in 1952, travelling steerage, Malachi McCourt left a childhood of poverty in Limerick, Ireland, heading for the promise of America. This is the story of what he brought with him, and what he thought he’d left behind.
Armed with savage humour and a gift for storytelling, fuelled by rage and the desire never to go hungry again, he ran from the memories of a drunken, vanished father and the humiliations of Angela, his mother.
He arrived in New York reminiscent of a Damon Runyon saga- dark, glittering place, with bar one every corner and a new story waiting every night. Larger then life, a world-class drinker, McCourt carved out a place for himself: in the saloons, as the first celebrity bartending, mixing with socialites, writers and movie stars: on stage, performing the works of James Joyce and Brendan Beam and on television, where the tales he spun made his a ‘Tonight Show’ regular.
in 1952, travelling steerage, Malachi McCourt left a childhood of poverty in Limerick, Ireland, heading for the promise of America. This is the story of what he brought with him, and what he thought he’d left behind.
Armed with savage humour and a gift for storytelling, fuelled by rage and the desire never to go hungry again, he ran from the memories of a drunken, vanished father and the humiliations of Angela, his mother.
He arrived in New York reminiscent of a Damon Runyon saga- dark, glittering place, with bar one every corner and a new story waiting every night. Larger then life, a world-class drinker, McCourt carved out a place for himself: in the saloons, as the first celebrity bartending, mixing with socialites, writers and movie stars: on stage, performing the works of James Joyce and Brendan Beam and on television, where the tales he spun made his a ‘Tonight Show’ regular.
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