Smyrl has been a leader in Irish genealogy for more than 30 years
Eileen O’Byrne was known sometimes in conversation “to get the wrong end of the stick.” But it was a lucky day for Steven Smyrl that she did the fi...
March 24, 2023
by Peter McDermott
A family at war
“What a life! What a character!” These were Harry Martin’s thoughts as he listened to Cormac O’Malley speak one evening about his father. That nigh...
March 16, 2023
by Peter McDermott
'The search is all that matters'
In “Whale,” a story in John McCaffrey’s collection “Automatically Hip,” a high-school student tells the class that his grandfather was a typesetter...
March 08, 2023
by Peter McDermott
Standing up, speaking out
When the members of Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly gathered on July 1, 1998, it wasn’t the DUP or Sinn Féin that challenged the new system f...
March 01, 2023
by Peter McDermott
Patience is key in the classroom
“We need them.” That’s the most important thing people should know about teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students, according to Siobhan Vuotto...
February 23, 2023
by Peter McDermott
Dad's ghost
Duke University, 1984. The night was a milestone in the life and career of actor Jared Harris, star of “The Crown, “Mad Men,” “Chernobyl,” “The Ter...
February 16, 2023
by Peter McDermott
Imperial subjects return 'home'
“My father was a civil servant and he had worked for the British civil service until 1920 when the change of government meant he decided he didn’t ...
February 15, 2023
by Peter McDermott
Connors to launch CraicFest 25
John Connors will approach his role as MC of the Craic Concert in the spirit of the festival it launches on Friday, Feb. 24. “I’ll improvise and ha...
February 01, 2023
by Peter McDermott
Patrolling the streets of Suffolk
Kathleen Murphy had a problem and her father had the solution. The police officer was tapped young for the Suffolk County Police Department. It was...
January 26, 2023
by Peter McDermott
An urban poet on a rural island
“The Smuggler,” which comes from the pen of a playwright from Galway and is performed by a Cork-born actor in the vernacular of Dublin, “is very mu...
January 19, 2023
by Peter McDermott
Origin's 1st Irish Festival is all in-person in 2023
The 1st Irish Theatre Festival is back – live and in-person – for 2023. “The Irish Rep, 59E59 Theatres, the New York Irish Center, the Irish Arts C...
January 05, 2023
by Peter McDermott
'Factory Girls' is an 'honest, hilarious, recognizable portrait'
Michelle Gallen’s second novel “‘Factory Girls’ is “a great read if you’ve already finished Season 3 of ‘Derry Girls.’” Arlington Magazine wasn’t t...
December 28, 2022
by Peter McDermott