Stronger Than Ever - 2nd Anniversary

It gives me great pleasure to inform you, our readers, that Irish Connections Magazine is celebrating its 2nd anniversary. Can I take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over the past two years. As we now enter our 3rd year in business I hope you will enjoy our new image and design and, as I have promised, we continue to improve with every issue as we strive to make this magazine ajournal for the new millennium, focusing on entertainment, business, sports, and the arts.

I am very proud and more than honored to have Maureen O'Hara as our cover feature. Maureen has been one of Hollywood's leading actresses for many years and has appeared in some of the great cinematic classics of all time. Silver screen epics such as; Miracle on 34th St., Rio Grande, and of course The Quiet Man. This year the finest Irish film ever made, The Quiet Man celebrates the 50th anniversary of its release to a world that had never before seen the wonderful natural beauty of Ireland and its people. Maureen, along with John Wayne, Victor McLaglen, Barry Fitzgerald and the rest of the cast and crew, including the legendary directorJohn Ford, have left us forever on film scenes that will be long remembered into the future.

Other features in this issue include a profile of this year's New York St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshal, His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan. We follow the roller coaster of emotions that lead to extraordinary Olympic gold medals for Sarah Hughes andJim Shea Jr., and Mary Black talks of her 20 years in music. We'll look forward to late nights as the Irish soccer team does us proud at the World Cup inJapan and South Korea, and for those still light on their toes we profile the DeNolga School of Irish Dancing. With his golf clubs now in retirement, David Feherty chats about his new life as a CBS commentator and author, and of course we have our regular round up of celebrity sightings and entertainment news.

I hope this issue gives you as much enjoyment in its reading as it did for all of us putting it together. Before I sign off let me thank you once again for your continued support, and for all your suggestions that help us produce this magazine for the Irish world and beyond.

Paddy McCarthy - Publisher