iBAM!

Chris Binchy has worked as an embassy researcher, painter, and hotel manager; trained as a sushi chef; written articles as a restaurant critic for Dublin's Sunday Tribune; and contributed to the Irish Times, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Independent, the Evening Herald, and the Dubliner. He has writen The Very Man (2003) which was shortlisted for the Irish Novel of the Year Award, People Like Us (2004), The Lighthouse (2008), and Open-handed (2008). His newest novel Five Days Apart (2010) has only been released in the US and is short-listed for the Irish Novel of the Year Award.

Sunday Only!'The Most Eloquent Man in the World', says NPR, about the writer, broadcaster, BBC host and Booker Prize Judge, Frank Delaney. He has been the president of the Samuel Johnson Society, president of the UK Book Trust, and the Literary Director of the famed Edinburgh Festival. His famed BBC show on the way we speak, Word of Mouth, is still heard all over the English-speaking world. And his six-part series, The Celts, originally broadcast in forty countries, is still in active DVD distribution, some twenty years after its launch. Born and raised in County Tipperary, Ireland, Delaney spent more than twenty-five years in England before moving to the United States in 2002. His first 'American' book was the New York Times bestseller, Ireland. His second, the non-fiction Simple Courage, was chosen as one of the top five books of the year by the American Library Association. Since 2006, he has published five novels of Ireland, all addressing, decade by decade, the twentieth century history of his homeland. Visit Frank's website here. See our Poetry programing here

Glenn Patterson was born in Belfast in 1961 and studied on the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia taught by Malcolm Bradbury. He returned to Northern Ireland in 1988 and was Writer in the Community for Lisburn and Craigavon under a scheme administered by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Glenn Patterson has been Writer in Residence at the Universities of East Anglia, Cork and Queen's University, Belfast, where he currently teaches on the MA in Creative Writing. In 2006, he was elected on to Aosdána, the affiliation of Irish Artists. His latest books are The Third Party (2007), and Once Upon a Hill: Love in Troubled Times (2008).

Mary O'Donoghue grew up in Co. Clare, and now lives in Boston. Her debut novel Before the House Burns was published in spring 2010, and is described by Booker Prize-winning Irish novelist Anne Enright as "Electric, real, and utterly modern: this is a voice to welcome and to watch." Her awards for fiction include Hennessy/Sunday Tribune New Irish Writer and a writer's bursary from Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is also the author of poetry collections Tulle (2001) and Among These Winters (2007). Her short stories have been published in AGNI, The Dublin Review, The Recorder, Salamander, Literary Imagination, and elsewhere. Read more about Mary here

Belinda McKeon was born in Ireland in 1979 and grew up in Co. Longford.
She studied at Trinity College Dublin (BA) and Univ. College, Dublin (MLitt). She has been published in The Paris Review, Dublin Review and Irish Pages, and anthologized in Fishamble Firsts. She has written for The Irish Times for over ten years, interviewing major Irish writers. She curated Ireland’s largest poetry festival, DLR Poetry Now, and has curated the USA IAC Poetry Fest, and the literary strand of Imagine Ireland. She is currently commissioned to the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. Her debut novel, Solace, was published in the US in May 2011. It has been named a Kirkus Outstanding Debut of 2011 and nominated for the Newton First Book Award. Visit Belinda's website here.

Joseph Woods is a poet and Director of Poetry Ireland since 2001. Born in Drogheda in 1966 he studied biology, chemistry and subsequently poetry. He has lived in Japan, travelled for long periods in Asia, in particular China and India, and more recently Latin America.
Sailing to Hokkaido (2001), which won the  Patrick Kavanagh Award and Bearings (2005) were both published by the Worple Press, UK. He co-edited Our Shared Japan (Dedalus Press, 2007); an anthology of contemporary Irish poetry concerning Japan. Dedalus Press gathered his first two collections in one volume entitled Cargo (2010) and in May of this year published his third collection Ocean Letters.
Woods can't help but evince his deep and extensive engagement with contemporary poetry. Wide-ranging but subtle effects suggest there's much held in reserve here; and more to come.     Fiona Sampson, The Irish Times.

Joseph will be accompanied by other members of the Cork Literary review:

Eugene O’Connell is the editor of the Cork Literary Review. He has published three collections of poems, including One Clear Call (Bradshaw) and Diviner (Three Spires Press). His book of translations, Flying Blind (from the Latvian, by Guntar Godins), was published by Southward Editions, as part of the Cork European City of Culture translation series in 2005.
Brian Turner is the editor of the American Section of the Cork Literary Review. He won of the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award for his debut collection, Here, Bullet, (Alice James Books). His honours since include a Lannan Literary Fellowship and NEA Literature Fellowship in Poetry, and the Amy Lowell Poetry Travelling Scholarship. His second collection, shortlisted for the 2010 T.S. Eliot Prize is Phantom Noise (Alice James Books, 2010).
ABOUT THE CORK LITERARY REVIEW
The Cork Literary Review Volume XIV will be launched by James S. Rogers, editor of the New Hibernia Review. Editor Eugene O'Connell will read a selection of poems from this year's anthology, showcasing the best of Irish poetry 2011. He will also read highlights from the inaugural American Section, edited by acclaimed poet, Brian Turner, which includes notable contributions by Tony Barnstone, Nicky Beer and Martin Espada. Contributor, Joseph Woods, director of Poetry Ireland, will read a number of his own poems, along with a couple of his personal favourites from the anthology. The Review, praised by the Irish Times for being 'bold and ambitious', is published annually with the support of The Arts Council of Ireland. This autumn it's being launched in five US cities as part of Culture Ireland's Imagine Ireland initiative.

Vincent Woods is a poet, playwright and broadcaster. His plays, including At the Black Pig’s Dyke, Song of the Yellow Bittern and A Cry from Heaven, have been produced internationally and by Druid Theatre Company and the Abbey Theatre. He has published two collections of poetry, The Colour of Language and Lives and Miracles and co-edited The Turning Wave: Poems and Songs of Irish-Australia. He won the Stewart Parker award for Drama and the Ted McNulty award for Poetry and is a member of Aosdána, the Irish Academy of Artists. He has written extensively about life, tradition and music in his native county of Leitrim, and is completing a new collection of poems and a new play. He presents a weekly arts programme on RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland’s national radio station.

Born in 1941, Dr. Patrick Taylor was brought up in Bangor, Northern Ireland. He attended Queens University of Belfast from 1958-1964. Post-graduate training led to his qualifying as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in 1969. He is Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of British Columbia and was Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver.

In 1991 he unearthed some short stories, some begun as long ago as 1969. These stories and others which were written subsequently dealt with the lives of ordinary people caught up in the 30 years of internecine strife in Northern Ireland. Only Wounded. Ulster Stories was published by Key Porter Books of Toronto in 1997. His first novel is set in Belfast of 1974. It is a techno-thriller, Pray for Us Sinners (Insomniac Press. Toronto. 2000). The film rights of Pray for Us Sinners have been purchased by Captive Entertainment of Toronto. A sequel, Now and in the Hour of Our Death was published by Insomniac Press in 2005.  In 2004, The Apprenticeship of Doctor Laverty (Insomniac Press) appeared and was short listed for a BC Books Fiction Prize. Tom Doherty and Associates of New York bought this work and republished it as An Irish Country Doctor. It achieved New York Times best seller status in both hard back (2007) and trade paper (2008) editions. The hard cover edition was a Book of the Month Club Novel of the Month in March 2007. The trade paper edition also became a Canadian best seller.  The sequel, An Irish Country Village, was published in February 2008 and the third in the series, An Irish Country Christmas, was released in November 2008. All three were published in Ireland and the UK by Brandon Books, Dingle.
Taylor, now living in Cootehall, Co Roscommon, Republic of Ireland with his partner, award winning oil painter Dorothy Tinman, is presently working on the fourth book in the series. Visit Patrick's website here

Claire Kilroy is the author of three novels, all published by Faber and Faber.  Her debut, All Summer, (2003) is a literary thriller about a stolen painting. Her second, Tenderwire, a love story between a young Irish violinist and an old Italian violin, was published to great acclaim in 2006, and was shortlisted for the 2007 Irish Novel of the Year as well as the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award. Her third, All Names Have Been Changed, set in 1980s Dublin and centering around a great Irish writer and his Trinity writing class, was published in 2009.   She will read from a forthcoming novel to be published next year, a Gothic take on the Irish economic crash.  Educated at Trinity College, she lives in Dublin.  She was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2004.

Kevin Barry’s widely acclaimed first novel, City Of Bohane, was published in Europe in April and will appear in the US in spring of 2012 . His collection of stories, There Are Little Kingdoms, was published in 2007 and awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. His stories have appeared in the New Yorker, the Granta Book of the Irish Short Story, Best European Fiction 2011, and many other journals and anthologies around the world. He also works as a screenwriter, a playwright, and an essayist, and he collaborates on  graphic stories with the artist Ale Mercado. He was born in Limerick and lives in Co Sligo.

John Hoban is a composer, singer, musician and author from Castlebar,County Mayo in the West of Ireland. John has played and taught music all his life in the Troubadour tradition. He chose to learn his music with care over many years from some of Ireland's most respected master musicians. John combines the best of the Irish tradition with an intimate, warm and raw sensibility that is his own. He is an accomplished player of fiddle/violin, banjo, whistles, mandocello in addition to being a singer and composer of wonderful songs and music. He is highly regarded nationally and internationally for the unique and deeply personal nature of his music. He has recorded solo song and instrumental CD's as well as performing on many collaborative recordings. John brings music to various and diverse communities and has worked extensively with the elderly, people with disabilities, rural communities, refugees, etc. He is also a collector of all types of music, stories and folklore. John is reknown as a gifted teacher who has developed a unique approach to art and music teaching for all ages.
"From the Plain of the Yew Tree is the story of County Mayo singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and teacher John Hoban. This book takes the reader on a journey through music and time across the five continents. The author invites us to join him on his rambles through Ireland, London, Australia, America and many other places, meeting, listening to, and playing with every kind of ‘musicianer’.  Poets, artists, writers, mystics and people from every walk of life are travelling on this mystery train with John Hoban as he unravels his life memories and explores his deep relationship of trust and belief in music. Music has been his guide and his constant companion through good times, bad times and other times. Music has been survival itself for John. This tale presents us with the tapestry of a life lived through music, providing us with a rare insight into the life of a modern-day Troubadour.  This is a unique tale told in an unmistakeably West of Ireland voice. A story told with humour, sensitivity and devotion". Visit John's website here

David J. Lynch is a senior writer with Bloomberg News in Washington, D.C., focusing on the intersection of politics and economics. Previously, he covered the global economy for USA TODAY, where he was the founding bureau chief in both London and Beijing. He covered the wars in Kosovo and Iraq, the latter as an embedded reporter with the U.S. Marines, and was the paper’s first recipient of a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University. He has reported from more than 50 countries.  During nearly three decades as a journalist, Lynch also worked as a financial writer specializing in the aerospace and defense industries for The Orange County Register in southern California. In the 1980s, he was the editor of Defense Week, a Washington, D.C., trade publication covering national security. When The Luck Of The Irish Ran Out: The World’s Most Resilient Country and Its Struggle to Rise Again, an account of modern Ireland’s journey from rags to riches and back again, is scheduled to be released November 9, 2010. Visit David's website here

Patricia Falvey was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. She was raised in Northern Ireland and England before immigrating alone to the United States at the age of twenty. Until recently, she served as a Managing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, where she led a national tax consulting practice. She earned national recognition as a tax expert for the insurance industry and was a frequent speaker at industry conferences. She is a CPA with a Master's Degree in Taxation. Over the years she participated in numerous writing seminars, and in June of 2007, Patricia finally made the decision to leave her position with PWC at the pinnacle of her career and devote herself full time to her first love - writing. She has written two novels: The Yellow House and her newest release, The Linen Queen. Visit The Linen Queen's website here

A psychiatric nurse at Berkshire Medical Center for 25 years, Kevin O'Hara has read on WAMC Albany, WBUR Boston, as well as performances at The Berksire Museum, Stockbridge Library, and the Either/Or Bookstore in Pittsfield. He is also a columnist for The Berkshire Eagle. He has written two books. Last of the Donkey Pilgrims is a warm-hearted story of an Irish-American who goes back to discover his roots. In A Lucky Irish Lad, Kevin O’Hara recreates his boyhood with these wonderful stories of growing up in Massachusetts in the 1950s and 60s as one of eight children. His parents, born in Ireland, came to this country for their childrens sake. His family struggled against grinding poverty but they never gave up and never lost their faith that God had a plan for them. Visit Kevin's website here

Cathal Liam is keenly interested in early 20th-century Irish history, particularly Ireland's revolutionary years 1914-1924. His first book, Consumed In Freedom's Flame has been reprinted six times in trade paperback and won ForeWord magazine's 2001 bronze medal for historical fiction.
His next effort, Forever Green, received a 2003 honorable mention for travel essay, also by ForeWord magazine. A collection of imaginative stories, political commentary and original poems, it portrays a changing Ireland in the twentieth century. In 2006, Blood On The Shamrock was published as a follow-up to Consumed In Freedom's Flame. The book received an honorable mention award in the general fiction category by Midwest Independent Publishers Association.
His newest work (2011) is an exciting true-life novel entitled Fear Not the Storm: The Story of Tom Cullen, An Irish Revolutionary. It recounts the events surrounding the rise of an obscure young Irish Volunteer during Dublin's 1916 Easter Uprising. Later, Cullen becomes an undercover intelligence agent working for Michael Collins, Ireland's great military/political leader. Visit Cathal's website here

Rita Emmett is a Recovering Procrastinator, and a Professional Speaker & author, whose first book THE PROCRASTINATOR’S HANDBOOK ,sold over 100,000 copies in its first year, has been featured in 312 interviews, including with Katie Couric,, is sold in 32 countries, and won the Digital Media Award for Non-Fiction e-book of the year (Stephen King won the Fiction e-book award. Rita is convinced that Stephen keeps mentioning that Rita is the non-fiction author)  Since then, she has written THE PROCRASTINATING CHILD: A Handbook for Adults to Help Children Stop Putting Things Off, The Clutter-Busting Handbook and Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked, Overscheduled, & Overwhelmed. Think anyone will relate to that?
Each year, Rita is included in the prestigious “Who’s Who in the World”, as well as  “Who’s Who in America”,  "The World Who's Who of Women", and “Who’s Who of American Women”. Among the businesses and organizations she has helped to achieve greater productivity are Merrill Lynch, Mercedes-Benz, Met Life, ACE Hardware, Kraft Food, University of Chicago Hospitals, and The National Kidney Foundation. Rita & her husband Bruce live in Des Plaines, Illinois and she is a proud member of the Irish American Heritage Center. (And has been a member for 25 years.) Visit Rita's website here

As an author and filmmaker, Mary Pat Kelly has told various stories connected to Ireland. Her award-winning PBS documentaries and accompanying books include To Live for Ireland, a portrait of Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume and the political party he led; Home Away from Home: The Yanks in Ireland, a history of U.S. forces in Northern Ireland during World War II; and Proudly We Served: The Men of the USS Mason, a portrayal of the only African-American sailors to take a World War II warship into combat, whose first foreign port was Belfast. She wrote and directed the dramatic feature film Proud, starring Ossie Davis and Stephen Rea, based on the USS Mason story. She’s written Martin Scorsese: The First Decade and Martin Scorsese: A Journey; Good to Go: The Rescue of Scott O’Grady from Bosnia; and a novel, Special Intentions. She is a frequent contributor to Irish America Magazine.
Mary Pat Kelly worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter for Paramount and Columbia Pictures and in New York City as an associate producer with Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live, and wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Abby’s Song. She received her PhD from the City University of New York. Born and raised in Chicago, she lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her husband, Web designer Martin Sheerin from County Tyrone. Visit Mary Pat's website here

John Francis O’Brien, Jr. is an author, writer, poet, publisher and spokesman.  He is co-founder, co-publisher and editor of the Ohio Irish American News, which premiered in January 2007. His poem, The Vacant Chair, took 1st Prize in the Irish Book, Art & Music Showcase 2010. John is a founder and currently serves as Assistant Director of the 29th Annual Cleveland Irish Cultural Festival. A first generation Irish American whose father is founder and director of the festival and hails from County Roscommon, Ireland; John continues his father’s legacy, love of the Irish heritage and vision for the festival.  This love of the rich and varied Irish heritage and dedication to producing an authentic cultural event has earned the respect and trust of the performers featured in much of John’s writing, especially in his book, Festival Legends: Songs & Stories, and an unmatched access to the performers and their stories.
John is Public Information Officer (Spokesperson) for the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office.  He serves on the board of the Irish American Charitable Foundation and the Sean Moore Irish Vocals Memorial Scholarship Fund as well as the Irish American Hall of Fame Selection Board.  He also served for five years on the board of the Irish American Archives Society. Visit John's website here

Poetry from the Heart of an Irish Soul encompasses a broad range of personal, political and many other topics, written from the heart. From his blessed recovery from alcohol addiction to eulogies, including one for John F. Kennedy that was so heartfelt that Senator Edward Kennedy sent the Author, Jerry O’Neill, a letter saying “…I would like to express my sincere thanks to you for your moving tribute to my brother, John F. Kennedy.”(The letter is in the book) There is also a eulogy for Jerry’s father, “Da” which inspired Jerry to write a final verse to the beautiful “Danny Boy” expressing Danny’s feelings for his father.
His patriotic poems range from The Viet Nam War to 9/11. Hurrah and a personalized Patriot were given to Oliver Stone, who was so moved by them, he shook Jerry’s hand and personally thanked him after reading them. Mayor Richard M. Daley sent Jerry a thank you note for his personalized poem Himself. Sister Rosemary Conley of Misericordia and Father Jim Close of Mercy Home also have been subjects of Jerry’s work and have also sent letters of appreciation. Jerry has given hundreds of framed personalized copies of Patriot to veterans of all wars, Anniversary to fortunate recovering alcoholics and addicts to mark the milestones of their recovery and framed copies of Himself and Herself to those worthy of the accolade. His poem Chosen, touches the hearts and graces the walls in many Jewish homes as does his Green, Danny Boy the Answer and Blessings enjoy the same honor in hundreds of Irish homes.

Cynthia G. Neale is a native of the Finger Lakes region of New York and now resides in an antique house in New Hampshire with her husband and a few pets. The author has long possessed a deep interest in the tragedies and triumphs of the Irish during The Great Hunger. She enjoys Irish set
dancing; traveling, especially to Ireland; reading; art classes and painting; baking fanciful desserts; hiking; kayaking; creating events for food, dance, and fund raising; laughing until it hurts; and dreaming about possibilities. Norah is her first historical novel for adult readers. She is also the author of two young adult novels, The Irish Dresser, A Story of Hope during The Great Hunger (An Gorta Mor, 1845-1850) and Hope in New York City, The Continuing Story of The Irish Dresser. Ms. Neale also writes plays, short stories, and essays, and holds a B.A. in Writing and Literature from Vermont College. Visit Cynthia's website here

Joan McBreen is from Sligo. She divides her time between Tuam and Renvyle, Connemara, County Galway. Her poetry collections are: The Wind Beyond the Wall (Story Line Press, 1990), A Walled Garden in Moylough (Story Line Press and Salmon Poetry, 1995), Winter in the Eye – New and Selected Poems (Salmon Poetry, 2003) and Heather Island (Salmon Poetry, 2009). She was awarded an MA from University College, Dublin in 1997. Her anthology The White Page/ An Bhileog Bhán – Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets was published by Salmon in 1999 and is in its third reprint. Her poetry is published widely in Ireland and abroad and has been broadcast, anthologised and translated into many languages. Her CD The Long Light on the Land – Selected Poems, read to a background of traditional Irish airs and classical music, was produced by Ernest Lyons Productions, Castlebar, County Mayo in 2004. She has given readings and talks in many universities in the USA including Emory, Villanova, De Paul (Chicago), Cleveland, Lenoir Rhynne, N.C. and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Together with her ongoing involvement with Irish literary festivals such as the Yeats Summer School, Clifden Arts Week, Listowel Writers' Week and The Cúirt International Festival of Literature, since 2007 Joan McBreen has been Literary Advisor and co-ordinator of the Oliver St. John Gogarty Literary Festival at Renvyle House Hotel, Connemara, Co. Galway. Visit Joan's website here

John Kenny is John McGahern Lecturer in Creative Writing at the National University of Ireland, Galway where he is director of the BA with Creative Writing. He has published widely on contemporary Irish literature and he frequently reviews new fiction for The Irish Times. His critical book on the Man Booker-winning Irish novelist, John Banville, is published by Irish Academic Press. He is academic director of The International Seminar & Summer School on John McGahern which is held in County Leitrim each July, and he is founding editor of the associated journal, The John McGahern Yearbook. He also writes fiction and has published a number of short stories.

Monica Dougherty is an artist, author and art therapist with a long love of the arts and media.  While living in New York she worked for NBC-TV in Newsfilm, Creative Services, Local Advertising & Promotion and the Sports Department.  After moving home to Chicago, she worked at the Goodman Theater, and then began a career in freelance art and design.   Her children's book, You're A Miracle…Pass It On! was published in February 2007.  She is co-author, with Mary Beth Sammons, of Images of America:  Irish American Heritage Center.  She has also written a screenplay entitled Rose's Ring, based on a true family story dating back to 1840s Ireland. Watch Monica's Youtube interview here

Mary Beth Sammons is an award-winning journalist, author and editorial and social networking strategist for non-profit organizations. She also writes about the ups and downs of handling life, health and wellness, and reinventing your life with grace and gusto for a variety of online publications and consumer magazines including: AOL’s Lifestyle network including ParentDish.com, and AOLhealth.com. Her writing appears in Family Circle, the Chicago Tribune, and American Airlines's website for female travelers.
As vice-president of editorial, Mary Beth helped launch CarePages.com, building community through editorial content and wrote a blog on about balancing her role as parent to three children and caring for her aging parents. She creates cause-related marketing campaigns for several non-profits including Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School, a startup high school in Chicago’s toughest neighborhood on the West Side. She is a former suburban bureau chief for Crain's Chicago Business and business editor for The Daily Herald.
Mary Beth has written 10  books, including Second Acts That Change Lives: Making a Difference in the World, My Family: Collected Memories, Living Life as a Thank You, and The Courage Companion. She currently is the co-organizer of the volunteer-run Storytelling Project at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago and is co-authoring a book on tracing your ancestors to uncover who you truly are with co-author Nina Lesowitz. She has received several industry awards, including first place from United Press International for best spot news coverage, a PR Silver Anvil Award, and an undergraduate scholarship from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

Dolores Whelan has been studying and exploring the spiritual tradition of the Celtic people especially in Ireland and Scotland since 1988. Her current work explores the gifts of the Celtic and pre Celtic cultures and their influence and relevance in today’s world.
She now facilitates workshops in Celtic spirituality and pilgrimages to the Sacred Sites in Ireland and Scotland.. She was a contributor to Celtic Threads (1999) and author of Your Breaking Point (1993). Her new book Ever Ancient Ever New Celtic Spirituality for the 21st Century explores the importance of recovering the many gifts present in that rich spiritual heritage. She is presently creating a series of CDs which explores the wisdom of the Celtic Spiritual Tradition.. The first in this series is A Journey through the Celtic Year is now available.  She is a frequent contributor to  several  Irish radio stations  In May 2009  she presented  the Quiet Quarter series for Lyric FM  one of her pieces was subsequently chosen for inclusion in an anthology  celebrating 10 years of that programme. She is one of 7 women featured in a newly published by Ann Marie Mc Carthy Of Constant Heart   Conversations with Wise Women in Ireland
Dolores lives in Ravensdale Dundalk Ireland and is available to facilitate courses in several aspects of personal and spiritual development. Contact her to create a unique experience for your centre, community group, staff development days.She can be contacted through her website Visit Dolores' website here

Sandra McCone is an Irish Children's author based in Illinois. She is best known for her Magical Tea Party books  and presentations. In her books, she likes to share the tales and legends of Ireland's most fantastical creatures: the faeries. Much of what is known today in popular culture about the faeries comes from the old Irish stories about the fey, a race of creatures full of mystery and magick who are not only known to cause mischief but laughter as well.
Here Sandra shares her knowledge of the faerie realm as well as her knowledge of old Ireland, the times and traditions practiced by the ancient Celts. Maybe you might recognize some traditions as they have passed down and adapted to fit into modern day.

Arthur Cola was born in Chicago in the “little Italy” neighborhood of the near west side of the city. His family moved to Oak Park, IL where he attended Oak Park-River Forest High School. While attending Loyola University, Chicago, he met his future wife, Donna Shields. Together they have five now grown children and four grandchildren. He, his wife and family now live in Wisconsin.
He has been an educator for 35 years. During that time he was a Teacher of History and a School Principal. Upon receiving his Master’s Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, he also served as a Lecturer for Barry University in Florida. His post graduate work concentrated on Educational administration and theology. He studied in Rome at the Loyola University Campus while conducting research for his current work, “The Stone Cutter Genius” and traveled extensively in Ireland and Britain researching cultural sites and folklore for his other novels. Through CIE tours International, SCEPTRE Tours and Bon Voyage Travel ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) readers may form groups or join a current group to accompany the author to Ireland, Britain or Italy visiting all the sites where the action in his novels take place.  His literary works also include the children’s Christmas themed book, “Papa and the Gingerbread Man, An Adventure in America’s Oldest City©.” His first book for older folks is titled “Papa and the Leprechaun King, The Secret Legend of the Shamrock. ©” The second book is an historical fantasy. “The Shamrock Crown (Legend of Excalibur).”© His third novel  is an epic legendary tale titled, “The Stone Cutter Genius”©. Visit Arthur's website here

Michael Fallaw is a retired businessman living on a small farm in Northern Indiana with wife, Bernadette, an artist.  They enjoy tending the flowers and vegetables, looking forward to a visit from their many children and grandchildren.  Mike and his wife have five grown daughters and twenty-two grandchildren with more on the way.  Come winter, they escape the harsh Midwest winters by heading to the desert southWest.  
While still working, Mike heard the story of the largest mutiny in U. S. Army history in which 50 army deserters, mostly Irish, were hung.  Over the years he asked friends who had gone thru West Point or who were knowledgeable of American military history about the event, and none had heard the story.
On retiring Mike decided to pursue his lifelong desire to write a book about his ancestors’ struggles in Ireland and America.  He started his own research on the San Patricio Brigade and developed the facts contained in this story. He wove the facts into this novel, Just Like Me, the first of a series about Irish immigrants in their new lands.  He is involved in writing groups in the Southwest and in Northern Indiana.  He is currently writing the second book in the series. Visit Michael's website here

Francis A. Boyle is a dual-national Irish American and a leading expert in international law, which he teaches at University of Illinois in Champaign. He holds a Doctor of Law Magna Cum Laude as well as a Ph.D. in Political Science, both from Harvard University. During the past three decades, Francis Boyle has dealt with some of the most difficult problems created by Britain’s continued military occupation of six northeast counties in Ireland. His latest book, UNITED IRELAND, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW is being released at IBAM! The book examines human rights issues in Ireland including the decolonization of Northern Ireland, the potato famine as British genocide, the US-UK extradition treaty, the application of the MacBride principles on Northern Ireland, the Irish Freedom Fighter Joe Doherty, and United Ireland. The book details historic evidence, contemporary testimony, and concludes with a legal and human rights framework for establishing a United Ireland where all Irish can live in peace with justice for all irrespective of their differences.

Conor Cunneen is an Irishman happily exiled in Naperville where he says the Guinness is great (praise be), the natives are friendly and he’s been force fed more corned beef than he ever had in Ireland.
Conor is an internationally recognized sought after speaker. OK, OK, all speakers/authors like to say that but in places as diverse as Spain, Portugal, France, he has been recognized by his wife and kids! He is also a sought after speaker who has been chased by speed cops in Ireland, UK and USA, but he assures us these were all "learning moments." As an in-demand business speaker who provides Substance with Humor, Conor's clients range from Harley-Davidson to Helsinki, from Memphis to Malaga, Spain.
Conor came to the States for three years but twelve years later, still has not been able to find his way to O'Hare airport.  In the meantime, this former VP Marketing Unilever Foodservice, has written three books, won Chicago Humorous Speaker of the Year for a speech on Customer Service in San Quentin Prison, represented Chicago at Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking. (Did he win? you say. Think Cubs!) Conor is only one of 63 speakers in the history of Toastmasters to achieve that organizations highest designation of Accredited Speaker and as he proudly says "the first Irishman, girl."  Visit Conor's website here

Having grown up in Cork during the 1980's, Eoghain (pronounced Owen) Hamilton considers himself lucky to have experienced the last years of romantic Ireland before the Celtic Tiger years. He has always been inspired by the landscape, the historical sites, and the local folklore of the South and Southwest of Ireland. These influences, together with his fascination with the supernatural are the main creative forces behind his stories.
Other influences include writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ireland's own Sheridan Le Fanu. Combining these influences with modern writers from Stephen King to Peter Straub and Conor MacPherson, he has attempted to recreate the haunted hills, high roads and ruins of County Cork and beyond. Please join him in keeping an ancient tradition alive and continuing it in the modern world. Visit Eoghain's website here

Paul J. Bauer and Mark Dawidziak, are authors of the recently published Jim Tully: American Writer, Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler. Ken Burns, who wrote the foreword for the biography, calls this study of Jim Tully “wonderful, hugely important.”
The multi-media presentation will include pictures from the biography as well as footage from the 1928 film version of Tully’s Beggars of Life and the 1930 movie featuring Tully, Way for a Sailor. Bauer and Dawidziak also will be signing copies of the biography published by Kent State University.
The co-authors discovered Tully in 1992, spending the next 19 years researching and writing their book. Although largely forgotten today, Tully was a literary superstar of the 1920s and '30s and spent a considerable amount of time in greater Chicago.
Considered the father of the hardboiled school of literature, Tully wrote about the American underclass: hobos, carnival workers, con artists and boxers. Along the way, this “hobo author” worked for Charlie Chaplin, interviewed George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce, and picked up such pals as W.C. Fields, H.L. Mencken, Frank Capra, Jimmy Cagney, Jack Dempsey and Damon Runyon.
Born June 3, 1886, in St. Marys, Ohio, Tully spent six years in a Cincinnati orphanage. After wandering the country for six youthful years as a vagabond, Tully spent four years in northeast Ohio, working as a chainmaker, a tree surgeon and launching a boxing career. The first of his 14 published books, the autobiographical novel Emmett Lawler, appeared in 1922.

Bauer is a used and rare book dealer in Kent, Ohio. He is the coauthor of Frazier Robinson’s autobiography, Catching Dreams: My Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues. Dawidziak has been the television critic at the Cleveland Plain Dealer since 1999. A theater, film and television reviewer for about 30 years, his many nonfiction books include The Barter Theatre Story: Love Made Visible, The Columbo Phile: A Casebook, Mark My Words: Mark Twain On Writing, The Night Stalker Companion: A 25th Anniversary Tribute, Horton Foote’s The Shape of the River: The Lost Teleplay About Mark Twain and The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Dracula. He is also a novelist and playwright.

The Midfield Development Association has published a folklore book called "A Story Told to Us Last Night”, using a selection of local stories from the 1937/38 National Folklore Collection, plus stories written by the children of 2010 from Midfield National School (22 students took part in 2010). All stories are in the children’s original handwriting as were the original stories of 1937/38. We have been granted permission from UCD to publish the stories and this is the first time that UCD have given permission to publish the stories in the children’s original handwriting.
In 1937 the Irish Folklore Commission, in collaboration with the Department of Education and the Irish National Teachers' Organization, initiated a revolutionary scheme in which schoolchildren were encouraged to collect and document folklore and local history.  Over a period of eighteen months some 100,000 children in 5,000 primary schools in the twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State were encouraged to collect folklore material in their home districts. The topics about which the children were instructed to research and write included local history and monuments, folktales and legends, riddles and proverbs, songs, customs and beliefs, games and pastimes, traditional work practices and crafts, etc. The children collected this material mainly from their parents and grandparents and other older members of the local community or school district.
The local schools which were involved in the 1937/38 stories are: Swinford National School, Brackloon National School, Cashel National School and Kinaffe National School.
These stories (stories that were told around the fireplace) help keep our tradition alive for generations to come and the book is a universal book which can be enjoyed by everyone both at home and by the wider Irish Communities abroad. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the school development fund. Our plan is for the children of the past/ present to help the children of the future. This book will become part of our history and will be used as a historical document in years to come. Visit Midfield's website here

Flipside Works/Celtic Mor is a book and music management company. Celtic Mor will offer: Desire Lines by David R. Ross, On the Trail of William Wallace by David R. Ross, James the Good, The Black Douglas by David R. Ross, Roots of Stone by Hugh G. Allison, Scotland's First War of Independence by Sarah Crome, and Into the Scottish Mist by Beth Anne Miller. Visit Celtic Mor's facebook page here

Mary Terese Kanak was born in Chicago and raised in Wheaton, Illinois.  She lives in Villa Park, Illinois with her husband, their two daughters, and their two Shitzu dogs.“Ripples of Connections” is a family memoir, published in July, 2011.   The story begins in 1855, (7 Hester generations back), in a wee cottage on a farm in the small village of Aughaderry, Loughglynn, Castlerea County Roscommon, Ireland.   Mary's grandfather (John Hester) grew up on this farm and her great Aunt Bea still lives there, Bea's son James & his children work the farm. The stories of her Irish roots unfold with the journeys of both maternal grandparents over “the big pond” to Chicago, Illinois. She wrote the book to introduce her children and her nieces and nephews to their Irish Grandma and their Irish heritage. Read more about Mary here

Michael Carroll is a freelance artist, calligrapher and designer specializing in authentic Celtic art and illumination. Originally hailing from the Southwest Side of Chicago, Mr. Carroll for a time studied for the priesthood at Quigley South and Niles College before receiving his B.A. in Fine Art at Loyola University of Chicago. He is happily married and lives and works from his home studio outside Chicago, IL.

Michael's website here