Being New York, Being Irish: Reflections on Twenty-Five Years of Irish America and New York University’s Glucksman Ireland House

Description

New York University’s Glucksman Ireland House opened a quarter-century ago to foster the study of Ireland and Irish America, and since then has led and witnessed tremendous changes in Irish and Irish-American culture.

Alice McDermott writes about her son’s Irish awakening; Colum McCann’s Joycean essay is a brilliant call to action in defence of immigrants and social justice; Colm Tóibín’s first visit to New York coincided with the first St Patrick’s Day parade led by a woman; Dan Barry reflects on Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes; and a new poem by Seamus Heaney written not long before his death.

Through deeply personal essays that reflect on their own experience, research and art, some of the best-known Irish writers on both sides of the Atlantic commemorate the House’s anniversary by examining what has changed, and what has not, in Irish and Irish-American culture, art, identity, and politics since 1993.

Table of Contents

Foreword ~ President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins

Preface ~ NUI President, Andrew Hamilton

1. From One, Many ~ Colum McCann
2. Ireland ~ Billy Collins
3. A Door, Opened ~ Terry Golway
4. Child of My Heart ~ Alice McDermott
5. Marching Towards the Future ~ Colm Tóibín
6. History, House and Home ~ Marion R. Casey
7. The Importance of Being Frank ~ Dan Barry
8. How the Irish Challenged American Identity ~ Hasia Diner
9. Bosses, Bishops and Organizers ~ Peter Quinn
10. A Season of Anniversaries ~ Maureen Murphy
11. 1916: The Eoghan Rua Variations ~ Paul Muldoon
12. The Irish-American Mews and Oral History ~ Miriam Nyhan Grey
13. A Criminal Enterprise ~ John Connolly
14. Coming of Age ~ Ray O’Hanlon
15. Bridging the Transatlantic Gap ~ Patricia Harty
16.  A Student’s Long Journey Home ~ Ellen O’Brien Kelly
17.  An Enduring Connection ~ Daniel Mulhall
18. An Abundance of Stories ~ Gina Marie Guadagnino
19.  Irish Spider ~ Billy Collins
20.  A Dream Fulfilled, A Need Addressed ~ Terry Golway
21. Tribute to Lew Glucksman ~ Joe Lee
22. Lauds for Loretta ~ Seamus Heaney

About the Editor

Terry Golway is a journalist and US political historian and has appeared on television, radio, and film in the US and in Ireland. He is a senior editor at Politico, and past editorial board member of the New York Times.