By Joe McGowan (First published in 2005.)

With the eyes of the faithful and the news media craned on the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, Joe McGowan looks behind, at what he calls an infamous alliance forged between the Papacy and the Crown. Does the Vatican owe yet another people a grievous apology? Clearly, says…

In "Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Melody," Malachy McCourt plays sleuth in tracing the origin of "Danny Boy," the most beloved of all Irish melodies. WGT Consulting Editor Rick Grant says McCourt's book creates a context for the song, albeit leaving its meaning as murky as ever.

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen…

MORE ON THE FIGHTING AT BENBURB

• Part 2: 'Let Your Manhood Be Seen By The Push of Your Pike'…

Italian writer and editor Massimiliano Roveri is driven, and, in a sense, adrift, as a storyteller who has found himself 1,300 miles from Ireland, the country that inspires him most. Roveri, 43, based in the central Italian province of Tuscany, has…

Hello from Ireland to all . I havent posted anything till now and so I better introduce myself , as Jarlath MacNamara  origonally from a little town called Ballygar in Co Galway , where the Mr P S Gilmore { whose picture of 1869 is posted } {1829-1892 } origonated . For the last 6 years I have researched , collected , talked and presented his story to all that would listen here and in NYC {last year } But at some stage I stumbled across a group called the Wild Geese and Gerry Regan . Little…

In the conclusion of our series on "Custer's Last Irishmen," Robert Doyle describes the likely final moments of the Irishmen who rode with Custer's wing in the attack, and offers a post-script.

On a scorching Sunday in June 1876, the 7th Cavalry attacked an Indian village beside the Little Bighorn River, and there was hell to pay. In total, 35 Irish-born men in the 7th…

Officially opening in New York, Los Angeles and Boston on March 16, "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" presents a painstakingly intimate look at the citizen soldiers who fought the British to a standstill en route to a still bloodier civil war. The film, by British director Ken Loach, does so with artistry and finely wrought drama.…

First responders carry Fr. Mychal Judge's body from the rubble of the World Trade Center…