Cornelius [Con] Colbert was another young man who is also less known for his role in Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising.  He was born in 1888 , one of thirteen children, into a small farming community to…

Éamonn Ceannt is a little-known leader of the 1916 Easter Rising. Born in Ballymoe in County Galway, he was one of nine children. His father was an RIC Officer…

 While there are many, many historical records that speak of the horror of the Famine ; my book -That's Just How it Was - is about an  individual  who struggled against all the odds to keep herself and her children out of the Workhouse. 

So from a very personal viewpoint- people who have emigrated from Ireland - will find the book to be an great insight into  their ancestors.   View the video below 

Youtube: …

This a a blog that will give some excerpts from my book -That's Just how It Was' ; It will also give credence to the discussions on the Famine -- on The Wild Geese .

In my book [That's Just How It Was- video below 

Youtube: http://youtu.be/oT0oOa0jx28 ]

Research for my Book , That's Just How it Was - includes this excerpt ''claimed by Francis A. Boyle , Law Professor of the University of illinois at Urbana-…

 While I was researching my Grand- mothers story ; I found it facilitating  that I had know all these things about my grand-mother ; but did not really [in my child's mind] connect them to reality. 

When she spoke about the cabins - as in ' you do not go cabin hunting'  [to her grand-children] - I honestly thought that this was just a phrase she used  to ensure that we did not stay in other peoples homes. 

What in fact she was telling us was that her life had been spent in a…

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'
         -- Edmund Burke

Nollaig na mBAn ; women’s Christmas  - or Old Chrstmas Day as it later became know as .

For the lucky women who were able to participate in Nollaig na mBan  - it was considered a tradition to be a part of women’s gathering together  for a celebration of their right to a ‘day off’ if you will !.

As it was a common held thought that a women was at the hearth of the family and on beck and call for their menfolk ; being entirely responsible for the whole running of the household…

' For the whole family , makeshift beds lined the wall's with little else in the way of furniture -possibly a couple of chairs, cloths, and well worn blankets that had been given to them by local charities'. 

'Bridget's assumption that that her grandparents had been tenant farmers was gleaned from the many conversations that she would hear her parents and the neighbors talk speak about as times went by . These people who had evicted from their homes as the rich English Landlords all had to try and exist and live by any means available to them '

My Granny O'Rourke was the was the mainstay of our household. The Kavanagh family was made up of five children, Mam and Dad, and Granny's other grandchild (Terry) whom she also raised (read "That's Just  How It Was").  We lived with her and she had a huge influence on all our…

I was born on the the 8th of January in 1945 -- the year the war ended in Europe.  By chance, I also share  a birthday with Elvis Presley.  He would have been 80 years old on the 8th of January, 2015.  

My memories of my birthday are very precious. This was due to the fact…