By Paddy McCarthy
Here is a woman that I have been promising to let you in on in my Out&About column, and that is Eileen Cronin. She is an Irish radio DJ every Saturday on WRHU Radio Hofstra University 88.7fm. Eileen’s Long Ireland Show broadcasts from 2 pm to 5 pm, playing Irish music and a grand cup of tea. I got to meet Eileen again last Thursday evening at the Irish American Society Nassau/Suffolk Center for the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Community Awards event and yes, Eileen also got one that was very well deserved for all that she does promoting Irish music on radio.
So here we go on Eileen Cronin’s story with a little bio on who she is. Eileen was born in the South Bronx. Her parents Chrissie and Christy Flynn were both from the Mallow and Kilavullen area of County Cork, Ireland. She said: “After coming to America my parents and my family lived in the South Bronx in St. Luke’s Parish til I was to start school. Then the family and the relatives moved to St. Anthony’s Parish in the upper Bronx. I started taking Irish step dancing at the Stratton Park Social Club. After graduation I went on to Cathedral High for 2 years and finished the last 2 years at St. Vincent Ferrer High School, all the while going to Irish dances at the Tuxedo Ballroom and Yorkville Casino for nights of great dancing and fun.
“Growing up, there was always Irish music playing, the kettle was on the boil and the door open to welcome the neighbors, whether coming or going to Ireland or just for a chat. I met John Cronin on a blind date and we married in a year. They have three sons. Michael and his wife Samantha, who have two children, Mikey and Frannie, then son Tim and Dianna and son John and daughter Abby Rose.
“One day while working at Motor Vehicles I met Pat Thompson from County Cavan. He was selling chances by the newsstand for children. We struck up a conversation and he told me all about his wonderful radio program at Hofstra University on 88.7 FM and asked me if I would like to come down to the station and answer the phone. Well kids, the rest is history.
“The name of his show is called ‘The Long Ireland Show’ named by Jim Cummings from the Irish Echo, and the show was on for one hour every Saturday. Well, I started doing the show with Pat Thompson and did it for 8 1/2 years til he decided to retire and turn the show over to me. Before he retired, we started doing the show for two hours every Saturday.
“In the beginning I had to use Pat’s CDs as I only had 3 CDs of my own, but after a while I seemed to acquire a lot more. A lot I bought, and a lot were given to me by the entertainers. I am member of The Irish American Society of Nassau Suffolk and Queens, the County Cork Association, Delegate to the United Irish Counties, The Ancient Order of Hibernians Div #15, and the Easter Monday Monument Committee. I know that my family and grandparents have planted the seeds of love for Ireland and its music in my very heart and soul.
“As long as I have YOU, the listener, herself, the Irish music and a Grand Cup of Tea, all will be Right with the World. God Bless Us All.” That’s very nice Eileen, well done.
I just got some great news from The Irish Repertory Theatre on some Brian Friel shows coming up that is exciting news for everyone who enjoys theatre. The Irish Rep has announced The Friel Project, a retrospective of the work of renowned Irish playwright Brian Friel, that will place from this October through May 2024. The season will feature three of Friel’s works set in Ballybeg, a fictional town in Donegal, Ireland: Translations (1980) directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes (Doubt, A Parable), Aristocrats (1979) directed by Artistic Director Charlotte Moore (Two by Synge) and Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964) directed by Producing Director Ciarán O’Reilly (Endgame).
The Friel Project will also include selected concert readings from the playwright’s vast canon and additional planned events culminating in an exhibit in the Irish Repertory Gallery. Casts, additional creative team members, and further season event details will be announced at later dates.
Brian Friel is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest dramatists, having written over 30 plays across six decades. He was a member of Aosdána, the society of Irish artists, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Irish Academy of Letters, and the Royal Society of Literature where he was made a Companion of Literature. He was awarded the Ulysses Medal by University College, Dublin.
His plays include Hedda Gabler (after Ibsen), The Home Place, Performances, Three Plays After (Afterplay, The Bear, The Yalta Game), Uncle Vanya (after Chekhov), Give Me Your Answer Do!, Molly Sweeney (Winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play), Wonderful Tennessee, A Month in the Country (after Turgenev), The London Vertigo (after Charles Macklin), Dancing at Lughnasa (Winner of 3 Tony Awards including Best Play, New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, Olivier Award for Best Play), Making History, The Communication Cord, American Welcome, Three Sisters (after Chekhov), Translations, Aristocrats (Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play), Faith Healer, Fathers and Sons, Living Quarters, Volunteers, The Freedom of the City, The Gentle Island, The Mundy Scheme, Crystal and Fox, Lovers: Winners and Losers, The Loves of Cass Maguire, Philadelphia Here I Come!
The performance schedule for all three of The Friel Project productions is as follows: Wednesdays at 2 pm and 7 pm, Thursdays at 7 pm, Fridays at 7 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and 7 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets start at $55 and will be available for Irish Rep members beginning Thursday July 27 at 1 pm ET. Tickets for the general public go on sale Tuesday August 8 at 1 pm ET. All tickets will be available at IrishRep.org.
Next is an event that you must support that my friend Donie Carroll is promoting and will also be hosting, it’s the Mick Moloney Memorial Concert Fundraiser that will be held on Friday October 20, and will honor the great Mick Moloney and the cause he worked so hard to support. The Mercy Center in the slums of Bangkok, was the orphanage that Mick stumbled on 25 years ago, and that happening was to change the lives of so many kids. This year they will again have a terrific lineup of the best musicians, singers, and dancers, and they hope that again you will come to support this great event. The New York Irish Center will again be the venue and tickets will be available soon.
I am giving you plenty of time to book your tickets for this wonderful concert fundraiser. For more information visit newyorkirishcenter.org.
Irish American Writers & Artists, Inc. is proud to announce that Dan Barry will receive their prestigious 2023 Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award on October 16 at a celebration at the restaurant 5th & MAD, located at 7 East 36th Street in midtown Manhattan.
Named for the playwright who embodied the highest level of artistic achievement, the annual O’Neill Award recognizes Dan Barry’s exemplary contributions to the arts. This year’s event takes place on the 135th anniversary of Eugene O’Neill’s birth.
A longtime journalist for The New York Times, Dan Barry writes on topics including sports, culture, New York City, and the nation. He has covered major events, including the World Trade Center catastrophe, Hurricane Katrina, and the coronavirus pandemic, and wrote both the About New York and This Land columns. His work has garnered numerous journalism awards and he has been twice nominated as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
In 1992, he shared a George Polk Award as a member of the investigative team at The Providence Journal, and in 1994, as a member of that team, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for an investigation into Rhode Island’s court system.
Dan Barry has shared three Emmys for documentaries produced by The Times, and is the author of several books, including Pull Me Up: A Memoir; The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland; and Bottom of the 33rd: Hope, Redemption, and Baseball’s Longest Game, the winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing.
Maria Deasy, President of Irish American Writers & Artists, said, “In 2014, IAW&A celebrated the renowned writer Pete Hamill – it was my first O’Neill Award ceremony as a Board member. That night, Dan Barry delivered his tribute, ‘Scones for Pete Hamill,’ and brought the house down. It is such a privilege to come full circle in honoring Dan, a virtuoso in honest reporting and a writer of natural eloquence.”
Dan Barry joins IAW&A’s distinguished O’Neill recipients, including Peter Quinn, Joanie Madden, Malachy McCourt, Patricia Harty, Pete Hamill, Judy Collins, Charlotte Moore, Ciarán O’Reilly, William Kennedy, Kate Mulgrew, John Patrick Shanley and Larry Kirwan.
Hope to see you all again next week when I am Out&About again.