CenterPieceNY

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.

Storytelling is the spirit of the times–the zeitgeist !

Recent Episodes

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 firs...

Episode page
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 N...

Episode page
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 …

Episode page
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...

Episode page
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 mean...

Episode page
Sept. 27, 2022

S3E1: Donie Carroll, A Song of Freedom

County Cork, on Ireland's southern shore, is its biggest county, bigger than all the rest, all thirty one of them. Corkonians, as the people of Cork are known, are intensely proud of their heritage. They often claim, in al...

Episode page
Sept. 16, 2022

Season Three Introduction: A Conversation with John Lee.

Season Three kicks off with a short conversation between CenterPieceNY host, Paul Finnegan, and fellow New York Irish podcaster, John Lee, to preview what's ahead. Check out Irish Stew, the podcast for the Global Irish Nation...

Episode page
June 30, 2022

S2E10: Eamon Harkin-This Is The Only Time We Live In.

Here in the tenth and final episode of Season Two, we get to know Eamon Harkin, originally from Derry in Ireland, who has achieved celebrity in the world of DJs, and is taking dance culture and its community to a …

Episode page
May 28, 2022

S2E9: Amy Brett-The More Things Change...

Amy Brett is a passionate and skilled event planner, an avid Gaelic footballer and a powerful fundraiser for great causes. And she's all 'Mayo for Sam', red and green, through and through. Based in Sunnyside, Queens, she's h...

Episode page

Recent Blog Posts

Ridgewood, home to Nowadays, ranks 4th Coolest Neighborhoo…

Photograph: Robert Malmberg   Nowadays, a focal point for NYC's dance culture, is one of the highlights of Ridgewood, Queens NYC, which has been…

Nowadays: Eamon Harkin and his New York dance scene innova…

The final episode of Season Two of CenterPieceNY can be listened to here. It explores the world of renowned DJ, Eamon Harkin, from Derry in Ireland, and…

The Adaptation of the Irish American Identity.

It could be argued that the Irish American identity is an endangered species.  Why so, you ask?  Because of the changes in the flow of perman…