CenterPieceNY
New York Irish Stories: we chronicle the lives of long-standing members of New York's Irish community, in their own words.
And by 'long-standing' we mean those that have put down some serious roots in the city that never sleeps.
Consider this a luxury brand in podcasting. Each episode is exquisitely designed and precision engineered. Not mass-produced.
Episode schedule: one published per month, towards month end. WE ARE CURRENTLY ON AN EXTENDED HIATUS, but feel free to browse our catalog of past episodes, which we'll continue to host on this website and on all the usual platforms (Spotify, Apple etc..)
Storytelling is the spirit of the times–the zeitgeist !
Recent Episodes
10
June 29, 2023
S3E10: Linda Bonnar, Checking In
Linda Bonnar is a successful life coach and entrepreneur. She's also a former educator, and has built her services around both her experiences in the teaching profession, and her teenager years with mental health struggles in her hometown of Ballinasloe in County Galway in Ireland. During those fragile, formative years of her childhood she had the misfortune of being targeted by a clique of mean-spirited schoolgirls, which made her road to today all the more difficult. But she has used that har
9
May 29, 2023
S3E9: Jennifer Muldowney, a Heart Grows Bigger
Jennifer Muldowney, from Dublin’s fair city, in Ireland, is an author, a podcaster, and a member of that exclusive set of people who has given a TED Talk. But for this vivacious young woman, all these glamorous activities are in support of her unique, creative, small-ish, and growing business, which, not to put too fine a point on it, services the industry of passing and death. Jennifer's work is as much a service to the living survivors, as it is to the departed. If you don’t know Jennifer,
8
April 26, 2023
S3E8: Denis Maguire, Life on the Peninsula
When it comes to experiences, life is an embarrassment of riches. Even more so, if you're an adventurous, wandering type, which might be another way of saying 'if you're Irish'. Certainly Denis Maguire is, although he has gone about it in his own quiet way. As a thoughtful playwright, flimmaker and artist, boisterousness is not for him. Raised in Galway City in Ireland, of rebel lineage, and later a college student in Dublin, he left his native Ireland and headed off to study in Moscow in his l
7
March 28, 2023
S3E7: Corina Galvin, Quiet Influencing
Corina Galvin calls County Mayo in Ireland her home. She's also been a New Yorker for almost three decades. And she has accumulated a lot of frequent flyer miles along the way. That's because her job in event planning and management puts her constantly up in the air, traveling all over the globe, meeting some significant influencers in the process. This job, the only career of her working life, also allows her to divide her down time nicely between Ireland and New York, keeping her connections
6
Feb. 28, 2023
S3E6: Jane McCooey and her Band of Sisters.
Jane McCooey thrives when she’s bringing people together to solve a problem, to the benefit of all. When Jane, from County Armagh in Ireland, is confronted with obstacles, she’s not afraid to reach out for help, and her first port of call is often to tap into the familiar power of sisterhood. Before you know it, she’s fallen in with a band of sisters. She’s done this repeatedly–sports being a prime example–and more recently in the world of work. Why there, you ask? Because, you could say, me
5
Jan. 31, 2023
S3E5: Niall O'Leary–A Life By, And Of, Design.
Niall O'Leary is best known as a performer of Irish dance in the New York area, and further afield. A lesser known fact about Niall is that he also has his own Manhattan-based architecture practice. The amazing thing about Niall is how he has managed to satisfy his innate need to create and design in these two very disparate disciplines. To him there is barely a difference between them. Maybe every young person should be trained to think like Niall, so when they are asked what they want to be w
4
Dec. 20, 2022
S3E4: A Sort of Christmas Carol
'Tis the festive season, and as yet another year ends, a time for self-reflection. So we thought we'd take a moment this Christmas to have a closer look at this podcast, delivered in the words of creator, producer and host Paul Finnegan, to explain why he does it, and to give you a walk-through on how he goes about doing it. We hope you'll find it a relaxing and perhaps thought-provoking, and hopefully entertaining listen, worthy of your precious time. It's a Christmas Carol, but by no means u
3
Nov. 26, 2022
S3E3: Ray O'Hanlon, Stringer of Pearls
Ray O'Hanlon is a long-standing journalist, author and editor of the weekly Irish Echo news service, which has been a pillar of the Irish American identity since 1928. That's a stretch coming up on 95 years, and Ray has been with the Echo for more than one third of that time! Ray sees his work as stringing together elements, pearls he calls them, of larger stories, creating a broader context that transcends any particular incident or era. It can be said he has been the string itself, defining a
2
Oct. 27, 2022
S3E2: Helen McNamara O'Shea, Healer at Heart
In this episode, Helen McNamara O'Shea tells us of the brave leap she made from a career as an accomplished doctor to that of a singer/songwriter. Given that Helen describes herself as 'ancient', which she is not by any means, it seemed, on the face of things, a switch that didn't make a whole lot of sense. But that's on the face of things, because both careers, to Helen, have something fundamental in common. Healing. And that's what Helen is at heart, a healer. She just does it now through th
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Recent Blog Posts
Aug. 28, 2023
CenterPieceNY goes on Extended Hiatus..
A message from Paul Finnegan, creator, producer and host of CenterPieceNY. ================================================== Dear Friend, Whether you've been actively listening to my creation, the CenterPieceNY podcast, or can only spar…
March 27, 2023
Single Channel Land
It's fair to say I've been neglecting my blog, The BlogSledder. A combination of having limited time and a focus on more pressing priorities can be trotted out as my excuses, however strong or weak they may be. Be that as it may, our current Cente…
Oct. 13, 2022
Ridgewood, home to Nowadays, ranks 4th Coolest Neighborhood on the Planet.
Photograph: Robert Malmberg Nowadays, a focal point for NYC's dance culture, is one of the highlights of Ridgewood, Queens NYC, which has been named the 4th coolest neighborhood IN THE WORLD by Time Out!! Eamon Harkin, the visionary be…