I think it is fair to say it is widely accepted worldwide that during armed conflicts, civilians are normally not targets of hostility. While it is unfortunate that in some situations civilians are sadly, caught in the crossfire, usually they are not deliberately targeted. However this unwritten rule was blatantly ignored when civilians became the…

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This year 2020, is the 173rd anniversary of the ‘great Hunger’ that befell Ireland with the horror culminating in 1847. Otherwise known as ‘an Gorta mor’ or more commonly referred to as ‘Black ‘47’ it was a seminal turning point in the long tortuous history of Ireland.

Of the many devastating events that the Irish nation endured during its…

I often find myself thinking about my cousin Michael Brennan. He was a firefighter assigned to the Pride of Midtown firehouse in Manhattan. I first met…