Bernardo O'Higgins (1778–1842) was born in Chile -- not Ireland.  However, his father, Ambrosio O'Higgins (a Spanish colonial Viceroy) was…

Who was "General O'Reilly," and how did a man with such an Irish name become the "Spanish Governor of Louisiana?"

While on a consulting assignment in August of 2000, I was bicycling through the streets of New Orleans and randomly came across a historic marker that read: "Fort St. Charles On Oct. 25, 1769, under Gen. O'Reilly, Spanish governor of…

General John Alexander McClernand, born May 30, 1812, Kentucky, self- educated lawyer at age 20 and private in Blackhawk War with Abraham Lincoln as his Captain. Son of Dr. John, immigrant from Antrim, Ireland and Fatima Cummins (her ancestors were part of the Jamestown…

I have been researching the history of Irish martial arts - styles of wrestling, boxing and stick-fighting - for about 30 years now. To the best of my knowledge, Glen Doyle of Newfoundland, Canada is the only person on earth who still practices a living style (not one recreated through books or manuals) of Irish stick-fighting. He learned and inherited…

Linkedin Long-Form Post #8

James Francis Smith

Irish in the American Revolution’s only Fictional Character

I decided to create fictional Mary Carr in order to smoothly include such historical characters as Patrick Carr, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere.

There wasn’t much I knew about Patrick Carr, except he emigrated from Ireland only to be killed in the Boston Massacre. By providing a fictional sister, I described in depth the massacre, had Paul Revere befriend…

As we were heading north on R-702 in Kiltealy, County Wexford during our recent vacation to the southeast of Ireland, my eye caught sight of some sort of plaque on the wall along a driveway to the right. There was a beautiful horse farm that seemed to run along both sides…

Creevykeel Court Tomb is made up of a long, trapeze shaped cairn which encloses an oval court, and a burial chamber that is…

Did you know that Ireland is a fly through for millions of migrating birds en route to North Africa and other parts of the Middle East?

Spiral Journeys will…

We cannot believe that Christmas is a mere 5 months away and so for this post we asked our Founder, Lisa McGee to put together a list of her top 10 Irish Food & Drink…

We’re marking the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. And yes, an Irish national --- Julia Canny a.k.a. Sister Mary of Saint Isaac Jogues --- was present and survived. My story together with the accompanying photographs (reproduced below) appeared in the 11 August 1999 editions of two Irish newspapers:…

So who the **** was Guillermo (William or Liam) Brown?

Guillermo (William or Liam) Brown (1777 - 1857) was an Irishman acknowledged as the “father of the Argentine Navy.” That’s right, an Irishman founded the Argentine Navy. The Argentine Navy Destroyer,…

The Great Shame: And the Triumph of the Irish In the English-Speaking World

By Thomas Keneally (of "Schindler’s List" fame)

Reviewed by John Edward (Ed) Murphy

Overall a good book and a very scholarly work. Great Shame covers significant historical events in 19th century Ireland,…

Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Sshe was the daughter of Carmen Louise (née LaPorte) and John Watson Slaton, both of whom were waiters. Dorothy Lamour was of French Louisianan, Spanish and Irish descent. Her parents' marriage lasted only a few…

The Healy family is an interesting Irish-American and and African-American family.  I did the following book review a couple of years back:

Passing for White: Race, Religion, and the Healy Family, 1820-1920

by James M. O’Toole

Reviewed by John Edward “Ed” Murphy

I first learned of the Healy family in January 1959, when I paged…

"James, your granddaughter is calling you". 

Can he hear me? Would he answer if he could? Has he been reborn or is he patiently waiting for me on the other side?

He often consumes my thoughts these days. The hopeless thoughts of a girl with no living grandfather or one that I can even recall in my lifetime. I feel I have been searching for him my whole life. The questions plague me. Where is he? What was he like? Did he love his children, grandchildren, would he have…

"Don't Give Up 'til it's Over" is a really uplifting song by Johnny Duhan.

I’m a fan of The Dubliners, and particularly the group’s past lead vocalist, the late Roddy Drew.  You can view and hear (what a voice!) Ronnie Drew and the Dubliners here:

There’s also another version recorded in Japan, shortly after the earthquake-tsunami disaster of 11 March…

The read through was scary. Letting strangers listen to the music while sitting right in front of them was scary. I did though and got some lovely compliments and ideas. It was good to see the reactions and gauge the feeling in the room as we went through. It helped me realise a few things and I have edited the score to make it flow better and sound better. :)…

If you’re concerned that modernity has caused the Emerald Isle will lose its rural charm, set your compass to County Tipperary for a taste of "the real Ireland."…