Since the ancient past, societies have honored athletes.  Athletic competition may have developed out of pragmatic concerns such as training warriors, but it was soon realized that certain individuals were gifted with exceptional talents.  In the Ancient Olympic Games winning competitors were awarded Olive Wreaths and…

This poem was penned after the death of King Charles I, who was beheaded outside Whitehall Palace in London on the afternoon of January 30th, 1649, exactly 368 years ago, today. 

"He nothing common did or mean

Upon that memorable scene:

But with his keener eye

The axe’s…

Who doesn’t love carrot cake? I sure do, and when I learned there was actually a day devoted to celebrating it, I couldn’t wait to make one in its honor. For the record, food historians suggest modern carrot cake probably descended from carrot puddings popular during the Middle Ages when sugar and other sweeteners…

I had decided not to go on the Bloody Sunday march in Derry, my home town, because I was too frightened. I felt I had good cause. Word was that British parachute regiment was to be on duty here that day and I knew they had gone on a prolonged killing spree in Ballymurphy, Belfast, the previous August during…

The shrine of St. Valentine is found at the beautiful Whitefriar Street Church, Dublin, Ireland.

Fr. John Spratt was an Irish Carmelite and a well-known preacher, who worked among the poor in the Liberties in Dublin, Ireland. He…

On top of roof and window,

Those boys stood up to fight,

‘Til the burning of the cottage

And no escape in sight.

It was around 4 pm on a…

If you’re a loyal follower of my recipe posts (if I actually have any “followers”), this recipe might ring familiar. I posted it back in March suggesting that the soup would make a lovely “spring” dish, but since I’ve made it again recently to ward off the bone chilling days of January, I thought it’s worth…

On this day forty-six years ago, on January 4th. 1976, one of the more depraved acts of senseless and bloody savagery was directed against two innocent civilian families in an area known locally as the ‘murder triangle,’ in Counties Armagh and Down.

Much has…

Here is an article I wrote for my blog, IrishAmericanJournal.com, about Irish Stew. I thought you all might like to see this and maybe make some now that the weather is cold. Good Irish Stew will warm you up.…

On November 1, 1625 Oliver Plunkett was born at…

But according to our alumni “Wild Westies”; or people who travel with us on a Wild West Irish Tour, nothing is more surprising than these top three [technically four] things:

1. The Fairy Glen…

Above, my brother John Kelly

The main forecourt Crumlin Road jail.…

As nine year old Rosalie Hart came up onto the deck of the schooner “Sea Lion” there was a furious gale blowing. She and her family were thousands of miles from their home in Ballymoney, County Wexford, Ireland. She breathed in the clean sea air; a welcome relief from the…

This year’s shortest day of the year is on Tuesday, December 21, which will also mark the longest night of the year. Every year, the winter solstice marks the turn of the calendar as autumn ends and the winter begins. From an astronomical standpoint, the winter solstice means that the two opposite points in the sky…

A newly produced DVD follows on from an exhibition that was held in Dublin throughout the summer of 2017. The exhibition was called "The Irish Potato Famine (1845 to 1852)," and its purpose was to commemorate the 170th anniversary of the Famine year 1847.…

Late on Christmas night 1920, Irish Volunteers John Leen (24) and Maurice Reidy (25) stealthily made their way to the home of John Byrne, the creamery manager in Ballymacelligott, County Kerry. The cottage had been raided often, because Byrne was a well-known Republican who had…

He'd had a narrow escape the day before. They had almost caught him and he was lucky that he managed to elude them. An icy cold sweat broke out on his furrowed brow as…

When one writer encounters another that blindsides them with staggering awe, the inclination is to rush out and spread the joy with those who love the written word. I feel this way about Billy O'Callaghan and extend deepest gratitude to Gerry Regan and Joe Gannon for allowing me to share this…

My dad, Guard John Murphy (Killimor, Ballinasloe) died in Our Lady’s Hospice (Harold’s Cross, Dublin) aged forty-four, leaving my mother, aged thirty-nine, with ten children aged two and a half to eighteen years old.

On Christmas Eve of 1945, we spent most…

We have a dynamic collection of members' own special Irish Christmas recipes building…