As any old folkie knows, the trio of chaps performing in Aran sweaters in the Coen brothers' latest offering are reminiscent not of Peter, Paul and Mary, but of the Clancy Brothers (Coen brothers' offering is music to critics' ears, 20 May). While trying to break into acting in New York, the three would spend convivial hours in the late-night bars in Greenwich Village, which were also frequented by now legendary folk singer/songwriters such as Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan. Echoes of their Irish traditional songs can be detected in some of Dylan's compositions. The tune of their traditional song The Parting Glass is particularly recognisable in one of Dylan's early songs. When the three brothers became professional and very popular folk singers – along with their countryman, the great Tommy Makem – their mother, worrying about her boys' health in the freezing New York winters, sent them the thick Aran sweaters which became their trademark.
- 5/21/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Get your glad rags out and your Irish up. It’s the 12th annual Craic Fest this March and this year it will be held almost exclusively at the Tribeca Cinema in downtown Manhattan. But don’t expect Tribeca prices. The remarkable thing about the Craic Fest is that the emphasis is still actually on having craic -- $20 gets you a film premiere and a three-hour open bar. You read that right. Jameson and Stella Artois are co-sponsors, so the after parties really will have a swagger in their step. Trust the Irish to know how to throw a real bash. After all, “craic” means a good time. The three big Irish film premieres at the festival this year are Perrier’s Bounty, written by Mark O’Rowe and starring Cillian Murphy and Brendan Gleeson, which will be screened on Thursday, March 11, the festival’s opening night. On Friday, March...
- 2/25/2010
- IrishCentral
What a touching tribute that was from Meryl Streep to the late Natasha Richardson at the Amfar annual gala in New York last week. Streep has been channeling her Irish roots, dating back to her great grandmother, Grace Strain from County Donegal. Recently, she said she wanted to do more research on the Irish side of her ancestry. The night was a tribute to Natasha who, was of course, married to Irish acting giant Liam Neeson. When it came her turn, Streep, who sang right after Lady Gaga, performed the haunting Irish ballad 'The Parting Glass' made famous by Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers. "It really takes guts to get up and sing after Lady Gaga," Streep quipped. She need not have worried as her performance had everyone in tears, the song ending with these words: "But as it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not,...
- 2/16/2010
- IrishCentral
O'Rourke's was our stage, and we displayed our personas there nightly. It was a shabby street-corner tavern on a dicey stretch of North Avenue, a block after Chicago's Old Town stopped being a tourist haven. In its early days it was heated by a wood-burning pot-bellied stove, and ice formed on the insides of the windows. One night a kid from the street barged in, whacked a customer in the front booth with a baseball bat, and ran out again. When a roomer who lived upstairs died, his body was discovered when maggots started to drop through the ceiling. A man nobody knew was shot dead one night out in back. From the day it opened on December 30, 1966 until the day I stopped drinking in 1979, I drank there more or less every night when I was in town. So did a lot of people.
Jay Kovar and Jeanette Sullivan behind the bar
Neil Steinberg,...
Jay Kovar and Jeanette Sullivan behind the bar
Neil Steinberg,...
- 10/5/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
I met John McHugh in the autumn of 1966, when I was a cub reporter on the Sun-Times and he was a rewrite man, two years my senior, on the Chicago Daily News. We are still best friends. He worked the overnight shift, and among his duties was taking calls from readers. After midnight, they wanted to settle bets. "And what do you say?" McHugh would ask. He would listen, and then reply, "You're 100% correct. Put the other guy on." Pause. "And what do you say?" Pause. "You're 100% correct." If he was asked for his name, he said, "John T. Greatest, spelled with three Ts."
One night in autumn 1969 we found ourselves in the Old Town Gate, three blocks from our customary posts at O'Rourke's Pub. "I had my first job in Chicago here," he reminisced. "I invented the Roquefort Burger. Somebody ordered a cheeseburger and I, being a dumb Mick,...
One night in autumn 1969 we found ourselves in the Old Town Gate, three blocks from our customary posts at O'Rourke's Pub. "I had my first job in Chicago here," he reminisced. "I invented the Roquefort Burger. Somebody ordered a cheeseburger and I, being a dumb Mick,...
- 6/6/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.