Come all you gallant Irishmen, come listen for a while

I’ll sing to you the praises of the sons of Erin’s Isle

’Tis of an awful, awful ambush I’d have you to beware

That happened in Rineen, in a spot in County Clare.…

If you ever drive down the south side of the beautiful and scenic Dingle Peninsula in Co. Kerry, as I did with my wife, brother and sister-in-law last June (and everyone should, at least one in their lives), you will pass through the small village of Lispole on N-86 a few miles before you get to Dingle town. As you make…

They sought to wipe the column out,

From east to west, from north to south,

“Till at Crossbarry’s bloody rout

They woke from their day dreaming

Though ten to one they were that day

Our boys were victors in the fray,

And over the hills we marched…

When it came to the grand plan of how the Irish, with their meager resources, could defeat the forces of the greatest empire on earth in the Irish War of Independence, Michael Collins was the great architect who drew up the “flying column” blue print. But no matter how great the architect, other men have to take that…

There are two routes I can take to my office when I leave the train station to go to work. They both pass a large 18^th century building of Palladian, neoclassical design, which I used to admire as a child, long before I knew of its connection to my own family.

Now, as I pass it by, I…

Domnail O’Faolain, son of West Waterford Brigade Commanding Officer (O/C) Pax Whelan, noted in a 1966 lecture the difficulty in getting members of Oglaigh na hEireann (I.R.A.) in the Deise area of County Waterford to talk of the War of Independence period:…

(Pictured: The field in the hills north of Dungarvan where Sgt. Michael Hickey's body was found)

(Read  Part 1 - 'Nigh Comeragh's Rugged Hills')…

When silence overcomes me

My dreams they seem to fill

Of my dear native happy home

Nigh Comeragh's rugged hills

 -- From a poem by Pat Keating

My wife, Lindy, and I have just completed…

• Part 1: 'Just a Lad of 18 Summers'
• Part 2: 'An Example Has To Be Made'…