| The Best & the Brightest
“Ireland is now richer than America.”
- Dan McLaughlin, chief economist, Bank of Ireland.
When we compiled our first Top 100 list in 1985, we did it to show that
the Irish had not all vanished into the mainstream of American life but
were still a viable ethnic group. Almost 20 years later, the Irish, despite
their profound identification with American way of life, still hold a great
appreciation for their Irish heritage.
Some of those honored in these pages are high profile Irish-Americans
who are well-known in the entertainment field, or in politics, but as we
look at the stories in this issue we see that the strength of the community
comes from many different sources.
So many times the work of everyday heroes goes unnoticed, and so we made
an effort to highlight the extraordinary contributions of some you might
not have heard of, such as Jeanette and John Murphy who have adopted 23
children with Down Syndrome, and Grace Devaney, a nurse for the Irish relief
organization Concern Worldwide who works in Sudan. By honoring these and
others in community service, we applaud all of you who do your best to make
the world a better place.
Every year we are struck anew by the diversity of the people who make
our list, and the many wonderful stories that come our way. From quarterback
Tom Brady to swimmer Kelly Crowley, who won a gold medal in the paralympics,
the Irish are well-represented in sports. So too are they a force in the
world of literature and media. From Jimmy Breslin, who has devoted his life
to commentary, to Carol Higgins Clark who is following in her mother’s mystery
writing footsteps, there are many writers on our list who make us proud.
There are those who made our list simply because they make us happy through
their music, such as Kevin Burke, the Irish fiddle player, or through their
acting ability, such as Brían O’Byrne, or playwright John Patrick Shanley,
who brings such wonderful theater to the stage.
And there are many wonderful people on our list in the fields of medicine
and education, who remind us what can be accomplished with courage and conviction.
We are proud to name Maureen O’Hara as our Irish American of the Year,
not just for her many wonderful performances but because she remained true
to her Irish roots and her feisty nature. She refused to put down “British”
as her former nationality when she became an American citizen in 1946. (Ireland
didn’t become a Republic and leave the British Commonwealth until 1949).
Her stubborn resistance caused a change in the immigration proceedings,
and shortly thereafter natives of Ireland were no longer identified as British
in the naturalization process.
Extremely proud of her Irish heritage, Maureen served as grand marshal
of the 1999 New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. As she walked up Fifth
Avenue, the crowd called out “Mary Kate” to her after her role in The Quiet
Man. When the film was made in 1952, Ireland was one of the poorest countries
in Europe. “Ireland is now richer than America. For most of Ireland’s modern
history, Irish people went to the richer country in America and sent remittances
to poor relations back home. Now, we have U.S. companies in Ireland sending
remittances in profit checks back home,” according to Dan McLaughlin, chief
economist of Bank of Ireland.
It wasn’t always so, of course, and there are many on our list who helped
Ireland through leaner times by supporting the arts, and education, and
promoting peace in Northern Ireland.
In the following pages we offer you a glimpse of some of the brightest
stars in the firmament of Irish America. As we celebrate being on top, let
us remember the road we traveled and let us continue to point the way for
others.
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