“For centuries, Irish matchmakers have performed a vital service, bringing people together in love and marriage. It is a mysterious art, and the very best matchmakers have an almost magical quality to them. Willie Daly, whose father and grandfather were matchmakers before him, is the most celebrated of them all. Each year his tiny home town of Lisdoonvarna (population 800) hosts a matchmaking festival that attracts 40,000 visitors from around the world. They all hope to meet Willie, ‘the…

On Thursday, March 5, 2015, Kate Cunningham from the Women's Museum of Ireland joined us for a LIVE interactive video discussion on the subject of Irish women's…

Between the years of 1845 and 1852, Ireland’s population was reduced by about 20% due to the impacts of the Potato Famine, also known as The Great Famine or in our native language ‘An Gorta Mór.’  It is…

Much time has been devoted to analysing the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The politics, the violence and the impact this has had on the country as a whole has been extensively documented. But how often is a spotlight shone specifically on the lives of Republican women?…

Hanna Sheehy-Skefffington, (above, center) born 24 May 1877, was one of Ireland’s most ardent promoters of women’s rights. She was an influential figure during the suffragette movement, tirelessly campaigning for the equal status of men and…

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Here is a lovely story from Celtic mythology about the Luck Child, a baby found abandoned in a forest and found by three cattle herders.  The story tells of the loving relationship and bond these three men developed with the child as they brought her up and cared for her until she eventually…

The Last Torch Preview

It was a very determined and indignant Irish woman who stood before a clerk at the Los Angeles immigration court in 1946. Maureen FitzSimons (aka Maureen O’Hara) had passed the required exam for US citizenship when she was instructed to forswear allegiance to England. She replied,…

Mary Mallon, famously known as Typhoid Mary for the infection she carried and spread, was born in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone on 23 September 1869. Her story, and experience of the state’s early approaches to dealing with ‘healthy carriers’, continues to divide opinion.

Typhoid is…

During a 1986 interview with 1916 patriot Sam O’Reilly for the Irish Echo newspaper, Sam excused himself to retrieve some notes.  At that point, his wife Mary whispered, "Mike, would you ever tell our story?"  I said, "Sure, you mean you and Sam?"  She replied, "No, I mean…

Tomás Mac Donnchadha, or Thomas MacDonagh (1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916), was born in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, to Joseph and Mary MacDonagh (nee Parker).  Both his parents were intellectuals and…

The Irish were present at the creation of Georgia as a British colony in 1733. The second Royal Governor (1757-1760) of the colony was the Monaghan-born naval explorer Henry Ellis.  By treaty signed in 1763 with the Creek Indians, a tract of land was transferred which was roughly…

Trish O'Donnell-Jenkins and Michael Regan-Waugh operate Wild West Irish Tours, based in Richmond. Photo taken Wed. Feb. 18, 2015.

BY RANDY HALLMAN Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond husband and wife Michael Regan-Waugh and Trish O’Donnell-Jenkins want to introduce you to some of their dear friends — their dear, talented friends — in Ireland.  …

Edward "Ned Daly" is one of the 1916 Easter Rising leaders less known for his role as Commandant in the Irish Military Brotherhood.  Out of a family of ten children, he was the only son born to Edward and Catharine Daly (nee O’Mara) in Limerick.  His father…