Glucksman Ireland House at New York University, located at One Washington Mews (at Fifth Avenue), will host three special events in February. Events are free to members of Ireland House and to those with a valid NYU I.D. card. For all others, $10 admission for regular events series; $15 for Blarney Star Concert Series. For further information and to make a reservation, call 212.998.3950 or email: ireland.house@nyu.edu.
On Tuesday, February 6, at 7 p.m., author Colm Tóibín will launch his new collection of short stories, Mothers and Sons, a book which offers rich, powerful portraits of individuals in pivotal moments in their lives within the context of their mother-son relationship. While confirming his role as a great prose stylist, Tóibín examines an important yet complicated relationship with intricacy, sophistication, and mastery. This event is co-sponsored with the NYU Creative Writing Program.
On Thursday, February 15, at 7 p.m., the film Fairy Wife: The Burning of Bridget Cleary will be screened. Directed by Adrian McCarthy, this true story begins in March, 1895, in a Tipperary village when RIC constables discover a badly burned body in a shallow grave. It is the body of Bridget Cleary, a 26-year-old woman who had met her death at the hands of her husband only days before. His motive? He believed she had been taken away by the fairies. This one-hour documentary explores the events surrounding her burning and the massive impact it had on the country at the time.
On Friday, February 16, 9 p.m., The Blarney Star Concert Series features fiddler Brendan Callahan and Sean McComiskey, a virtuoso of the button accordion. One of the finest Irish-style fiddlers in the U.S., Callahan was tutored as a child by fiddle great Brendan Mulvihill and went on to achieve success in competitions and to record a critically praised solo CD. McComiskey, who hails from Baltimore, takes after his father Billy, who also plays the button accordion.