"Our past shapes us and makes us what we are" was a favorite adage of my late grand-mother. To qualify this, she would add, "My tough background gave me strength of character which enable me to cope with what life had in store for me…" For many, our past is in another country. As we live life, we experience many different…

In early 1916, a young Irishman was making secret plans to travel from England to Dublin to take up arms in an insurrection to achieve Irish independence. This was Liam Parr, a singer and bagpiper who was sometimes known as the ‘The Minstrel Boy” after one of his favourite songs. He was a Dubliner who had been living…

Not many people in the United States or the world today know who Irish-American John Gregory Bourke was, and that is unfortunate. Few historical figures have ever had his rare combination of heroism in a major war; chronicling and participating in two decades of conflict with a fierce indigenous foe;…

The Irish Cultural Society has announced its annual writing contest for students in the 9^th through 12^th grades in Nassau County (NY) high schools.  The materials describing the contest have been mailed to the English Departments of the Nassau schools, public and private, and they have been posted on the…

I'm not hugely into sports. I watch the big soccer and rugby games when Ireland plays. I appreciate the skill in a good boxing bout and I sit in awe whenever the Olympics is on and I can watch those jaw-dropping displays the gymnasts put on. Other than that, I’m not that pushed. However, my…

Ernie O' Malley was born in Castlebar on the 26th of May 1897. His family moved to Dublin in 1906. He was educated at O'Connell's Schools and attended UCD, where he studied medicine.

He was a member of The Irish Volunteers and he joined the rebels on the Thursday of the Easter Rising in 1916 and was…

My aunt Winifred Carney was present with James Connolly on Moore Street.

I live in the United States and I am now able to purchase a Bond to help purchase Moore Street.  The following video…

If you're reading this, you're probably proud of your Irish Heritage and rightly so. Honoring your family's roots is nothing to laugh at. There are several ways to do this, of course. Varying from studying the Irish language, playing Irish music, listening to Irish music, and other creative…

In 1965, my father, at the age of 60, decided it was time to find his Irish roots. The only problem was that one of his daughters was to be married late that summer. My mother declared he could go, but to give her some relief, he would have to take their youngest child with him, which was their 11-year-old daughter. This is how…

Himself: A Civil War Veteran's Struggles with Rebels, Brits and Devils.  By William J. Donohue 319 pp., 2014 Buffalo Heritage Press www.BuffaloHeritage.com, softcover $19.99…

On the morning of the 19^th, George Plunkett, the ranking officer that night, visiting from GHQ, no doubt aware of the withdrawal from Durrow and other engagements due to want of ammunition, recommended a return to the ambush site to secure supplies possibly left from the night…

Breise! Breise! Extra! Extra!

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In October, we spent time traveling in Ireland via a tour from Wild West Irish Tours in October, a prize for winning last spring's "The Wild West of Ireland: You Won't Forget Your First…

My father, Thomas Francis, was born in 1901. He lived his entire life on a farm situated in the townland of Muckinish West between Ballyvaughan and Bell Harbour in the Burren region of County Clare. He died in 1991. He left a copybook containing his memoirs. The following extract was written July, 1989. P.J.…

New Year's Eve (Oíche Chinn Bliana)

These days, when we think of New Year, parties, champagne and celebration spring to mind. Once upon a time however, it was more about getting through a quiet night. The New Year was never really a big festival in Ireland, with the focus more on the necessities…

It was a cold night in November 1983, and I was in the middle of my 12-hour night shift driving a yellow cab in NYC.

Coming down Broadway in upper Manhattan, four people flagged me down. Three jumped in the back and one into the front, never a good plan from the perspective of the driver. The passenger in the front said: “Can you hurry up and get to Times Square?” and promised to take care of me when we arrived –- a…

Wild West Irish Tours owners Michael Regan-Waugh and Trish O'Donnell Jenkins are delighted to get some feedback from Maureen Kelley-Olson, the winner of the "The Wild West of Ireland: You Won't Forget Your First Time" contest. Maureen…

In the early 14th century, the Clan O’Malley, a great seafaring family, rose to power in Mayo. They ruled the southern shore of Clew Bay and most of the barony of Murrisk for over 300 years. They were ruthless pirates and terrorised the ships to and…

TITLE: Irish Hunger and Migration: Myth, Memory and Memorialisation…

When I lost my Mum and my husband within two days of each other, my whole life crumbled around me.  I very slowly learned how to live again, with the help of my then two teenage boys and my grandchildren. Since then, my Christmas has changed, with my daughter now being the host of Christmas lunch, with family coming…