I purchased a copy of “In the Tracks of the West Clare Railway” by Eddie Lenihan on a visit to my native County Clare. If there was ever a book that needed writing this is it. No better man than Eddie to do the job. This is not a short list of boring facts and figures such as we were accustomed in history books going to school. No, this is a 319-page account of…

One of the biggest projects in U.S. history, the building of the transcontinental railroad is played out in “Hell on Wheels”.  Four of the lead actors are Irish: Phil Burke, Irish Canadian; Colm Meany, Dublin; Robin McLeavy, Australia – ancestry  Ireland; Dominique…

At exactly noon on November 18, 1883, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times. The bold move was emblematic of the power shared by the railroad companies.

The need for continental…

 I went to a preview of Tile Film of Dublin's new documentary Death on the Railroad, an episode of Secrets of the Dead, is airing nationally Wednesday May 8th, 2013 at 10 PM on Chanel 13 in New York and Chanel 12 (WHYY) in Philadelphia.   Do NOT miss this.  It tells the unbelievable story of the death of 57 Irish Railroad workers on Mile 59 of the railroad being built in bucolic Chester County.  The historical event has been called Duffy's Cut - named after the brutal Donegal born Irish…