Emory Professor James W. Flannery Named One of Top 100 Irish Americans by Irish-America magazine

James W. Flannery, professor of performing arts at Emory University and director of the W.B. Yeats Foundation, has been named one of the "Top 100 Irish Americans" by Irish-America magazine. This is the fifth time that Flannery has been named to the list, which honors Americans of Irish descent who have made exceptional contributions to their respective fields of work or study.

Flannery was selected for his work as a scholar-artist in the field of Irish studies. In particular, he is considered an authority on the poet and dramatist W.B. Yeats and the songwriter Thomas Moore. According to Irish America magazine, it was Flannery, the founder of the department of theater and film studies at Emory, who turned "Riverdance" creator Bill Whelan on to the beauty of Yeats when he enlisted the help of the young composer for his Yeats Festival in Dublin. The now-defunct international theater festival ran from 1989 to 1993, and drew wide acclaim.

Flannery's fellow honorees include President Clinton, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, actor Gabriel Byrne, columnist Maureen O'Dowd, author Frank McCourt, the former president of Coca-Cola Don Keough, talk show host Rosie O'Donnell and baseball star Derek Jeter.

In addition to this honor, Flannery is one of the few Americans listed in the "Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature" and the "Companion to Traditional Irish Music." His recording "Dear Harp of My Country: The Irish Melodies of Thomas Moore" was featured in a recent Irish national radio program on the history of Irish music.