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
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.
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...
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....
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.
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...
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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.
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.
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...
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.
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:...