It’s an iconic image of the building of America: Eleven construction workers on a break for lunch, happily chatting away on a girder balanced some 800 feet above New York City.
The photograph, taken during the construction of the RCA building (now the GE building) in Rockefeller Center, ran in the October 2, 1932 edition of the New York Herald. For all its enduring popularity (the image is frequently reprinted and has graced an abundance of posters, greeting cards and desktop backgrounds), little was known about its history until fairly recently. The photographer, Charles C. Ebbets, was not properly identified until 2003, and the names of many of the men are still unknown.
By Mary Mulligan, Contributor
How I failed to make Ireland my home: Mary Mulligan’s travels to Ireland and back to America
Ever since I retired from teaching with the New York City Public Schools, I’ve thought about returning to my native Ireland for the remainder of my life. Through the years, I have enjoyed summer visits, and dance and writing workshops there.
I looked at cottages near Galway, ancient city of The Tribes. I thought about Dublin, with its literary tradition, and Ireland as home to writers – from Swift to Yeats and Joyce. I dreamed of a space where I could write and invite friends to join me in the adoration of heather and newborn lambs in spring.
Running Rings Around the Empire: The 1908 Olympics
Statues in Nenagh, County Tipperary, of three Olympic gold medalists from or with Nenagh connections. Left to right, 1908 Olympians Matt McGrath, Johnny Hayes, and Bob Tisdall, who won a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy Nenagh Olympic Athletic Club) By Roger McGrath, Contributor
In 1908, as the world’s attention focused on the Olympic Games in London, Britain had decided again not to allow Ireland to field its own team, imperiously stating, “Ireland is not a nation.” All Irish athletes would have to compete as members of the British team.
Project Children Draws to a Close From left: William Crawley, a Project Children Alumnus; Project Children alumna Patricia MacBride; Norman Houston, director of the Northern Ireland Bureau; and Denis Mulcahy, Founder and Chairman of Project Children all speaking in Washington, D.C. By Sarah Buscher, Contributor
Project Children’s 40th anniversary celebration in Washington D.C. in September brought to a close an important chapter in Northern Ireland’s struggle for peace. For decades, this all-volunteer organization has been bringing children from both sides of the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland to spend the summer with a family in the United States as a respite from violence of the Troubles, but last summer was the final program.