In the Spring 2011 issue of
Southern Cultures -- The Irish
Issue --
Front Porch by Harry L. Watson
"The authors in this special issue on Ireland and the South argue
that the Irish left an outsized imprint on the cultures of the
American South and forged a persistent affinity between Ireland and
the South."
"A lengthening chain in the shape of memories"
The Irish and Southern Culture by William R. Ferris
"Irish rockers U2 are committed fans of B.B. King and wrote the
song 'When Love Comes to Town' at his request. The song introduced
King to important new rock audiences."
Tara, the O'Haras, and the Irish Gone With the Wind by Geraldine
Higgins
"Into the debate about place, race, and the second-best-selling
book of all time, we can also bring Irishness."
Another "Lost Cause"
The Irish in the South Remember the Confederacy by David
Gleeson
"As there had been only two prominent Irish generals, and only one,
Cleburne, had had a very distinguished record, the story of the
common soldier was the story of the Irish Confederate."
Blacks and Irish on the Riverine Frontiers
The Roots of American Popular Music by Christopher J. Smith
"One of the realities of American life is that certain features of
African American performance style will remain strange and alluring
to those outside the culture. Not least among such features is the
making of hard social commentary on recurring problems of life,
often through cutting and breaking techniques-contentious
interactions continually calling for a change of direction."
Smoke 'n' Guns
A Preface to a Poem about Marginal Souths, and then the Poem by
Conor O'Callaghan
"Addressing a jubilant crowd in Belfast shortly after the
declaration of the original ceasefire in 1993, Gerry Adams reminded
his audience that 'they haven't gone away, you know.' He meant that
even as 'the cause' was dwindling, its upholders-'the boys'-were
still among us. He might just as easily have been talking about the
Klan."