We congratulate Tim McGrath for writing an outstanding and long-overdue book on the heroic life John Barry. Though born and raised in Wexford until the age of 15, Barry quickly adopted America as his country for which he fought valiantly in its cause for freedom from Britain. Philadelphia became his new home...
Read More »
Dr. James J. Murphy Reflects on Irishness Past and Present An Interview by Roslyn Blyn-LaDrew Jim Murphy grew up in Brooklyn (Flatbush). As a child, he had a paper route, a home full of Irish songs and ballads, and a village’s worth of aunts, uncles, and cousins, in Brooklyn and beyond. Jim’s mother, Kathleen...
Read More »
Anne O’Callaghan and The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians Anne O’Callaghan is the director of The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians. Originally from Co. Monaghan, in this interview she discusses the Center’s mission and how her childhood on the Border with Northern Ireland has influenced the path toward her current work, although it wasn’t...
Read More »
By Katharine Gilbert With faith that’s strong, with courage bold, we raise our banner high… —Cardinal Dougherty School Song The following is an interview with Donna Farrell, Director of Communications, Archdiocese of Philadelphia IE: When and how did the Archdiocese come to this decision DF: This decision came after 15 years of working to...
Read More »
An East Falls Childhood Marred by Poverty and Abuse By Sabina Clarke I caught up with Joe Queenan, author of the startling memoir/autobiography Closing Time, the day after his return from Ireland where he attended the Dublin Literary Festival. Queenan’s book has attracted considerable attention because he departs from his usual humorous vein and...
Read More »
By Sabina Clarke Siobhan Lyons, the new executive director of the Irish Immigration and Pastoral Center in Upper Darby, is young, enthusiastic, accomplished, and bursting with new ideas. The well-traveled daughter of a career diplomat for the Irish Government, Siobhan spent five years of her childhood in Nairobi, Kenya. Before coming to the Immigration...
Read More »
Breakfast with the Champ… By Sabina Clarke I’m sitting before Joe Frazier, the former heavyweight champion of the world while he finishes a bowl of cereal. He is casual, warm and welcoming and greets me like an old friend. We’ve met before but I doubt if he remembers. It was in 1992 at the...
Read More »
By Sabina Clarke When I first called Father Daniel Berrigan, the Jesuit priest, anti-war activist, teacher, poet and scholar to schedule an interview, he had company and asked me to call him the following morning adding, “If you don’t get me , keep calling because I am worth it.” I squeezed in a question about...
Read More »
By Sabina Clarke Tommy Gibbons has vivid memories of riding with his Dad, Philadelphia’s First Police Commissioner and the City’s Top Cop in Car One, a big unmarked car with a blaring siren and flashing red spotlight. He remembers the time his father and namesake, Thomas J. Gibbons, Sr., suddenly turned a corner at...
Read More »
By Deen Kogan Few contemporary writers, or even those long gone, come with the bona fides that James Lee Burke possesses. This amazingly prolific writer, with a great laugh, engaging smile and affection for and appreciation of the human race, with all its foibles, has produced 27 novels and two short story collections in...
Read More »
