Lantern Theater’s A Skull in Connemara Puts the ‘Mac’ in ‘Macabre’
Reviewed by Roslyn Blyn-LaDrew So, who needs a closet when skeletons are part of your cast of characters? No matter if they’re somewhat, errm, not exactly disembodied, but let’s say, disarticulated. Isn’t that a sign of our times anyway? As part of the Philadelphia Irish Theater Festival, the Lantern Theater has dished up a delightfully [...]
Eastern State Penitentiary: Spookiest Halloween Ever, Irish Connections
By Roslyn Blyn-LaDrew Where will you be this Halloween? If the run-of-the-mill ooohing and aaahing over your friends’ store-bought polyester costumes has you bored, you might try “Terror Behind the Walls” at Eastern State Penitentiary (2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia). Now in its 19th year, this event is one of the most highly regarded haunted-house attractions [...]
Brooklyn Paper Boy to Villanova Man of Letters:
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 Sloyan, [...]
A Commitment to Social Justice
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 part [...]
