I broke my own rule. I never go on vacation or take a trip (yes, they are different) during holiday season. I would rather stay at home and catch up on repairs and maintenance. Circumstances dictated I visit Ireland in August in 2015. It seemed the entire population of the world had the same idea.

The Wild Atlantic Way has been receiving a great deal of media attention. It is the world's longest defined…

Are you a witch, or are you a fairy

Or are you the wife of Michael Cleary?

So went a popular children’s rhyme in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century. I can hear the echo of those words spilling from young lips all the way to here. In amongst the childish…

He would have stood out anywhere, and standing in front of the entrance to a boutique hotel in Spiddal, wielding a black walking cane with an ivory handle two paces before him made him glaringly incongruous to everything I’d come to know about the western coast of Ireland. He wore a three-piece suit on his…

While in Ireland during what laughingly passed as a summer in 2015 I spent time doing maintenance at a graveyard. Three of us spent a few hours mowing and strimming Rath Graveyard near Ballyvaughan in County Clare. Well, I did the mowing and my companions hogged the strimmers. There was only a limited area where mowing…

I'm seeking some background on John Boyle O'Reilly and his life in Boston, particularly his involvement with the Irish community then (including the Catalpa Affair). I have uncovered some wonderful inks between…

Hello all:

I am usually hesitant to read a book unless I know a bit about it. Assuming many of you have a similar habit, I post here a few lines from the first chapter of The Lockwoods of Clonakilty. One of the major themes in the…

On this day, February 24, 1841, we remember with pride the birth of a unique Irishman, a man whose fertile mind far surpassed the greatest minds…

It’s now the third and final day for me at the festival.

The Sunday morning after the night before with all its festivities was tricky. I was so tired I managed to sleep through a giant party in the pub downstairs. Anytime I did stir, I listened to the band downstairs and marvelled at their harmonies and the tightness of…

LUAIN -- On Oct. 26, 1771, John (Juan) MacKenna  (left), who would rise to fame in South America, was born in Clogher,…

(Sligo street art)

I was stranded for a second day in Grange. When I woke up, I had breakfast on my mind and enjoyed an Irish breakfast with a beautiful view. I had to be out by 11 a.m. as the painter was coming and the owner had to visit someone in hospital.

Having tried the…

It is well known that Douglas Hyde (January 17, 1860-July 12, 1949) was the first president of the Irish Republic. What may not be as well known is that he was a fluent speaker of the Irish language, a wonderful poet and an avid collector of Irish folklore. He fiercely objected to the ongoing "Anglicising" of…

O! farmer, strong farmer!

You can spend at the fair

But your face you must turn

To your crops and your care.

And the crowds at the fair,

The herds loosened and blind,

Loud words and dark…

Born in the land of Saints and Scholars, our Irish monastic settlements are a very important part of our Irish heritage.

New in stock, this beautiful '…

Dhia dhuit, all,

Now that all the final editing is done (including one version in which the title town was spelled 'Conakilty'...argg) my novel "The Lockwoods of Clonakilty" is available through Amazon or any bookstore's online ordering.

I'll be working with TheWildGeese.Irish to share some of the content, and…

Irish Volunteer, athlete and poet Pat Keating (pictured) of Comeragh, according to younger sister Lena, "had a simple and homely manner that endeared him to all ... and was a great favourite wherever he went."  

My father, George Lennon, related an incident in which he and Pat

"were walking along a…

The whole day that I spent in Belfast and the evenings on either side really need more than one blog post. That day we went to so many places and I was shown so many things. It was mind-blowing and at times very emotional. Belfast is a lovely place and I was certainly shown a good time.  We started with breakfast, as…

Presentation Arts Centre in Enniscorthy is the most perfect building. An old convent, the conversion to secular building retains the stained glass windows and ornate carved wooden beams arching overhead. When one walks into the hall, it is breath-taking, literally, in its beauty. And, as with all ecclesiastical architecture,…

In 1798, influenced by the American and French revolutions, the Irish people, unable and unwilling to endure oppressive British rule any longer, once again answered the call to arms and rose up in armed defiance. Led by Dublin-born Theobald Wolfe Tone, this event became known as the ‘Rebellion of ’98.’ During this…

No trip to Ireland is complete without a trip to Newgrange, a prehistoric monument in County Meath, located about 1 km north of the River Boyne. As I drove from Belfast, there were places I wanted to stop that…