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…

"Here's to the three birds! May you always have a bird on the table, a bird in your glass and an eagle in your pocket."

I first heard that toast when I was very young from an elderly neighbor. It was a toast from her childhood in the early 1920s. The toast her mother and uncles always used. Already something of an antique in Jazz Age America.…

[Below is a link to a recording of an interactive broadcast of Irish Christmas songs and stories, part of TheWildGeese.Irish Sibin series of discussions and…

DEARDAOIN -- On Dec. 17, 1803, rebel leader Michael Dwyer, whose guerrilla attacks had maddened British colonial authorities since 1798, surrendered. Dwyer was born in County Wicklow and he participated in the 1798 Rising; however, unlike most of the leaders and…

If you’ve already run out of ideas for what to serve at your holiday drinks party, think “biscuits” — not your average breakfast biscuits, but these yummy bites from Kerrygold. Laden with sage and walnuts, these buttery bites are a sophisticated alternative to crackers and cheese. The recipe suggests cutting them…

By Liam Murphy

The last day of the American War for Independence was 25th November 1783, when, after an occupation of over seven years, the British evacuated New York City, and Washington, leading elements of the American Continental Army, entered the city in triumph.  To…

Our Goal: A US Navy Ship To Be Named For Cpl. Patrick 'Bob' Gallagher USMC, NC

We write to tell you about our most recent achievements with regards to having the U.S. Navy name a ship in honor of Cpl. Patrick "Bob" Gallagher! It has been a busy month indeed.…

On the 150^th anniversary of their deaths (November 23rd), let us pause to commemorate, the brave Fenian heroes forever known in Irish history as  “The Manchester Martyrs.”  

(Left: A 19th century poster commemorating the Manchester…

When I was asked to write a series of poems for an art exhibition in Australia earlier this year, I embarked on a dark voyage of discovery into the lives of Irish immigrant children 150 years ago.

Image: 'Image Above: Falling' by Jane Theau (2017)

There is a special brand of human misery so steeped…

As of today, you now have the opportunity to virtually visit The Wild West of Ireland.

The Heart of the Wild West!

Wild West Irish Tours…

We are indeed saddened to announce that Maryann Tracy, a founding member of TheWildGeese.irish and one of our earliest staff members, died September 6 in Syracuse at the age of 63. Maryann began her tenure with us in February 2012 as part of the small team that helped us transition from TheWildGeese.com,…

This year 2017, is the 170th anniversary of the ‘great Hunger’ that befell Ireland in 1847. Otherwise known as ‘an Gorta mor’ or more commonly referred to as ‘Black ‘47’ it was a seminal turning point in the long tortuous history of Ireland.With the failure of the potato crop due to a serious blight,…

As promised in my last post, here’s another interesting recipe using one of fall’s most popular ingredients---pumpkin. Since most cooks find it more efficient to purchase canned pumpkin rather than to cut and scrape the flesh from a fresh one, this recipe uses pumpkin purée. You’ll find more like these in my newest…