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