Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and cranberries, always synonymous with the holiday, are poised to make their annual appearance alongside turkey and side dishes and in quick breads like this one enhanced by orange zest and juice. It’s sweet enough for dessert but not-too-sweet for breakfast…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Nov. 17, 1814, Joseph Finegan, a Confederate general in the …

DOMHNAIGH -- On November 10, 1896, Lady Mary Heath (born Sophie Catherine Pierce), pioneer aviator and athlete, was born in Newcastlewest, County Limerick. Sophie was brought up in Newcastlewest and Dublin, where she attended a boarding school. At the outbreak of World War…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Nov. 3, 1815, John Mitchel , Young Irelander,…

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

(Left: O'Duffy's Blueshirts rally in a Dublin cemetery,…

DOMHNAIGH -- On October 20, 1881, the Irish National Land League was outlawed by the government. From the start (see below) the League had been a thorn in the side of the government of British Prime Minister W. E. Gladstone. The passage of the second Land…

     In my latest cookbook, Delicious Ireland: Forty Years of Fabulous Food, I wrote about experiencing my first Irish breakfast: “We all treasured Ireland for reasons of our own, but none of us thought much about the food then — except breakfast, perhaps, when we would sit down with…

LUAIN -- On Oct. 14, 1814, Thomas Osborne Davis, the poet laureate of the Young Ireland party and one of its founders, was born in Mallow, Co. Cork. Like many other revolutionary Irish leaders, Davis was of an Anglo-Irish family; his father was a British army surgeon. He graduated from Trinity College and was called to the bar in 1838, but he never practiced.

(Left:…

DOMHNAIGH -- On October 6, 1649, Owen Roe O'Neill (right), nephew of Hugh O'Neill and an officer in the Spanish army, died at Cloughoughter Castle on an island in Lough Oughter in County Cavan. Owen is thought to have been born in 1585, probably near Loughgall in…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Sept. 29, 1972, Kathleen Clarke, wife of Easter Rising martyr Tom Clarke, died in Liverpool, England. Kathleen's uncle was …

MÁIRT -- On September 24, 1798, United Irishman Bartholomew Teeling was executed in Dublin. Teeling was the son of wealthy linen merchant in Lisburn, County Antrim. His father was involved in both the Defender and United Irish movement and Bartholomew and his brother joined…

Library of Congress In this photo by Alexander Gardner, the Sunken Road is seen filled with Confederate dead.

MÁIRT -- On Sept. 17,…

DOMHNAIGH -- On September 8, 1798, Lord Cornwallis and General Gerard Lake cornered French General Joseph Humbert's small Franco-Irish army at Ballinamuck, County Longford. With the two British armies closing in, Humbert drew his men up into line of battle. Humbert had less…

DOMHNAIGH -- On September 1, 1864, Irish patriot Roger Casement was born at Sandycove, County Dublin. Casement joined the British colonial service and was knighted in 1911 for his work on behalf of African and South American native workers who were being exploited by…

National Gallery of Ireland Irish martyr Robert Emmet, from a miniature by John Comerford.

DOMHNAIGH -- On August 25, 1803, the British captured one of…

LUAIN -- On August 19, 1504, the battle of Knockdoe was fought northeast of Galway by the forces of Gerald Fitzgerald, 'The Great Earl,' and his Anglo-Irish allies, against those of his son-in-law, Ulick de Burgh, or Burke of Clanrickard, husband of his daughter, Eustacia. Knockdoe would be the…

            It’s peach season in most places around the country, a time for crisps, cobblers, pies, upside-down cakes, and these delicious baked peaches. No crust or crumble required, just stuff and bake for an easy, elegant dessert.

Baked…

DOMHNAIGH -- On August 11, 1744, during the War of Austrian Succession, the Irish Brigade of Spain fought at the battle of Velletri, in Italy, against an Austrian army commanded by Irishman Field Marshal Count Maximillian Ulysses Browne, of Limerick. The surprise attack of Browne's…

MÁIRT -- On August 6, 1775, Daniel O'Connell, 'The Liberator,' one of the most influential men in Irish history was born near Cahirciveen, County Kerry. Raised by his uncle, Daniel learned the Irish language and Irish lore in Kerry. O'Connell did…

Round Lough Derg's holy island I went upon the stones,

I prayed at all the Stations upon my marrow bones,

And there I found an old man, and though, I prayed all day

And that old man beside me, nothing would he say

From “The…