Thanks, Michael. Propaganda is the device used to persuade us that other people are not as 'human' as we are. Most people want peace; most people want a reasonably good life to bring up their children and families free of pain and poverty; most people are exactly like us and want what we want. There is more that unites humanity than divides it, but unfortunately this is not as obvious to most people as it should be.

My new blog series covers sites in Ireland I researched for my latest novel, The Prince of Glencurragh, starting with Kanturk Castle.

 Last week we officially welcomed the first full day of autumn, so you know what that means — crisps, crumbles, and pies made with apples, with fall’s favorite fruit. From a culinary standpoint, there’s little difference in an apple crisp and an apple crumble except for the topping, either an oat-based streusel or one…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Sept. 25, 1917, republican leader Thomas Ashe died on hunger strike. Trained as a teacher, Ashe was the principal of the Corduff National School, in Lusk, County Dublin, from 1908-16. A member of the Gaelic League and the Irish Volunteers, Ashe raised funds for the cause in American…

Nora Connolly was born into a family that knew hardship from birth. The second child of James Connolly and Lillie Connolly (nee Reynolds), she would forge her way through life based on the knowledge and learning that was instilled into her by both of her parents; her mother a governess who home schooled all of her children -…

Jim Sheridan, Malachy McCourt, and Olympia Dukakis have all enjoyed my New  Prose with Queen V being published this month.

ArtsPRunlimited, Inc., presents On Fri. 9/30, my Irish long-poem will debut at the GainVille Café Reading Series, in Red Wheelbarrow # 9. The GainVille Café: 17 Ames Av, in Rutherford, NJ at 7 PM.

Wed. Oct 5, 2016: My 3rd play Queen V, an American Phantasmagoria is set for publication by Local Knowledge…

*note

Toward the end of the 8th Century A.D., Ireland was almost completely Gaelic and Christian. It was a rural society, with no towns or cities, and the only large settlements were hamlets that grew up around monasteries. The…

You’ll love this Irish cheese-inspired dip for the slightly Mediterranean taste it gets from the marinated artichokes, the color it gets from the spinach, and the creamy texture from Kerrygold’s Dubliner and cream cheese. Perfect for autumn get-togethers, football Sunday, or a family gathering, it’s delicious with…

CÉADAOIN -- On Sept. 21, 1827, Michael Corcoran (right), a brigadier general in the Federal Army during America's Civil War, was born in Carrowkeel, County Sligo. Corcoran served as a policeman in the Royal Irish Constabulary but resigned during the Great…

Ask most people who they believe were the first group of foreigners to launch highly organized, violent raids in Ireland, and more often than not, they will say it was the Vikings, who raided Lambay Island in 795 A.D. What many people are not aware of is the fact that a century before the emergence of the Vikings, an…

Both of my parents were from County Donegal here in Ireland, and there can’t be many areas more deprived and remote…

Next Saturday marks one of the most celebrated days on the Irish calendar, the day the optimists call “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day.” It’s a great excuse for a trip to an Irish pub, or at least a good reason to serve some foods with the name “Irish” in them — you know the ones: Irish Stew, Irish Soda Bread, Irish Cream…

New York picks up the pieces

PART 4 OF A 4-PART SERIES -- THURSDAY -- DAY 3 [Sept. 13] (continued)

Barbara [Vic's wife] works at Baruch College -- a not quite completed $320 million complex right across from the 69th. They forgot to install a flagpole so I go over and to get American Flags -- to hang in the windows of her office and one for the 2nd Floor of the 69th -- for all to see as they climb up to the second floor.…

The families of the missing arrive at the Armory

PART 3 OF 4

69th New York veteran Vic Olney, the volunteer manager of the 69th armory's Officers Club, observed the battalion's soldiers last week as they return from duty in and near "The Pit." What he saw and heard both inspired and saddened him.

THURSDAY -- DAY 3 [Sept. 13]

Garryowen and Glory from NYC,…

The 69th is called into action after the World Trade Center attack

PART 2 IN A 4-PART SERIES

69th New York veteran Vic Olney, the volunteer manager of the 69th armory's Officers Club, observed the battalion's soldiers last week as they return from duty in and near "The Pit." What he saw and heard both inspired and saddened him.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT (Sept. 12)

Garryowen and Glory from NYC,

It is now 11 PM on…

MÁIRT -- On September 13, 1803, John Barry (left), of Ballysampson, Co.Wexford, considered by many to be the 'Father of the U.S. Navy,' died in Philadelphia. At a young age, Barry went to sea as a fisherman; by age 20, he had a master's licensee. He emigrated to…

New York's Irish pack a chapel to recall beloved FDNY chaplain, friend (first publish in October, 2001)

Mychal Judge may be happily 'working the door' at St. Peter's Gate, and heaven would be the fuller for it. But for those many lives he touched on earth, there is an aching sense of loss.

By Gerry Regan

NEW…

Rocker Larry Kirwan, the founder and front-man of Irish rock mainstay Black 47, had a close-up perspective on the mayhem of 9/11. He shared the following reminscence of that day with subscribers to the band's newsletter in 2006. (Kirwan mentioned to readers that the excerpt is based upon a chapter from his memoir,…

This book represents the first installment of a planned trilogy that encompasses the progression of transported felon, John Turner Flinn through the various stages of the Tasmanian penal system of the 1840’s and is based upon actual records and newspaper articles from the time. The second novel will culminate in his being…

Gustavus Conyngham is known to history as the “Dunkirk Pirate,” but that was the name the British gave him. It was not a name that he ever would have given himself. He thought of himself only as, Gustavus Conyngham, USN (United States Navy). He was never, in fact, a pirate. He was a commissioned officer in the new U.S…