ireland

In his new book, "Rot: An Imperial History of the Irish Famine," Historian Padraic Scanlan debunks common myths about the Famine and traces the ecological and economic consequences to the crises of today, such as food insecurity and climate change.

When Clair Wills was in her twenties, she discovered she had a cousin she had never met. Born in a mother-and-baby home in 1950s Ireland, Mary grew up in an institution not far from the farm where Clair spent happy childhood summers. Yet Clair was never told of Mary’s existence.How could a whole family―a whole country―abandon unmarried mothers and their children, erasing them from history?Clair’s tells the story in the new book "Missing Persons: or, My Grandmother's Secrets."

New York Times bestselling author Colm Tóibín has written a novel of secrecy, misunderstanding, and love featuring Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of his 2009 novel “Brooklyn,” Tóibín’s most popular work. The new novel is “Long Island.”

In the 20 years since the global musical sensation’s debut, Celtic Woman has emerged as both a formidable musical presence and a genuine cultural phenomenon. Both an accomplished recording ensemble and a world-class performing collective, Celtic Woman introduces some of Ireland's most talented singers and musicians to the world stage. They will bring their 20th Anniversary Tour to The Palace in Albany, New York on 3/20.Mairéad Carlin joins us.

If you are a regular listener to this program…or the Book Show…you know Joe has a soft spot for the Irish novel. Months ago, he began hearing about this new book taking Ireland by storm. It has now landed in the US. Caroline O’Donoghue’s very funny novel, "The Rachel Incident," is about friends, lovers, Ireland in chaos, and a young woman desperately trying to manage all three.

Human rights lawyer and professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, Terry McGovern, tells us how she was reluctant to embrace her Irish heritage, Katrina Haslip and about a place in Howth, Ireland.

In 1984, the IRA attempted to assassinate Margaret Thatcher and her high-ranking cabinet members. Thatcher narrowly avoided death and the world was transfixed by the epic manhunt that followed. Rory Carroll, a renowned Irish journalist for The Guardian, brings a new and personal perspective to this almost forgotten chapter of history in "There Will be Fire: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That Changed History."

Music journalist Will Hermes is a regular contributor to NPR, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork. He’s the author of the upcoming “Lou Reed: The King of New York” which is scheduled to be published by FSG this fall. Hermes recently spent time exploring the music scene in Ireland and an article he’s written about what he heard and learned on the Emerald Isle will be published in The New York Times this weekend.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon is considered “the most significant English-language poet born since the second World War.” In November 2022, Irish President Michael Higgins named Muldoon the ninth “Ireland Professor of Poetry,” an honor bestowed jointly by universities and cultural organizations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - and a role akin to “Poet Laureate” for all of Ireland.

Northern Ireland is one hundred years old. Northern Ireland does not exist. Both of these statements are true. It just depends on who you ask. How do you write about a place like this? In "The Strangers' House," Alexander Poots asks this question of the region’s greatest writers, living and dead.