Ireland

Milo O'Shea is an Irish actor currently starring as a priest in "Mass Appeal" at the Walnut Street Theater. He played the same role on Broadway for which he won several awards and was nominated for a Tony award. O'Shea has appeared in numerous films and plays. He will appear with Paul Newman in the upcoming film "The Verdict."

Scholar Frank McCourt and his brother, actor Malachi McCourt, grew up poor in Ireland before finding success in the United States. Both brothers were voracious readers and were able to find success without a high school education. They wrote and perform together in a new, autobiographical play.

The Irish filmmaker joins Fresh Air to talk about the difficulties of movie production in his home country. His new movie, directed by Peter Ormond, is called Eat the Peach.

Book Critic John Leonard reviews Belfast Diary, the non-fiction account of the civil war that has flared through Northern Ireland. The author is Chicago journalist John Conroy.

Journalist John Conroy. Conroy lived in a poor Catholic neighborhood in violence-torn Belfast, Northern Ireland. He recorded stories of the life there in his book Belfast Diary.

Singer Mick Moloney returns to play two Irish folk songs.

Jordan was a fiction writer before becoming a filmmaker. His early cinematic work was financed by the British network Channel 4. His newest movie, a supernatural comedy called High Sprits, is his first big-budget feature. Jordan made his mark with Mona Lisa, a noir about call girl and her driver.

Critic Maureen Corrigan gives us her family's version of how to celebrate St. Patricks Day, and recommends the novel "Motherland" by Timothy O'Grady as perfect St. Patrick's Day reading.

Fresh Air producer Amy Salit interviews producer Noel Pearson and director Jim Sheridan of the film "My Left Foot." The film tells the story of Christy Brown, who became a painter and writer in spite of having cerebral palsy. Pearson, who produced the film, knew Christy and his family and Sheridan co-wrote as well as directed it. "My Left Foot," a first film for both, has been nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Picture.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the singer's album, "Enlightenment." Tucker says it's a partial return to Morrison's more accessible, folk-rock roots.