The ancient Celtic harvest feast called Samhain (pronounced SAH-win) is celebrated October 31-November 1, marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, the “darker half” of the year. It was suggested in the late 19th century that it was the “Celtic New Year,” and over time, Samhain and All…

Lights of Boston trail away,

wisps on winds born of steely birds

which skim the oceans with shadows stray

and bring with them one thousand words.

Soft chime the bells of sojourn's song,

Through leaves aflame in glorious hue,

Far be it from me to to wonder long

And wander on cosmic cue.

The curtain call of Autumn's end

In her one last elegant bow,'

Gestures on to something…

I’ve heard of life imitating art, but the only time I ever saw death imitating it was at Samuel John MacPherson’s wake down in Glut, a tiny village not far from Slievefada…

(We would ordinarily would not reprint an entire article from another publication, but I'm sure our friends at the Irish American News won't object to us doing it in this case. Please if you can, help this cause. These ancestors call out for the support of every Irishman and Irish-American from across the…

Wow, Totally Irish Gifts is four-years-old -- how time flies when you are having fun!

Our anniversary gift to you is world-wide free shipping

Receive free shipping on orders placed up to 31st October 2016, at checkout enter code:…

DOMHNAIGH -- On October 23, 1641, implementing a plan by Rory O'More and led by Phelim O'Neill (left), the Irish rose up against the English. Their plan had called for the seizing of Dublin…

“As for believing things, I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible.” – Oscar Wilde

Well, I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it. My belief is suspended on a wire made of…

There’s something about mid-October that I love — the weather, the thought that Halloween (and Thanksgiving) is right around the corner, and baking breads like this “brack,” a fruity loaf from the Quay House, in Clifden, County Galway. Dating from about 1820, it’s the town’s oldest building, was originally a…

LUAIN -- On Oct. 17, 1803, nationalist politician and Young Irelander William Smith O'Brien was born in Dromoland, County Clare. O'Brien was educated in England and was a Conservative when elected to…

Richard Hetherington O'Kane (below-right, in his Annapolis graduation photo) was born on February 2, 1911 in Dover, New Hampshire, a town near the Atlantic coast with a population of about 13,000 at the time. His father, Dr. Walter Collins O'Kane, was a professor of entomology at the University. Richard attended…

In 1492, the same year that Christopher Columbus purportedly discovered the New World, an incident, with far reaching effects, took place in a chapter house attached to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The incident ended a long running and bloody feud between two of Ireland’s most powerful dynasties, the FitzGeralds…

Delicious on their own, pears are also a wonderful ingredient in recipes from sweet-tart salads to sweeter-than-sweet pies and tarts. They’re great partnered with blue cheese — Kerrygold’s Cashel Blue…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Oct. 9, 1779, members of Dillon's and Walsh's Regiments of the Irish Brigade of France took part in the Franco-American assault on Savannah, Georgia, during the final stages of the siege there during the American Revolution.…

We have just started to stock our first Ogham gifts and I thought I had better learn a little bit about it. 

Ogham (Oh-ehm) is the earliest version of an ancient Celtic language, used c.4th -7th century AD. Each letter of the Ogham alphabet is formed by up 5 strokes and is identified by the number, position and direction of their…

Most of the stuff in my novels comes from my imagination but I owe a fair amount of what I write to a pub called The Rocking Chair where there’s such a variety of characters that you’d need to be brain deaf not to pick up some nuggets. …

There are over 3,000 known pear varieties grown around the world, each with a distinctive character, texture, and flavor. The most popular and recognizable pears are the yellow Bartlett, egg-shaped Anjou, graceful Bosc, pudgy Comice, and tiny Forelle. Crisp, crunchy, and sweet, U.S.-grown pears are harvested from the…

I WANT TO INVITE YOU TO MY PARTY!!!!

 As you probably know, I have officially left office as Director of the Xavier Society for the Blind.

 But the formal farewell is going to be a dinner cruise party on

 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14

The Place – Pier 62, at 23^rd Street, Chelsea Piers, on board the ATLANTICA

 It’s a dinner cruise, with an outdoor deck (for those who want to…

LUAIN -- On Oct. 3, 1691, the Treaty of Limerick was signed, ending the…

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.