2:15 PM

NYC Pub Owner Bans 'Danny Boy' in March

NYC Pub Owner Bans `Danny Boy' in March

By VERENA DOBNIK � usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day, and its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil.

Those are only some of the reasons why a Manhattan pub owner is banning the song "Danny Boy" for the entire month of March.

"It's overplayed, it's been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time and it's more appropriate for a funeral than for a St. Patrick's Day celebration," said Shaun Clancy, who owns Foley's Pub and Restaurant, across the street from the Empire State Building.

The 38-year-old Clancy, who started bartending when he was 12 at his father's pub in County Cavan, Ireland, promised a free Guinness to patrons who sing any other traditional Irish song at the pub's pre-St. Patrick's Day karaoke party on Tuesday.

The lyrics for "Danny Boy," published in 1913, were written by English lawyer Frederick Edward Weatherly, who never even visited Ireland, according to Malachy McCourt, author of the book "Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad."

He said Weatherly's sister-in-law had sent him the music to an old Irish song called "The Derry Air," and the new version became a hit when opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink recorded it in 1915.

Some say the song is symbolic of the great Irish diaspora, with generations of Irish fleeing the famine and poor economic conditions starting around 1850. Others speculate it's sung by a mother grieving for her son or by a desolate lover. Lyrics include: "The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying/ 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide."

"Danny Boy" was recorded by Bing Crosby in the 1940s, served as the theme song of television's "Danny Thomas Show" from 1953 to 1964. It has been performed by singers ranging from Judy Garland and Elvis Presley to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.

At least one patron at Foley's was glad to hear the song was banned from the pub for the rest of the month.

The song is "all right, but I get fed up with hearing it � it's like the elections," Martin Gaffney, 73, said in a thick Irish brogue.

Gaffney said Wednesday he looked forward to crooning his own Irish favorites, such as "Molly Malone" - whose own theme is hardly a barrel of laughs.

A sort of unofficial anthem of Dublin also known as "Cockles and Mussels," the song tells the tale of a beautiful fishmonger who plies her trade on city streets and dies young of a fever.

By VERENA DOBNIK

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12:52 PM

'Magical Lizzy' Accused of Operating Bordello Out of Maryland Apartment

LAUREL, Md. � A Laurel woman is under arrest on charges she operated a house of prostitution at the apartment complex where she lived.

Anne Arundel County Police say 35-year-old Elizabeth Harrison identified herself on a Website as "Magical Lizzy." She faces four criminal charges, including receiving money from prostitutes with the intent of promoting and profiting from a crime.

The arrest followed complaints from residents of the Russett Green community about men and women showing up at all hours at an apartment in the 3400 block of Holly Creek Drive. Police learned the women were advertising sexual services on the Internet.

Police say an undercover officer was solicited for sex acts, resulting in a raid and Harrison's arrest.

A police spokesman says the other women allegedly operating out of the house are still under investigation and have not been charged.

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9:17 AM

Patrick Swazye battling cancer

NDTV Correspondent

Thursday, March 6, 2008: (Los Angeles):

Hollywood star Patrick Swayze is fighting pancreatic cancer. The 55-year-old star, famous for his roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost is battling one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

Earlier claims by a US magazine that the actor had just five weeks to live have been denied by his doctor, who says the actor is responding well to treatment.

"Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far," Swayze's doctor, George Fisher, was quoted as saying yesterday.

"All of the reports stating the time frame of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic."

Swayze's representative said the actor, who was voted Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine in 1991, was "continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects."

The popular leading hunk appeared in a slew of movies in the 1980s and 1990s, including Youngblood, Red Dawn, Road House and Point Break.

Tabloids including the National Enquirer and New York Post first reported Swayze's diagnosis, with both describing it as more serious than the actor's representatives let on.

"Pancreatic cancer spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it's a leading cause of cancer death," the US-based Mayo Clinic says on its webste, calling it "one of the most serious of cancers." (With AFP inputs)

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8:00 AM

Police Probe Times Square Explosion

NEW YORK (AP) � An explosive device caused minor damage to a military recruiting station in Times Square early Thursday, and police blocked off the area to investigate.

The device shattered a glass entryway, but no one was injured, police said. Members of the police department's bomb squad and fire officials gathered outside the recruiting station in the early morning darkness, and police cars and yellow tape blocked drivers � most of them behind the wheels of taxicabs � from entering one of the world's busiest crossroads.

Witnesses staying at a Times Square hotel in the area said they heard a "big bang" and could feel the building shake. A large plume of smoke was also visible after the explosion, they said.

Early in the investigation, subway cars passed through the Times Square station without stopping, but normal service was restored, with some delays, before the morning rush hour.

The recruiting station, located on a traffic island surrounded by Broadway theaters and chain restaurants, has occasionally been the site of anti-war demonstrations, ranging from silent vigils to loud rallies.

In October 2005 a group of activists who call themselves the Granny Peace Brigade rallied there against the Iraq war. Eighteen activists, most of them grandmothers with several in their 80s and 90s, were later acquitted of disorderly conduct.

The recruiting station was renovated in 1999 to better fit into the flashy ambiance of Times Square, using neon tubing to give the glass and steel office a patriotic American flag motif. For a half century, the station was the armed forces' busiest recruiting center. It has set national records for enlistment, averaging about 10,000 volunteers a year.

Police said it was too early to say if the blast may have been related to two other minor explosions in the city.

In October, two small explosive devices were tossed over a fence at the Mexican consulate, shattering three windows but causing no injuries. No threats had been made against the consulate, and no one took responsibility for the explosion, police said.

At the time, police said they were investigating whether it was connected to a similar incident at the British consulate on May 5, 2005.

In that incident, the explosions took place in the early morning hours, when Britons were going to the polls in an election that returned Prime Minister Tony Blair to power.

In both cases, the instruments were fake grenades sometimes sold as novelty items. They were packed with black power and detonated with fuses, but incapable of causing serious harm, police said.

By DEREK ROSE

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