I've managed to get myself to a country where there is no St. Patrick's Day Parade -- not even an Irish embassy, just an honorary consulate. I suspect March 17 will be a little quieter than I'm used to. 

I am alive and well and enjoying Amman -- and so far, Amman seems to be enjoying me.

I'm settling in --…

LAST TIME ON THIS CONTINENT FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE!

(Leaving for a new assignment in Amman, Jordan, on February 9)

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17 - 7:30 P.M.

Scandinavia House - 58 Park Avenue

Songs from Broadway, Opera, Folk Songs, Religious Stuff and Things He Makes…

I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO MY PARTY!!!!

 As you probably know, I have officially left office as Director of the Xavier Society for the Blind.

 But the formal farewell is going to be a dinner cruise party on

 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14

The Place – Pier 62, at 23^rd Street, Chelsea Piers, on board the ATLANTICA

 It’s a dinner cruise, with an outdoor deck (for those who want to…

After a long period of prayer and reflection, it is with deep sadness that I realize that as a matter of conscience, I will be unable to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City on March 17^th.

Although I belong to five groups who march,…

If you have missed the ongoing conversation about the need to preserve the tradition of the parade in New York, and to protect the role and the voice of its many affiliate groups, it's worth looking up the many places where the dialogue continues. There is a petition to help focus the…

No matter how good a cupcake is, when you are expecting a full dessert, it can be disappointing.

Which was my reaction on seeing the award-winning (very) short film "Spiorad na Samhna -- Spirit of Samhain," advertised as exploring “the origins of Halloween in Ireland.” By…

So you think you know Rudy?

You know he went to Notre Dame, and through sheer perseverance he won a spot on the football squad. Because everyone admired his grit so much, he got to suit up for the last game of his senior year, and he was put in the game for the last two plays. On the last play of the game, he broke through the line and sacked the quarterback. The team lifted him up and carried him off the…

Let me begin with a warning – I saw this show in a preview, and so there might have been changes, additions, subtractions before the show opened. I don’t think there is much room for a change in what is a very tightly and cleanly performed production, but one never knows.

As the name suggests,…

“NEW YORK CATHOLICS: Faith, Attitude & The Works!”

Patrick McNamara

Orbis Books, October 2014

211 Pages

When I first saw the title, I was apprehensive -- I was expecting either a dry history or a dry listing of…

Book Review:

"Compassionate Stranger: Asenath Nicholson and the Great Irish Famine"

By Maureen O’Rourke Murphy

Syracuse University Press, 2015

366 Pages…

Book review

"Annie's Stories," by Cindy Thompson

Tyndale House Publishers Inc.

Carol…

Book Review

"The Decline and Fall of the Dukes of Leinster, 1872–1948"

by Terrence Dooley…

I am not usually a great one for "tourist sites," and it was a damp, rainy day and I was not of a mood to go out. But I had a friend visiting, and by heaven, she had read about this place north of Dublin (where I was living and where I had a very comfortable spot, and a lovely pub…

Light of the Diddicoy

A Novel by Eamon Loingsigh

Published by Three Rooms Press Trade Paperbacks

Release Date:…

THE BOY AT THE GATE (A Memoir)

Danny Ellis

Arcade Publishing,…

'Copper' Original Soundtrack

Music by Brian…

Check this link for an interesting odd bit of Irish history ...…

I would not presume to elevate my meanderings by calling them a “review” but having just finished "The Misrememberd Man," a lovely first novel by Christine McKenna, a Derry-born artist and writer, I am willing to go out on a limb and recommend it as a…

Cruiskeen Lawn

A song I learned from my father, who learned it from his father. 

https://soundcloud.com/jredmond13-1/cruiskeen-lawn-1

Parting Glass

An old pub closing song that also works well at funerals.The Parting Glass