Irish America magazine - June/July '06 issue: Van Morrison, George Carlin, The Dingles Races, James Connelly, Bobby Sands Anniversary, The Emerald Diamond, Hubert Kubel, Taskforce Wolfhound, The Irish Revolution In America, Law of the Irish

“All at once, the fabled Irish victory cry rose around me, a bellow of sheer unadulterated joy that had in it the roar of the ancient high kings, of Finn McCool and Brian Boru, and a touch of Molly Malone’s melodious pitch for cockles and mussels, and most definitely the well-oiled voices bouncing off the cobbled streets of old Dublin through an eternity of late-night exits from a thousand different pubs.”

Bill Barich, author of A Fine Place to Daydream, Racehorses, Romance and the Irish, describing the atmosphere at Cheltenham when Brave Inca won the 2005 Supreme Novices Hurdles for Ireland and pandemonium broke loose. – The New York Times “Guys I went on this journey with I didn’t come back with. As you come into La Guardia, you look down and you feel a guilt of how can you face their families. I felt responsible.”

Sgt. Pedro Mojica of the Fighting 69th, who personally removed the bodies of two buddies killed by an explosives attack. The Fighting 69th lost 19 men overall, including several from a Louisiana company that was attached to it. – Fighting 69th documentary, which aired on PBS on April 21.

“I didn’t want to impersonate anyone. I think I got a little bit of Bush in there, but also some Clinton and Reagan. But I do have to say, I hope I don’t get audited by the IRS.”

Dennis Quaid to movie.com about playing a U.S. president in American Dreamz. New York Post

“It was quite a challenge. It brought unexpected emotions. I laughed until I cried, I cried until I couldn’t cry anymore, hearing some stories and remembering things, but I’m glad I did it. And hopefully it’s an entertaining read.”

Michael Flatley on Insider talking about his autobiography Lord of the Dance: My Story.

“We call ourselves the land of saints and scholars but young people are only interested in English footballers. They know Beckham, but they don’t know Beckett”

Tony MacCarthy, a retired English teacher quoted in an article by Jill Lawless on Dublin’s celebration of the centenary of Samuel Beckett’s birth. – AP