because I am still hobbling around on my afflicted ankle, she drove off to bring home the cottage Christmas treeShannon town is only five minutes away, and you can buy neatly cut and trimmed trees there for about €15 She should have been back in about a half-hour, but she phoned to say she would be delayed READ MORE

Prediction for the New Year - what the world can expect from the Republicans, Catholic Church and more in 2013 (IrishCentral)

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 05:15:17 PST

Rick SantorumIt's that time of year again Assuming all those folks were actually wrong about that Mayan end-of-the-world thing, a new year is upon us Let’s gaze into our crystal ball and see what 2013 might have in store for the Irish in AmericaFirst off, we can expect the Republican Party to make some changes READ MORE

How an illegitimate child was shunned during Christmas in rural Ireland (IrishCentral)

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 04:47:03 PST

Everybody could see, even before she was 10 years old, that Sheila was far and away the most beautiful girl child in the parish, maybe even in the whole county Strangers seeing her for the first time often smiled and stopped in their tracks Everybody could admire the blue-black sheen of her lustrous black curls, the amazing green eyes, the quick, shy smile, the cheek dimples, the enchanting way in which her shapely head was set atop her lissom body Angelic is what they often said READ MORE

The PJ Clarke’s Irish connection - ‘Tales from New York City’s Famous Saloon’ (IrishCentral)

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 04:46:45 PST

Helen Marie ClarkeFrom McSorley’s to the Lion’s Head, there is no shortage of classic New York bars with intimate Irish connectionsPJ Clarke’s, at 3rd Avenue and 55th Street, is right up there with the best of them READ MORE

Looks at Books - Joseph P Kennedy, Notre Dame and Irish recipes (IrishCentral)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 05:16:52 PST

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P KennedyBy David Nasaw You can’t understand the American 20th century without contemplating the Irish American family whose epic rise in many ways defined it In David Nasaw’s magisterial study of Joe Kennedy, The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P Kennedy, he explores the hardheaded pragmatism that was Kennedy’s central characteristic READ MORE

The end game comes peacefully - Irish county footballer hears the long whistle (IrishCentral)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 05:16:50 PST

Illustration by Caty BartholomewMarie met Mahon at the front door of the farmhouse, greeted him with a warm hug while holding his right hand in both of hers as old friends do She told him in the hallway that Stephen was awake and alert in the bed and not suffering this evening He had taken no solid food for two days but had kept down a glass of milk that afternoon He would be glad to see Mahon for sure READ MORE

Immigration advice for Republicans - post election talk of reform seems superficial and desperate (IrishCentral)

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 04:46:34 PST

Senator Linsdey GrahamWell, Republicans, here’s the bad news Your attempts to suddenly seem immigrant-friendly are awkward at best, and - to put it more bluntly - seem hypocritical, superficial and desperate On the other hand, there is good news There is no reason to believe Mitt Romney’s loss to Barack Obama truly represents some kind of final nail in the coffin of the Republican Party READ MORE

A look at Irish books - from comedy and Typhoid Mary to history and more (IrishCentral)

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 05:31:16 PST

Wacky EireBy Geraldine ComiskeyIreland is the acknowledged home of surrealism and Geraldine Comiskey (a roving reporter for the Sunday World) often has occasion to encounter it at its source Having a journalistic resume that includes getting set on fire by stuntmen, dancing on the wings of a World War II bi-plane (well, who hasn’t?) and joining a circus trapeze troupe, she’s clearly ready for anythingIreland in Comiskey’s book is a magical place where all manner of weirdness awaits you down almost very boreen, so in a way her job is an ideal one, scouring the nation in search of funHer book is an eye-popping procession of dodgy faith healers, rural swingers, ghost hunters, GAA players, all of Irish life really READ MORE

Look at books - Irish artists, fiction and history (IrishCentral)

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 06:32:36 PDT

Prodigals And GeniusesBy Brendan LynchThe Irish love a good pub within walking reach and Ireland’s most gifted artists and thinkers have been no exception As Paris has it’s Left Bank and New York has its Upper West Side, for decades Dublin’s bohemian quarter has been centered around Baggot Street and Leeson Street, fringed by the Grand Canal Among it’s familiars were four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature and nearly every major Irish writer of the 19 century, including Oscar Wilde, WB READ MORE