DanBarry_test

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

Sept 13, 2012 | 7PM "Hope Diamond" - Dan Barry speaks at Boston College Each summer, Boston College asks its incoming freshmen to read a book whose theme can provide a starting point for reflection and conversation that will later be illuminated through an address by the author at the annual First Year Convocation in September. The book for this year’s class is Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption and Baseball’s Longest Game by Dan Barry.

Oct 23, 2012 | 7PM 2012 PEN Literary Awards Ceremony Award winners and runners-up will be honored at the 2012 PEN Literary Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, October 23, 2012, at CUNY Graduate Center’s Proshansky Auditorium in New York City. Details are forthcoming for this event. Stay tuned.

Recent Work

For Patsy Cline’s Hometown, an Embrace That Took Decades Dec. 24, 2012 - A modest tin-roof house stands as a monument to a dropout turned country singer who gained more recognition from Winchester, Va., after her death at 30 than during her life. Full Story

With the Why Elusive, Two Boys, Two Burials Dec. 18, 2012 - The people of Newtown buried two boys on Monday afternoon, in the first of the many funerals to follow last week's massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. The boys were both 6 years old. Full Story

Divining the Weather, With Methods Old and New Dec 10, 2012 - Bill O'Toole works as the seventh prognosticator of J. Gruber's Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack, a line of work that began in 1797 with a star-savvy blacksmith. Full Story

Storm-Tossed Memories Nov 18, 2012 - Hurricane Sandy transformed cherished snapshots into an open-air exhibition of people's lives. Full Story

Back When a Chocolate Puck Tasted, Guiltily, Like America Nov 17, 2012 - Consumers already knew that not everything is good for you, and this was never truer than with a Twinkie, a Sno Ball, or a Ring Ding — the Ding Dong equivalent in the Northeast. Full Story

In a Small Ohio City, an Almost Sacred Day of Civic Purpose Nov 7, 2012 - The jaded might contend that in a presidential election, one vote among tens of millions has no meaning. In Elyria, Ohio, voting is simply what you do. Full Story

Hoops Springs Eternal Nov 5, 2012 - It's basketball season again. The hoop beckons. Do you hearken to its call? Full Story

Evoking 18th-Century Drama, a Tragedy on the Bounty Nov 4, 2012 - A vessel of timber and lore was hammered by the hurricane, and the captain has not been found. Full Story

With a New Menu and a Makeover, a Promise to Keep Going Oct. 18, 2012 - One constant in a struggling city like Elyria, Ohio, is the shared determination to make it through this day and into the next. Full Story

In the Hard Fall of a Favorite Son, a Reminder of a City's Scars Oct. 17, 2012 - Ike Maxwell walks the streets of Elyria, Ohio, as if determined to break through life's defensive line. Often he is shouting. But what is he trying to say? Full Story

After a Childhood Pouring Refills, Reaching Beyond the Past Oct. 16, 2012 - Bridgette Harvan, 21, has worked at her grandmother's diner since she was 9. But as the breakfast regulars reminisce of better days in Elyria, Ohio, she dreams of a brighter future in a rejuvenated town.. Full Story

New Mayor, Big To-Do List Oct. 15, 2012 - Mayor Holly Brinda, a fourth-generation resident of Elyria, Ohio, remains hopeful despite cutbacks that have cost city jobs and reduced city services. Full Story

At the Corner of Hope and Worry Oct. 14, 2012 - A small cafe, in the small city of Elyria, Ohio, is being tested by a tough economy. It is the kind of place where Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each hope that his promise of a restored American dream will resonate. Full Story

The familiar sights and sounds of the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade.

A stunning view of the Cliffs of Moher.
Photo by Steven King

A detail from one of the many Ulster Freedom Fighter murals that adorn Belfast.

The charm that is Gort in County Galway.

ARTICLES: IRELAND

Every now and then, Dan Barry explores matters related to Ireland. Because his mother was born in County Galway, Dan is automatically an Irish citizen, much to Ireland's chagrin.

In Whitey Bulger Case, a Voice for the Victims.
Published: Jul. 16, 2011
The Whitey Bulger case has drawn the ire of many, especially Tommy Donahue, whose father is one of 19 people Mr. Bulger is accused of killing. Full story

Begorrah! Irish Cops, Yet Again
Published: Oct. 26, 2008
Movies like Pride and Glory suggest that jammed-up Irish cops are still the rule in New York. Not so. Full story

Does the ‘Real’ Ireland Still Exist?
Published: May 18, 2008
In a land of ancient ways put under modern stresses, there’s a paradox: You will find what you want, as long as you don’t look for it. Full story

Swallowed in a Sea of Green
Published: Mar. 18, 2006
In the air the bagpipes sounded, on the pavement the feet pounded, and by chance did you see Rosemary Cosgrove? Full story

May the Floor Rise Up to Meet You
Published: Mar. 16, 2005
The gone-away children of Ireland are retracing the dance steps of forebears in a place called Sunnyside. Full story

Scandal and Social Change Leave Irish Church Adrift
Published: Apr. 7, 2002
Social changes and a string of sordid scandals involving priests have rocked Ireland's Catholic Church; church has lost influence and participation and religious orders are relinquishing convents and property to appease adult victims of childhood abuse; some Catholics see problems creating opportunity for more inclusive church; few people are entering into vocations in a nation once famed for exporting its priests, nuns and brothers Full story

Lisdoonvarna Journal; In Ireland's Pubs, a Startling Trend
Published: Aug. 28, 2000
Guinness stout remains best-selling alcoholic beverage in Ireland, but its consumption in rural areas such as Lisdoonvarna has declined by nearly 4 percent over last year; new wealth from nation's economic boom has allowed citizens to broadened tastes, with many opting for a more fashionable drinking experience; sales of heavier and darker stout have been surpassed by those of lighter lagers as international brands compete for suddenly abundant pocket money of the average Irish consumer. Full story

Belfast Journal; Murals of 'Troubles' Draw Passions, and Tourists
Published: Aug. 12, 2000
Tourism is surging in Belfast, Northern Ireland, since peace agreement was reached; people are visiting city's most forbidding neighborhoods to see provocative murals by loyalists and Republicans. Full story

Once-Towering Figure Is Focus of Irish Inquiry
Published: Aug. 3, 2000
Former Irish Prime Min Charles J. Haughey, once dominant political figure, is being questioned by tribunal probing suspected corruption; tribunal has estimated he got as much as $10 million in contributions from businessmen to cover his huge debts and expensive tastes and seeks to determine whether he used public office to benefit donors; probe will join other efforts to tighten relatively new public ethics laws. Full story

Gaelic Comes Back on Ireland's Byways and Airwaves
Published: Jul. 25, 2000
Gaelic is becoming popular in Ireland after sharp decline during past two centuries; once perceived as tongue of poor and uneducated, it is beginning to represent self-confidence born of recent economic and cultural success. Full story

Kilmovee Journal; The Gleam in an Irishman's Eye: An Emerald City
Published: Jul. 19, 2000
Proposal by William Thomas to build new city near Kilmovee, in Ireland's isolated west, has spurred national debate and is being embraced by local leaders; comes at time when government planners are working on strategy to spread nation's resources and opportunities more evenly. Full story

Gort: Easy To Miss, Hard To Leave
Published: Jul. 9, 2000
Dan Barry travel article describes return trip to Gort in County Galway, Ireland, where some family members still live. Full story

From Poets to Pubs, Irish Imports Are in Demand
Published: Mar. 17, 1997
Article on growing demand among Americans for anything Irish, from kitschy to cultural; observers say genesis of Irish lovefest, which has been building for several years, has not sprung from one seed; cite refinement of marketing techniques by Irish Tourist Board, waning of influence of Roman Catholic Church that has spawned liberation of expression, tax breaks, and advent of Internet, which has made country's charms and troubles more accessible to Irish-Americans, spurring curiosity about the... Full story

How a Proud Son of Irishtown Is Learning to Get Along
Published: Mar. 8, 1997
Profile of James Conway Sullivan, Irish-American leader in Rockaways section of New York City; he is founder of St Patrick's parade in Rockaways, second-largest St Patrick's parade in New York State; Sullivan comments on occasional tensions between Irish and black communities in Rockaways. Full story