Here is a short extract from Chapter 8 of my book "Have Ye No Homes To Go To? The History of the Irish Pub." This section looks at the history of the Irish pub in the USA. 

The book is available on Amazon, etc.

United States

Up to 1830, the majority of Irish immigrants to North…

There are many Irish pubs around the globe, but some of them, while they have the trappings -- Irish prints on the walls, an Irish-themed menu and Guinness available -- are missing the most important thing: the warm atmosphere you expect in Ireland. That isn't the case in…

With its sunny weather, vacation time, and, for the lucky, a shorter work-week, summer is a great time to catch up on hobbies, whether parasailing, mountain biking, or in my case, visiting new or favorite Irish pubs.



After much exhaustive research, with summer now nearly behind, I share…

How can we spend all this time discussing the Irish in New Orleans without talking about food?

To fill that lack, Pauline Patterson of New Orleans' own Finn McCool’s Irish Pub has passed on…

My first big memory of my Uncle Charlie Clarke is when he arrived home from Naval duty after World War II. I was seven years old. Soon after, my granduncle, Patrick Joseph Clarke, appointed Uncle Charlie to be the manager at his saloon, P. J. Clarke’s, at 55th Street and Third…

Hi there, fellow Wild Geese! 

It has been an amazing few months for us. After screening at several film festivals & other events - Toronto, Chicago, Boston, New Jersey, DC, NYC, Syracuse and more, we were just over-the-moon to see people's reaction to the film, the characters and the locations. It seemed to…

About three decades and a half ago there was a pleasant bar where I used to drop in for a quiet pint.

That was a practice I have not participated in for several years. I am the worse for that. If I had continued with that pleasant pastime the water that has flowed under the…

Some of you might be taking a trip to Ireland in the near future and having a real pint of Guinness will be first on your agenda. You have all heard that the Black Stuff tastes better in Ireland and it definitely does. Trust me; you are talking to an expert. …

France has its Eiffel Tower, the U.S. its Statue of Liberty, but arguably the most iconic attraction in Ireland is that cathedral of conviviality, the Irish pub. The unique thing that this Irish institution has is that, unlike the others, it’s exportable, if you don’t count plaster-of- Paris imitations of Lady Liberty and the Eiffel Tower,that really don’t do it for…

One of the benefits of being a Wild Geese member is that I am surrounded by uniquely talented and amazingly gifted individuals. I was recently asked to review a newly released CD, "Live from the 33rd County," from one of our very own Wild Geese, Mary Courtney. I have had it three weeks and it has rarely left my CD players. It…