LORRAINE DUSKY
Dusky is not an Irish name of course, but this former senior editor of Town & Country says that she's Irish by birth--her daughter's, that is. Her daughter is half Irish, and grandaughter, three quarters. Dusky's work has appeared in numerous publications, from The New York Times and Newsweek, to Endless Vucation, Diversion and Travel-Holiday. She's also the author of five books on serious subjects (Still Unequal: The Shameful Truth About Women and Justice in America) and not-so serious subjects (How to Eat Like a Thin Person). When Dusky told a friend she was headed to Ireland, he suggested she make a side trip to Glin Castle in County Limerick. That brief stay led to her story about the castle, its Knight and the castle's fabulous collection of antiques.

ANTONIO MANDRALIS
Born in the early '70s in South America---Colombia, to be exact-photographer Mandralis was raised between his mother's country and his father's home in Athens, Greece where he finished high school. In '92 he returned to Colombia, studied journalism, and became fascinated by first film and then photography. In '96 he landed in New York attending the NY Film Academy. In 1997 he started shooting still photography and came back to NYC to study at the New School and the International Center of Photography where he has earned a degree in documentary photography and photojournalism Since then he has had photos in exhibitions in Colombia and at ICP. Mandralis applied his photojournalistic skills to make images of author Nuala O'Faolain for this issue of Irish Connections.

CIARA MULVANY
Learning the skills of the profession from her father in his Dublin design agency, Mulvany decided to follow in his footsteps. In '92 she left for London with a degree in Graphic Design to work as a designer at Marvel Comics UK. Two years later as Project Director, she was leading a team of artists and editors producing over 10 publications a month (incl. Spiderman and X-Men). By '96 she was invited by the BBC to art direct and illustrate for some of their well-known TV titles. Three years later, including a year spent with a web design agency in Amsterdam, Mulvany returned home to begin working for Smurfit Communications in their contract publishing division. A year later she was made Art Director of Irish Tutler Magazine. She now freelances for publications at home and abroad while undertaking her greatest challenge of all---as the Art Director of Irish Connections.

DEARBHAIL MCDONALD
Hailing from Newry, County Down, Ireland, McDonald arrived in New York after graduating from law school at Trinity College, Dublin, in December of last year. While preparing to take the New York State Bar law exam, McDonald pursued her longtime interest in journalism with a local Irish newspaper in New York. She is currently the senior editor with Home and Awrry newspaper tackling innumerable subjects such as arts and music (she's a classically trained violinist), and in addition to freelance writing is a feature columnist with a number of papers in her native Northern Ireland. A former member of the Ulster Youth Theater, her first foray into the world of maga~ine journalism interviewing the legendary comedic thespian Niall Toibin seems like a natural jumping off point.

LYNNE E. SHANNON
A native of Los Angeles, Shannon studied arts and languages at Los Angeles City College. Her thirst for more theater and Irish literature led to her living in Ireland for a year, where she worked in theater companies For Eamonn Morrissey, Robert Carrickford, Julie Hamilton, and the then emerging Project Arts Center. She credits the late Irish actor Patrick Bedford with kickstarting her interest in her Irish heritage. Now Shannon applies her natural skills for language and writing towards Irish Connections where she is responsible for assembling much of the material at the beginning of the magazine including news and events editorials. For this issue she composed the Nuala O'Faolain interview with editor Brad Balfour.