Seamas O’Reilly mines a family tragedy for mirth and good storytelling in ‘Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?’ James T. Keane offers his thoughts on this latest selection for the Catholic Book Club.
Ireland
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis prays for lasting peace in Northern Ireland on 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
On Easter Monday, Pope Francis marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which, he said, “put an end to the violence that had troubled Northern Ireland for decades.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
JFK to Mitch McConnell: How Irish Americans went from reliable Democrats to leading the GOP
This St. Patrick’s Day we can find Irish Americans at the height of political power, but they may not be what predecessors like John F. Kennedy and Patrick Moynihan expected.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
‘The Irish Lincoln’: When Éamon de Valera visited America
While Éamon de Valera, the great politician and Irish patriot, is not always remembered fondly by all Irish, the writers and editors of America couldn’t get enough of him.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
From 1919: President Éamon de Valera on Ireland’s right to independence
In advance of a visit to the United States in 1919, Irish patriot and politician Éamon de Valera argued in America’s pages that Ireland deserved full independence from England.
Posted inArts & Culture, Dispatches
‘The Quiet Girl’ at the Oscars shows the Irish language’s surprising resurgence
Film-making in Ireland has been in the shadow of other cultural successes in literature and music. That may all be about to change. At this year’s Academy Awards, there are three movies with strong Irish connections up for Oscar consideration.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Is Ireland’s civil war finally over?
The peaceful sharing of power by Irish political parties that once went to war may be understood as a triumph of the common good.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and the dark Catholic imagination of Martin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh’s new movie “The Banshees of Inisherin” serves up sad enough stuff to leave viewers crying in our beer. But first we laugh.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Colm Tóibín’s new collection explores growing up gay in Ireland, surviving cancer and the Irish’s love/hate relationship with the Catholic Church
Fans of Colm Tóibín will no doubt be pleased at the news that he has a new book of essays coming out.
Posted inArts & Culture, News
Thomas Cahill, author of ‘How the Irish Saved Civilization,’ dead at 82
In his million-selling “How the Irish Saved Civilization,” Cahill cited Ireland’s crucial—and unappreciated—preservation of classical texts after the fall of the Roman Empire.