By John Bruton

Recently I visited the battlefields of the Somme in Northern France. In doing so, I was fulfilling a long-held wish.

Last year, I was at the launch of “…

http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_videos/722885

Part 1:  From Ireland to America:  Bonded Through Time and Famine

Part 2:  From Ireland to America: The Kennedy Homestead New Visitor Center

It was a big year for New Ross, County Wexford.  In June the new visitor center opened…

The greatest censorship that happened in Ireland was during the seventies when the FIanna Fail government brought in Section 31 which forbade republicans from having access to the media. In the eighties the coalition of Fine Gael and Labour took it a step further forbidding Sinn Fein members from talking about everything including gardening in the media. The act was repealed in the nineties as part of the peace process. It is worth noting that at height of apartheid in South Africa, de…

O'Duffy's Blueshirts rally in a Dublin cemetery, 1934

CÉADAOIN -- On Oct. 30, 1892, Eoin O'Duffy, revolutionary and organizer of the infamous Blueshirts, was born in…

Many workers in our Country are very tired of the anti-worker, anti-union radical right who are trying to eliminate our middle class. On Nov. 9th, we are having a Rally in front of the Courthouse in Pottsville Pa., County Schuylkill. Why is this place so important?  On June 21st, 1877, 6 men were hanged at the prison in back of the Courthouse and on the same day 4 were hanged in Carbon County. All were AOH members accused of being involved in muders. These men were branded as belonging to a…

On my last day in Ireland, before taking an early flight out of Dublin, fellow Wild Geese member and Irish-American Wexford farmer Oisin O'Connell offered to complete my Irish Tour by taking me to experience New Ross.  As…

Suite for Oboe, Cello and Harp

https://soundcloud.com/vincentjohnkennedy/i-prelude

Ryan O'Rourke recently brought up the subject of coffee. That got me thinking about Tea. There is a lot of it consumed in Ireland  In fact, Ireland is ranked #3 behind The United Arab Emirates (#1) & Morroco(#2).

Historically, Tea is a rather young beverage in Ireland…

Handball in Ballymore Eustace                       

Copy of photo below of Mickey Dowling appearing at P. 54 of the Ballymore-Eustace GAA Centenary Book.

Book

Tom McElligott in his book on handball devoted two sections to Ballymore Eustace players.  Tom is now deceased.  The late Mickey Dowling of Barrack St. was one of the two Ballymore Eustace players to receive a…

Hey there all. Since my trip to Ireland with The Waterford Gathering this June past, I have been smitten with the place and have taken even more of an interest in all things Irish! I have even written a poem which although personal, I would like to have critiqued by someone literary. I am a complete amateur so don't expect anything amazing ; ) Would anyone here be willing to give it a go? Warning! - I am very sensitive so go easy on me as it is only meant to be personal, well, at least for…

On Saturday, October 5, Long Beach had it annual St. Brendan's Day parade and celebration. A very significant event this year considering the town is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy!

It was a wonderful Day! The weather was perfect and everyone seem to be having a good time. There was the parade of pipe bands from Long Island and New York City and their music could…

It was the site of an infamous cavalry charge that was either an act of supreme bravery or one of sheer stupidity or both. It inspired a famous poem that is still drilled into schoolchildren. A young woman in London, Florence Nightingale, was so moved upon reading the reports of…

Hi all I have just made a video for a new song called "you in his eyes" the song is based on Milton's paradise Lost poem and has been reviewed in Irish Music Magazine. The video and song can be heard on my site at:

http://www.padraiglalor.com

Here is text of the review plus lyrics:

STORY BEHIND THE SONG…

The Sister Cities Program - 500 US Cities - 1900 connections worldwide - 140 Countries

A sister city organization is a volunteer group of ordinary citizens who, with the support of their local elected officials, form long-term relationships with people and organizations in a city abroad. Each sister city organization is independent and pursues the…

When International Coffee Day came and went at the end of September, it got me thinking about the odd coffee culture here in Ireland.  Why do I call it "odd"?  

I'm an Irish-American now living in Ireland -- I…

This was originally posted at artofneed, Blog for the Auld Irishtown trilogy here.

The history of …

This is a postcard of William Street in Galway City, circa 1930. The keen eye will see "DUBLIN TIME" underneath the clock at Dillon's Jewellers (the building on the right of the photo with the striped awning). In the past, Galway, like other Irish towns, operated according to local time, which was relative to its distance from Greenwich. Dublin time was twenty-five minutes…

She even calls her puppy Seamus. 

Linda Opyr began her tribute to Seamus Heaney with the story of her naming her new dog after the recently deceased Seamus Heaney, the Noble Prize Laureate in Literature in 1995, a native of Derry.  Dr. Linda Opyr presented her tribute to Heaney at the October 16 meeting of the Irish Cultural Society at the Garden City…

Our Wild Geese teammate Anna Porter took me to two 'famine' graveyards in the county of Leitrim.  At first sight there are just stone walls enclosing areas of beautiful Irish green grass, but once inside the intensity is immediately felt.…