A funeral Mass will be held Aug. 10 for Coulter, a national boxing legend, beloved co-owner of the old Remedy tavern and a guy who knew being rich had nothing to do with money.
Sean Kirst
Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Central Current. He has been an Upstate journalist for more than 50 years. He held his first reporting job as a teenager and worked for newspapers in Dunkirk, Niagara Falls, Rochester and Syracuse, where he spent 27 years before joining the Buffalo News in 2016.
He is the recipient of many national and state journalism awards, including the Ernie Pyle Award, given annually to one American journalist for writing about the dreams and struggles of everyday people. He received the national excellence in column writing award from the Society for Professional Journalists, Capitolbeat's top national award for column writing about state government and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence national media award. Between 2016 and 2025, in Buffalo, he received the New York News Publishers Association distinguished column writing award eight times, often in its largest circulation category.
Kirst, who serves as a journalist-in-residence at Le Moyne College, was named a civic Wisdom Keeper by FOCUS Greater Syracuse and his name was placed on a Wall of Distinction by the Syracuse Press Club for lifetime achievement in journalism. Kirst has been honored by the federal Department of Justice for sensitivity to victims of violent crime. He has received honorary degrees from Le Moyne and Onondaga Community College, and was honored by SUNY Fredonia in 2022 for outstanding achievement by alumni. He is a recipient of the Onondaga Historical Association medal, the OHA's highest award for preserving and interpreting local heritage.
Kirst, a TedX speaker, has given many talks about the importance of storytelling in journalism, especially in a digital age, and he is the author of three books: The Ashes of Lou Gehrig, Moonfixer, and The Soul of Central New York, published in 2016, the fastest-selling book in the more-than-80-year history of the Syracuse University Press. The England-based Tolkien Society credits Kirst with serving as founder of international Tolkien Reading Day, now celebrated around the world.
Kirst and his wife Nora, a retired city schoolteacher, have three grown children: Sarah, Seamus and Liam.
Sean can be reached at skirst@centralcurrent.org
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Sean Kirst: At Clinton Square roller rink, for a city and its children, the shared goal of ‘staying up’
Envisioned as a bright and brief chance for community, roller skating takes on deeper meaning in a hard week in Syracuse.
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Sean Kirst: On Father’s Day, John Kucko’s daughters see even deeper beauty and meaning in the landscape
Family messages of love and gratitude to their dad, beloved digital storyteller in recovery from brain surgery.
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Sean Kirst: Syracuse teens find 21st century meaning in new marker for abolitionist giant
Just before Juneteenth, a straight bridge of remembrance and gratitude to Jermain Loguen, ‘underrated’ human rights champion.
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Sean Kirst: Saturday’s literacy parade ‘lights a candle’ for new dream for Hayden home
Light A Candle For Literacy organizers envision a community literacy center in revered Midland Avenue house.
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Sean Kirst: At Brighton Academy, Alfonzo Whitehurst’s gutsiest coaching move was sharing his own story
An emotional team meeting offered lessons that will resonate far beyond one flag football season.
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Sean Kirst: Services Friday for Bob Menotti, civic giant and leader of Syracuse Deaf community
An historian describes Bob’s life as “a moving example of how access to community, inclusion, and acceptance can break down barriers around disability.”
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Sean Kirst: For John Kucko, envoy of woodlands and waterfalls, hard new journey for guy whose work unveils the nature of a region
Shortly after witnessing a moment at Letchworth that Kucko describes as intensely beautiful, a seizure and the great challenge of his life.
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Sean Kirst: Early on Memorial Day, old friends, a rain-soaked monument and a solemn downtown task
Kevin Kane, who designed the Onondaga County Korea-Vietnam Veterans Memorial, lost a brother in Vietnam — and infused every inch of that monument with meaning.
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Sean Kirst: Eileen Gannon’s product was ice cream. Her brilliant legacy is a place of true community, in Syracuse.
Whatever brought you to Gannon’s for the first time, she understood how quality, warmth and humor were the means to bring you back.
