There are many surprises to be found in Ireland's "Wild West," and one for me that was completely unexpected was to see eagles and other birds of prey flying above the countryside in County Sligo.

I happened upon Ireland's Raptor Research Centre after visiting the monument…

Review By Kieron C. Punch / Associate Editor (First published in 2011)

There is something…

Claire Fullerton: Language flavors everything in writing, just as it does in life.

Why in the world would I want to go to Ireland? There are so many reasons why I can barely focus to write a coherent response.

Ireland has always been a place of great intrigue to me for as long as I can remember. I was born with red hair. No one else in my classes in elementary school had red hair. I felt like a pariah. I didn't fit in at school, and even though my father had red hair as well, I didn't fit in there either.

For most of the people in my small class, matters of…

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. – Dylan Thomas

County Sligo (from the Irish Sligeach, meaning "a shelly place")  has a long history. First that can be recalled is the existence of middens along the coastline by Balisodare Bay (noted as the place that inspired William Butler Yeats's poem 'Down by the Sally Gardens' where he heard an old woman sing the opening lines).

The Culleenamore Middens are part of the earliest…

I contend that there is no such thing as a "First Time" to Ireland for any of us who are of Irish descent or who love all things Irish. Which one of us has not pictured the green-grey waves splashing against those craggy cliffs ,the white washed cottages with thatched roofs ,or fields filled with sheep  wandering in fields dotted by stone fences?Which of us has not experienced a boat ride on a dark ,deep lake while a sea captain recites poetry? Which of us has not heard the pipes or fiddles…

Wild West of Ireland

It seems funny to be visiting the “Wild West of Ireland” and staying in four star B&B’s but there are things in life that when received, you just have to suffer through like soft rain that ends with a lovely rainbow. Give me the open arms and pints of the people of the west, their music, conversation & Sean Nos dance and I will be resting on solid ground no matter…

In September 2013 my partner and I visited Ireland for 23 days, we traveled all around the coastline starting in Dublin, then onto Belfast, Derry, Sligo, Galway, Dingle Cork and back to Dublin. This was a life changing event for me. First it was the realization of a dream, coming from a large Irish-American family, Ireland has always been my dream vacation and I was lucky enough to pool all my time off from work to be there…

My story is unlike any others. My name is Angela Lutman. Not very Irish sounding is it? Hehe My maiden name is Angela Hildebrandt. Even less Irish. I don't know of any relatives in Ireland, I don't have any specific place I need to go back to, nor do I have a lengthy ancestry tree I need to climb. What I'd like to share is kind of.... what we like to refer to is Taboo. The unknown. A topic of great skepticism. Reincarnation. That's my story. And I'm sticking to it. It's completely true and I…

One year ago I had just returned from spending three weeks along the Wild Atlantic Way in Co. Donegal in Lettermacaward and Dungloe.  Now it wasn't my original intention to spend that much time there; I originally intended to spend three days in Dublin, go on to…

Memorial Day, originally titled Decoration Day, has a somewhat murky origin. But what is clear is that on May 30, 1868, 146 years ago today, 5,000 gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the 20,000 fallen warriors buried there, with the help of remarks by General and future President James…

Robert Morrison (1782-1863) was born in County Antrim of unknown parents and plied a linen weaver's trade until he emigrated to the United States in 1801. He married and was a pioneer in Adams County, Ohio, a captain in the War of 1812 commanding a company of dragoons, a state…

As a child, "The Great Escape" was one film that never failed to entertain me. Aside from a stellar cast that included Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough (above), Charles Bronson, James Garner and a host of others, the story was compelling and also happened to be true.

It’s…

How do I put into words how I feel about Ireland. It is a part of my heart and soul. I grew up a foster kid and did not really know my family. I did know my family came from Ireland. It was always my dream to come to Ireland and in 2010 my son took me there. I watched as the plan began to land in Shannon. That beautiful patchwork of green took my breath away. When I finally…

I was asked to write a review on the latest offering by Larry Kirwan, "A History of Irish Music."  As a scholar of Celtic music, I looked forward to reading his take on Irish music.  I will say that what I expected to read and what I read, whilst they meshed on some…

On April 18th,  Ger Regan, his better half, my better half and I ventured into St ANdrew's Pub in Times Square to listen to one of our Wild Geese members, Mary Courtney

What a grand time was had! We enjoyed the music, of course. However, it was the antics of the two Princeton boys next two us which made us laugh.

They had decided to order Haggis... but when it came, they picked up their forks and, very hesitantly, began to poke at it... this went on for about four or…

The man who changed the face of Ireland, County Laois's most famous son, William Dargan, was born near Killeshin, on Feb. 28th, 1799. He worked for some time as an apprentice to the pioneering Scottish engineer, Thomas Telford, and helped construct the London-Holyhead road across…

This is a Photo my sister in law Sheena sent me of the new statues...  Wild Geese chasing a poor boy. Which can be seen at the top of my old home town of Midleton Co Cork,Ireland.They are in an area/village green that is known as the Gooses Acre, this Photo with the statues I felt  was very fitting to share on this page considering the name of the Page THE WILD GEESE IRISH.At…