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Vol.28 No.3 • April /May 2013
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IRISH AMERICA Mortas Cine Pride In Our Heritage
Founding Publisher Niall O’Dowd Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief Patricia Harty Vice President of Marketing Kate Overbeck Art Director Marian Fairweather Deputy Editor Sheila Langan Copy Editor John Anderson Advertising & Events Coordinator & Music Editor Tara Dougherty Director of Special Projects Turlough McConnell Financial Controller Kevin M. Mangan Editorial Assistants Adam Farley Michelle Meagher
IRISH AMERICA 875 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 201, New York NY 10001
Colum McCann Colum McCann won the National Book Award in 2012 for Let the Great World Spin, which through an extraordinary feat of storytelling connects a disparate group of ordinary New Yorkers to Philippe Petit’s 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. His new novel, TransAtlantic, due out in early June, is another tour de force: a series of narratives spanning 150 years and both sides of the Atlantic. We are pleased to publish an extract in this issue.
Keith O’Ceallaigh Keith O’Ceallaigh broke the story of the impending IRA hunger strike in Long Kesh prison, making the front page of the Chicago Catholic in September 1980. The same reporter applies his straightforward approach to every story he writes, including in this issue “True Grit,” the story of a high school football team that won the championship despite the fact that 11 of the team had been displaced by Hurricane Sandy.
Kara Rota Kara is the lead editor and manages business development for Cookstr, a technology company based in Manhattan that focuses on the intersection between food, lifestyle and health. She also does freelance food journalism and is an award-winning fiction writer.
Chris Ryan Both a writer and photographer, Chris Ryan provided the images and the story for “Skellig Michael: A Sacred Place,” in this issue. He specializes in travel, the outdoors, politics, and business. Chris wrote the cover story, “The Global Irishman” for the Dec. 2009 issue of Irish America. He is based in the San Francisco Bay area and online at ViewsoftheWorld.com.
TEL: 212-725-2993 FAX: 212-244-3344
Subscriptions: 1-800-582-6642 E-MAIL: irishamag@aol.com www.irishamerica.com Irish America Magazine ISSN 08844240) © by Irish America Inc. Published bi-monthly. Mailing address: P.O. Box 1277, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-5277. Editorial office: 875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 201, New York, NY 10001. Telephone: 212-725-2993. Fax: 212-244-3344 Email: Irishamag@aol.com. Subscription rate is $21.95 for one year. Subscription orders: 1-800-582-6642. Subscription queries: 1-800-582-6642, (212) 725-2993, ext. 150. Periodicals postage paid at New York and additional mailing offices. Postmaster please send address changes to Irish America Magazine, P.O. Box 1277, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-5277. IRISH AMERICA IS PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
6 IRISH AMERICA APRIL / MAY 2013
Megan Smolenyak Megan Smolenyak is a genealogist and the author of six books, including Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing and Who Do You Think You Are?, a companion to the TV series. She is only slightly less Irish in heritage than Joe Biden, whose Irish roots she uncovers in this issue.
William B. Styple Historian and author William B. Styple writes about sculptor James E. Kelly in this issue. Styple discovered and transcribed Kelly’s interviews with Civil War generals, and the resulting book, Generals in Bronze: Interviewing the Commanders of the Civil War, was published in 2005. Since 1988, he has edited, co-authored, and authored nearly two dozen books and documentaries.