Peter McDermott
Latest Stories
A question of language
Max Baker would generally rather be painting. Still, if he must act then he could hardly do better than perform alongside Matthew Broderick and Ger...
Some deserve posthumous infamy, Alinsky does not
Journalist Nicholas von Hoffman recalled in his book “Radical” that he and Cesar Chavez were recruited on the same day to work for the Industrial A...
Currier & Ives cultivated Irish-American market
Currier & Ives sold fantasy and it sold reality. And that’s generally the approach the lithographic company took to Ireland. Kevin O’Rourke has wri...
The Old Print Shop's favorite theme is New York itself
When traveling salesman Harry Shaw Newman stepped into the Old Print Shop at 150 Lexington Ave. for the first time, he couldn’t have known it was t...
Singer Dempsey turns to fiction
Derek Dempsey knew from an early age that “music would define my life.” When asked what he wanted to be, his answer was a simple one: a singer. And...
Making sense of the Brontës
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But whether they’re entitled to their own interpretation is, well, a matter of opinion. Actress, filmmaker a...
Overcoming grief, hard times
John Connors gets bored these days watching the “generic” on screen. One response to that creatively and professionally has been to embrace the exp...
Muldoon's Picnic is inspired by vaudeville original
Muldoon is a name with “certain resonances.” Some are comic, according to the prominent literary figure who shares it. Indeed, Paul Muldoon can rec...
From the Moth to the Rep
For Mary Kate O’Flanagan, it’s always about the story. For one thing, she works as a writer and script doctor in television and film. It was anothe...
'Music saved my life'
“It’s a lovely day. A pity about the weather.” Kevin Sharkey tries always to bring his mother’s spirit and attitude to his life and work even when,...
American democracy's fair-weather friends
The historian John Lukacs was no leftist. Indeed, he labeled himself a “reactionary” and his positions, if sometimes heterodox, were reliably right...
Only Nevers made sense on right
This column was published in the Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 2025, edition of the Irish Echo. The word “Never” being used before someone’s name is a practice t...
