It was 20 years ago that the United States and the world held their breath as the worst terrorist attack in history took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. The attack was in the U.S. but many of the victims were from other countries around the world.

(Left:…

How did a boy from Kildare end up shooting a Sultan and his bodyguards in an Arabian palace?

Above, an Irishman (the author) in Dhofar.

The answer shows that, like a wildfire breaking out and dying down, The Wild Geese spirit lives, to surface now and again not to die but to smoulder until the next adventure beckons. (Remember ‘Mad’ Mike Hoare, Africa’s most famous mercenary?)…

The life and times of Private Albert D.J. Cashier are one of those historic anomalies that make you scratch your head and wonder, ‘How the hell could that happen?’

Private Cashier served in the ranks of the 95th Illinois for three years – from their muster-in on September 4, 1862, until the regiment…

Lola Montez

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl… so far, so true (and with thanks to Barry Manilow), but this particular Lola  also happened to be one of Europe’s most beautiful and talked-about women, who married several times and who…

While hiking with my American-born kids I found myself repeating the words “hay foot, straw foot” trying to motivate them to keep going as they were getting tired. I reflected on how I first learned the phrase from my West Cork granny, and decided to investigate the term a little further.  I grew intrigued to learn this phrase is shared between Ireland and America.



“Hay-foot, straw-foot” was a term my late granny…

When the Black and Tans were first deployed in Ireland in March 1920, they soon proved themselves to be a pretty brutal bunch. They were liberal with the use of their rifles, were often drunk and even engaged in arson and robbery.

The Tans were ex-servicemen, many of them scarred from their time in the…

Hi all, if  members have an interest in the Irish involvement in World War I, the link here may be of benefit, It is a free online World War I exhibition titled 'it's a long way to Tipperary: An Irish story of the great war'. This project follows the lives of a single…

 ...and not a battle at all?  Was the area of Brù-na-Bóinne where the survivors of 'Noah's' flood emerged? What about the 

strange report from Charles O'Kelly, a Colonel in James’ army, who said the whole thing was a conspiracy to hand Ireland to William?…

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…