World of Hibernia articles from December 1997

World of Hibernia archives from December 1997

Corporate chieftains. (biography and Irish roots of B.J. Dolan of Olsten Staffing Services of Chicago and Oliver Murphy of Hibernia Foods)
December 22, 1997... B.J. Dolan III Chairman and CEO, Olsten Staffing Services of Chicago Other than his title, there is hardly a whiff of a corporate air surrounding him. And although his full name, Burtis John Dolan III, might sound a bit stuffy,...

Freehand: mapping the career of Kathy Prendergast. (Irish artist)
December 22, 1997... The Nuova Icona Gallery in Venice, Italy, is more than a little off the beaten track. Getting there involves a longish vaporetto (water taxi) ride across the watery expanse of the Bacino di San Marco, well past the popular tourist destinations...

"... And if he lack both 'O' and 'Mac,' no Irishman is he." (unusual Irish surnames)
December 22, 1997... Our pedigrees are not registered in Burke's Peerage but at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Our family trees are known only to the ancient Druids, and our names are pronounced correctly solely among those who bear them with us. We have never...

A Castle Leslie Christmas. (castle in County Monaghan, Ireland)
December 22, 1997... It's the sort of romantic place to dream dreams. It's steeped in a history that comes alive in the telling of octogenarian Sir John Leslie, 4th Baronet. He is the patriarch of Castle Leslie, nestled in Glaslough, County Monaghan, and delights...

A classical Irish education. (Clongowes Wood College in Ireland; includes related article on James Joyce's education at the institution)
December 22, 1997... My old Mercedes slowed and executed a sweeping right-hand turn through the castellated entrance of Clongowes Wood College. Ahead in the distance lay the castle, framed by two verdant columns of lime trees and targeted by the arrow-straight...

A man and his toys. (Shiny Entertainment founder David Perry)
December 22, 1997... A native of Northern Ireland, where he was raised in rural Donegore, County Antrim, David Perry now lives what many of his rain-soaked countrymen probably consider "the dream life" in sunny Southern California. Indeed from the cherry-red Dodge...

50 great places to stay in Ireland. (Directory)
December 22, 1997... Selecting a mere 50 out of the countless charming places to stay in Ireland is a tall order. Yet if anyone can be considered qualified for such a daunting task it is the husband-and-wife writing team of John and Sally McKenna. Their...

Ireland's best hotels.(Directory)
December 22, 1997... Adare Manor The Manor House of Adare stands witness to centuries of Ireland's history. Enjoy afternoon tea overlooking the majestic gardens. Spend a candlelit dinner feasting on haute cuisine laced with Irish charm. Finish the evenings by...

The marvelous Merrion. (Merrion Hotel, Dublin, Ireland)
December 22, 1997... To the uninformed visitor, the splendidly ornate Merrion Hotel, located along Upper Merrion Street in central Dublini appears to be frozen in time, a perfectly preserved example of 18th-century Georgian architecture. The hotel, which opened...

Center stage: young Irish playwrights in the spotlight.(Interview)
December 22, 1997... Amidst the backdrop of the 40th annual Dublin Theatre Festival, held this past October, The World of Hibernia caught up with six of Ireland's most promising young playwrights. Many in the theater world have been quick to draw comparisons...

Cages, chains, and card catalogs: the first public library in Ireland.
December 22, 1997... `We order and appoint that all graduates and gentlemen shall have free access to the said library on the days and hours before determined; provided they behave themselves well, give place and pay due respect to their betters.' -- the...

The Ryans. (profiles of people descended from the Ryan clan of Ireland)(Cover Story)
December 22, 1997... Among the 10 most common names in Ireland today, "Ryan" is derived from the name O Maoilriaghain, meaning "descendant of a devotee of St. Riaghan." Eventually this was Anglicized to O'Mulryan, a name that is now virtually extinct. The O...

The hunting Ryans: a salute to the Scarteen. (hunting country in Ireland)(Cover Story)
December 22, 1997... Upon his birth, the Irish leprechauns bequeathed a wealth of gifts on Christopher Ryan, present-day joint master and huntsman of the famous Scarteen hounds. Taking after his celebrated father, Thaddeus (universally known as Thaddy), Chris is...

Passage to the afterworld. (Newgrange passage-tomb in County Meath, Ireland)
December 22, 1997... Newgrange is arguably one of the finest monuments of European pre-history. Dating to circa 3200 B.C., it is thought to have been built during the New Stone Age by a wealthy farming community that prospered on the rich lands of the Boyne Valley...

Talk on Corners.
December 22, 1997... The Corrs's debut album, Forgiven not Forgotten, took the world by storm two years ago with its soaring melodies and sweet harmonies. As a result, even greater things were expected from their follow-up album, Talking on Corners, released this...

Women of the World - Celtic 2.
December 22, 1997... This album, as the title suggests, is the second collection of Celtic music performed and composed by female singers and songwriters. The first album, which was released last year, sold more than 130,000 copies. The original CD, Women of the...

Emer Kenny.
December 22, 1997... Emer Kenny is a Dublin-based artist who is also attempting to bring together old and new. As evidenced by previous selections reviewed herein, this tricky business requires skill and grace to succeed. Yet Emer Kenny may well be the artist to...

Omnis.
December 22, 1997... Lest anyone attribute mythical qualities to the CD's title -- Omnis -- it is simply a reference to the Omni-directional microphones used in the recording of this album. The microphones are really the only instruments used on the album, except...

Grace Notes.
December 22, 1997... On the cover of Bernard MacLaverty's new novel, Grace Notes, is a reproduction of Wilhelm Hammershoi's painting Interior with a Girl at the Clavier. Scarcely could a more apt illustration have been chosen to represent this book and...

The Inland Ice and Other Stories.
December 22, 1997... Elis Ni Dhuibhne is a delightful writer, and this is a marvelous collection of stories. There are 14 of them in all, one of which, the quasi-folktale "The Search for the Lost Husband," provides a thematic touchstone that links the other 13...

The Salesman.
December 22, 1997... Being dubbed "the laureate of the rising Irish generation" could weigh heavily on a young guy's shoulders. The wonder, then, is that on the evidence of The Salesman, his just-published third novel, Joe O'Connor seems to have managed to...