To say the prospects of children born into poverty-stricken Irish Catholic families in the 18th century were poor, with the Penal Laws still being used to oppress the Catholic population, would be a…

There is an exciting buzz in the build-up to the centenary 1916 Easter Rising celebrations that are going on around the country at the moment.  Here in Ros Muc the community is in full swing preparing for all the different events that will be held throughout the year. Known also as Ros Na gCaoireach in the literary world Ros…

I’d like to take a moment and explain my absence from contributing to “The Wild Geese.” I caught the bug. In my upcoming novel, “The Final-Word,” covering Kennedy’s assassination, I’m bringing SH over from England to resolve the century’s most intently studied, but as yet, unsolved murder. The world’s most famous detective would likely describe his task as assembling an extensive jigsaw puzzle. A puzzle missing many of the pieces — some by intent, others by sloppy…

LUAIN -- On February 22, 1886, Conservative Party politician Lord Randolph Churchill, father of Winston Churchill, gave what many consider one of the single most destructive speeches in Irish history, inciting militant loyalists at Ulster Hall…

I believe the decline occurred because Irish-Americans in general don't understand what our…

I'm new to the Wild Geese flock so I thought I'd post about a few things. But the spirit of St. Patrick carries through all of them. 

The Wolf and the Shield: An Adventure with Saint Patrick

For those of you who know children ages 8-12, you might be interested in my book,…

http://novelwritingfestival.com/2016/02/13/excerpt-from-the-three-old-rascals-taken-from-who-killed-honor-bright-by-patricia-hughes/…

Her name was Gray, which I found fitting because her eyes were that stormy blue-gray you seldom see, and when the sky was overcast, you had to squint to bring what little blue they had into focus. She had an arresting face and a delicate manner, but she dressed with neither forethought or self-awareness, usually…

National Pilgrim Paths Day is a new Easter Festival based on Ireland’s dense network of medieval pilgrim walking routes. This new heritage themed event is organised by the local communities adjacent to each of our principal penitential routes and is aimed at raising…

To have a relative who was ‘out’ in 1916 – that is, someone who took part in that mad assault on the British Empire known as the Easter Rising – is something to be treasured.

Of course, there were plenty of other…

This is the first act of the new ceoldrama "The Last Torch," which we produced as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival in October 2014. We accomplished this in six weeks, with the intention of seeing what needed to be changed, fixed, etc. It was such a difficult process that I…

DOMHNAIGH -- On February 14, 1895, Sean Treacy, revolutionary leader during the Irish War of Independence, was born in Solohead, County Tipperary. Treacy joined the Gaelic League and the Irish Republican…

His parents emigrated from County Cavan in 1796. Anyone have an opinion as to which port they might have used?

Large-scale migration of large groups of people as a source of the changes in language and culture in Ireland over the last 10,000 years has long been a hotly discussed topic.

Above, …

I did not eat out very much on my 2015 visit to Ireland. For most of the time I had cooking facilities available for my exclusive use. It was practical as I was being fiscally prudent. I spent some time at the home of my sister, Bernie, and her husband,…

“But I don’t live in Galway,” a County Clare man said to me regarding his new postal address.

His mail is sorted in Galway City.

Ireland has introduced postal codes for the first time to increase the efficiency of the letter / parcel delivery system. As with other countries, the post office is suffering…

The Irish Proclamation 1916

In preparing this blog, I realise how little I know about the 1916 Proclamation, the Signatories and the Easter Rising. While this blog only touches the tip of the story of the Proclamation I hope it is of…

DOMHNAIGH -- On February 7, 1877, John O'Mahony (left: from the 'Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland), founder of the Fenian Brotherhood in the United States, died in New York. O'Mahony was a member of the Young Ireland party in the 1840s; he escaped to France after the failed…

The story of one of the lesser known battle sites of the 1916 Rising in Dublin -- jacobs1916.com…