In my research on the history of the 28^th Massachusetts Volunteers, a Boston Irish regiment raised to be a part of Thomas Meagher’s Irish Brigade, the most surprising find was the identification of three Jewish soldiers who served in its ranks.  The three were included in a 19^th century effort by Jewish…

"There are many noble traits in the Irish character, mixed with failings which have always raised obstacles to their own well-being; but an innate love of justice, and an indomitable hatred of oppression, is like a gem upon the front of our nation which no darkness can obscure. To this fine quality I trace their hatred of…

This story took place between 1920, when the Benedict Nuns arrived at Kylemore, and 1922, when the Black and Tans left Galway after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Peace Treaty in December 1921.

Patrick Carney, my father, was born in Cornamona, County Galway, in 1900. He was one of several young men in the area who championed the cause of Irish…

Tinteán Tréigthe no.19, oil on canvas, 2016

Now if you’re searching for your great grandmother’s cottage in the country, you can follow the map to a certain extent, but, in the end, you just have to ask someone. So, after driving a crooked mile up a crooked mucky roadeen, searching for the dot beside the ‘S’ of…

Perhaps some contributors may find this new book of interest:

"Have Ye No Homes To Go To? The History Of the Irish Pub"

By Kevin Martin

Release date: 15 May

Publisher: The Collins Press

Available to pre-order on Amazon etc.

The pub has been at the center of Irish life for…

Introductory Offer on our website  - 30% discount until 1st May, while stocks last

Introducing the amazing Tracy Gilbert, contemporary Dublin-based jewellery designer, whose work we now…

Do you know where you’ll be on April 24? Maybe not, but chances are you might just find yourself huddled over a form, answering innumerable questions about your personal life. Filling in the census may not be the most exciting of pastimes, but it sure is important. Without all those statistics…

Dublin Castle was the seat of British rule in Ireland for over 700 years.  On top of the gate to the courtyard of the castle is a statue depicting Justice.  The statue is unusual for several reasons. The figure of Justice faces inward not outward as would be usual. This results in Justice facing the rulers of the castle and the…

In 1997, during the 150th anniversary of "Black '47," the worst year of the Great Hunger, many commemorations were held all around Ireland and the Irish Diaspora. I attended one of them on Grosse île and wrote the following about that experience.…

TheWildGeese.irish published the following interview with beleaguered and much-respected Irish immigrant Malachy McAllister in 2006, and we are astounded at how relevant -- and urgent -- the concerns the Irish-American community expressed about his plight then remain today. The account we reprise here dramatically underscores how precarious Malachy's hold on the American dream has remained for the past…

The very subtlest eloquence

That injured men can show,

Is the pathos of a pike-head,

And the logic of a blow.

Hopes built upon fine talking

Are like castles built on sand

But the pleading of cold iron

Not a tyrant can withstand.

In antebellum America, many former…

Nellie was able to fool the doctors at Bellevue into believing she was mentally incompetent and was transported out to Blackwell’s Island (in a 19th century illustration, above). After ten harrowing days there, the paper managed to get her out, but she admitted to feeling a lot of anxiety waiting for it to happen.…

Carmel, California -- Before I get to the acclaimed Irish traditional musicians from Donegal who comprise the band, Altan, I’m going to editorialize to put the show I saw the other night into context. When I lived on the western coast of Ireland, it fascinated me to realize that in the…

(Scroll down to read the English translation of this post.)

Bhuel, bhí sé go h-iontach a bheith i láthair i Ros Muc i mbliana le hÉirí amach na Cásca a chomóradh, céad bhliain níos déanaí.  Bhí brat na hÉireann ag foluain i ngach gáirdín agus cuma álainn ar an cheantar ar fad.  Bhí gach sórt…