DEARDAOIN -- From April 29 through May 4, 1863, the 6th Louisiana Infantry, a largely Irish Confederate regiment, fought at the 2nd battle of Fredericksburg, during the Chancellorsville campaign. With its…

I usually try to tie my posts to seasonal recipes or ingredients — Easter chocolate, Mother’s Day, Christmas cakes, etc. — but I deviate this week with this recipe for granola. Why? Because I love it, and yesterday I made a fresh batch to keep on hand to sprinkle on fruit and yogurt or muesli, one of my new favorite foods! You can, of course, buy a bag at a supermarket…

He stands in bronze and he stands on granite,

Facing the river where the fleet turned tail;

The stone lists the Davis Guards upon it,

Names that rhyme in the songs of the Gael.*

Around 3:30 on an afternoon of September 8^th 1863, on…

DOMHNAIGH -- On April 23, 1014 the Battle of Clontarf, one of the most famous and important battles in Irish history, was fought just north of Dublin. It was a bloody stand-up battle, fought mainly with ax and sword, with Brian Boru's men prevailing. This battle would later enter Irish legend as the place…

DOMHNAIGH -- On April 16, 1746, a battle was fought in Scotland that would have long-term implications for Ireland, as well as Scotland. It ended "Bonnie" Prince Charlie's Jacobite uprising, known in Scotland as simply, "The '45." It was the battle of "…

Quiet determination -- I think that's what he had.  He was passionate about the Irish language, Irish history and culture, the Irish way of life.

Above, oil painting of Patrick Pearse at Ros Muc, Connemara

He saw what the English education system was doing, trying to stamp…

On a crisp, clear afternoon in what is now southwest Montana, in January 1836, a thin bearded man in his mid-30s, dressed in buckskin, was racing across the valley of the meandering Yellowstone River on the back of a very fast horse. Ahead of him in the distance, lit by the bright sunlight, he could see the…

One of the most popular — and among the most decadent — chocolate desserts in Ireland and England is this no-bake biscuit cake. I have to admit that it’s one I discovered only recently, but it’s quickly become a favorite of mine and everyone else who tastes it. It’s a favorite, too, of Prince William, who ordered it as…

NOW RANKED #1 NEW RELEASE ON AMAZON’S IRISH MEMOIRS!!

REVIEW RATING OF 5-STARS!!

LAUGHTER, TEARS &…

As John Paul Jones, captain of the Bonhomme Richard, prepared to face two British ships off Flamborough Head on the coast of England on September 23, 1779, he had some very interesting allies on board his…

Roger Casement and crew members stand in the tower of a German U-boat en route to Ireland.

DOMHNAIGH -- On the monrning of April 9, 1916, a German merchant ship,…

Shortly after the death of Martin McGuinness, I listened to a radio discussion about the Provisional IRA and its origins. Among the contributors was Ruth Dudley Edwards, the self-professed revisionist historian. At one stage in the programme, I heard her say, “I can understand why people went out on civil rights marches…

The oldest harp on which the ‘official’ national emblem of  Ireland is based is housed in the Long Room at Trinity College, Dublin. Two other medieval harps that have also been preserved from that era, are housed in The Museum of Scotland: The Queen Mary Harp 15th century - and the Lamont Harp [date being…

Two weeks and counting! In the event you don’t have a traditional dessert lined up for your Easter meal, you might want to think about this delicious and versatile cream cheese pound cake that’s as tasty with or without any embellishments.

The name “pound cake” comes from the rather precise recipe for a…

LUAIN -- Beginning on April 3 and continuing to May 8, 1781, the Irish Hibernia regiment of Spain helped lay siege to British forces in Pensacola, Florida,…

I’ve spent a lot of time this past year talking about guilt, about exile and return, and about mammies, and about the guilt mammies can instil in their offspring when said offspring return from self-imposed exile, which was usually to escape said mammy’s guilt trip in the first place. But I suppose it was to be…

LUAIN -- On March 27, 1872, Mary MacSwiney (Maire Nic Shuibhne), republican activist, was born in Surrey, England, of an Irish father and an English mother.

(Left: National Library of Ireland: Mary MacSwiney, in her…

By Wild West Irish Tours | By Samantha Nicole Fishkind | March 13th, 2017

To stand on the lush landscape encapsulated in God’s greenhouse, overlooking wild seas and rolling fields gridlocked by ancient stones, there is a sense of nirvana no amount of urban meditation could possibly hope to achieve. Place your hopes and your feet on the old, warm earth and let yourself be carried away…

Hello All,

Thank you for letting me join up. I am currently working on a sculpture bust of Thomas Francis Meagher, destined for Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn this summer.

Here is a blog that talks about the project: …

If you ever drive down the south side of the beautiful and scenic Dingle Peninsula in Co. Kerry, as I did with my wife, brother and sister-in-law last June (and everyone should, at least one in their lives), you will pass through the small village of Lispole on N-86 a few miles before you get to Dingle town. As you make…