Aine Greaney

Cognoscenti contributor

Áine Greaney is an Irish-born writer who lives on Boston's North Shore. She has written five books and published and broadcast many essays, short stories and features. She is currently completing her sixth book, “Nobody Home,” a young adult (YA) novel set in Boston and a remote island off County Galway

Recently published

An Ghaeltacht sign on Cape Clear Island, County Cork, Ireland, Irish Republic. (Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

We Irish are more than folk songs and whiskey

Too often Ireland is rendered as a reductive and clichéd version of a country that, like all nations, has its nuances, contradictions and dualities, writes Aine Greaney.

Cognoscenti

Mar 17, 2023

How Thanksgiving Became More To Me Than Just Another Thursday

Aine Greaney came to the U.S. from her native Ireland in 1987. Back then, Thanksgiving, like America, felt foreign. But now -- three decades later -- she believes her adopted...

Cognoscenti

Nov 27, 2019

In this photo taken on May 17, 2018, pro and anti-abortion poster's on lampposts, in Dublin, Ireland. (Peter Morrison/AP)

The Shame And Peril Of Living In A No-Abortion State

It's not that we Irish girls didn't get pregnant or opt to terminate, writes Aine Greaney, about her experience growing up in Ireland, where abortion was outlawed by the government....

Cognoscenti

Jun 11, 2019

Something To Declare: My Grandmother's Mangled, Invaluable Ring

U.S. Customs compelled writer Aine Greaney to put a price on the beloved engagement ring, nearly a century old, that had lost its diamond.

Cognoscenti

Mar 8, 2018

People visit a makeshift memorial Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, for victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas. Stephen Paddock opened fire on an outdoor music concert on Sunday killing dozens and injuring hundreds. (John Locher/AP)

Enough With 'Thoughts And Prayers.' Let's Truly Mourn The Las Vegas Victims

Our national pride in being able to smile and “move on,” is built on a myth, writes Aine Greaney. How can we move on, when we rarely take time to...

Cognoscenti

Oct 10, 2017

While we immigrants were paying the fees and studying for the citizenship test, Google was reporting a spike in searches on how to legally move from the United States to Canada, writes Aine Greaney. (Ferdinand Stöhr/Unsplash)

Choosing To Become An American Out Of Love, Not Fear

A year after becoming a citizen, a friend asked Aine Greaney if she had buyer's remorse. Not so much, she writes. But she does have regrets.

Cognoscenti

Jul 4, 2017

Note To Former Self: You're Way Too Young For College

Too many mornings, I switched off the alarm rather than trek to a lecture hall where, for the first time in my life, no adult was watching, writes Aine Greaney.

Cognoscenti

May 9, 2017

When Even Words Fail

Since Election Day, writes Aine Greaney, I learned that poetry-as-therapy has its limitations. This time, for this tragedy, the words don't assuage, and new ones -- my own -- won’t...

Cognoscenti

Nov 28, 2016

Aine Greaney: "That closet had been my own America -- a bright, iconic country where an immigrant woman could wear dresses just like those worn by the late president’s wife."
(Amy Treasure/Unsplash)

A Closet Full Of America: Playing Dress-Up In An Irish Farmhouse

That closet had been my own America -- a bright, iconic country where an immigrant woman could wear dresses just like those worn by the late president’s wife.

Cognoscenti

Mar 3, 2016

Aine Greaney: "There were many brown and taupe and black people standing behind and ahead of me in the immigration queue. I lumped the lot of us into the same color-blind category: immigrants. I see now just how naive I was." (Negative Space/unsplash)

Coming To America: The White, English-Speaking Immigrant's Lesser Burden

There were many brown and taupe and black people standing behind and ahead of me in the immigration queue. I lumped the lot of us into the same color-blind category:...

Cognoscenti

Nov 6, 2015