Tomás Séamus Ó Cléirigh (Thomas James Clarke) was born on the 11th day of March in 1858.  He was  one of the oldest members of the 1916 Rising.  Clarke was also known as Henry Wilson, an alias he used to counteract any publicity that his own name may attract in his role as…

Before Columbus, Europe had never tasted potatoes, tomatoes, red peppers, chocolate, pumpkins, coconuts, pineapples, strawberries, and much more.  All these food items are native to the Americas.  Although explorers brought potatoes back from the New World in the early 1500s,…

What was life like in New Orleans' Irish Channel in the early to mid 20th-century?

The Works Project Administration (WPA) conducted a series of interviews with the people of the Channel in 1941.  Many of those…

The heroes of the hour -- witnessing history as it unfolded. 

The Irish Order of the Capuchin Friars came to Ireland in 1615.  It was not until 1690, however, that their first friary was built.  Over time, they moved to Cork where they established the friary house (which…

by Dr. Laura Kelley

Street-fighting man, bare-knuckles, and hard-fisted: Why do the Irish like to fight? Is there more…

by Dr. Laura Kelley

At the onset of the Civil war, New Orleans was protected in part by Fort Jackson, located sixty-five miles down the Mississippi River. On April 27, 1862, confederate soldiers, a majority of whom were German and Irish immigrants mutinied…

Anne O'Brien who runs the Beloved Margaret Haughery of New Orleans was kind enough to share some additional tidbits about Margaret and her…

By Dr. Laura Kelley

“No work was too menial, no venture too unprofitable, for her.”

Without question, among the Irish…

By Dr. Laura Kelley

Usually, when we speak about the Irish Diaspora in the USA, New Orleans is not among the cities that first come to mind as centers of Irish population and…

The good people of Ireland's County Kerry call their land "The Kingdom," and if that's so, then the Lakes of Killarney must be the Crown Jewels.

Killarney's lovely lakes have been immortalized in song and story for their breathtaking beauty. Indeed, Queen Victoria and her…

Maureen Murphy’s book "Compassionate Stranger" was 44 years in the birthing.  Her biography of Asenath Hatch Nicholson brings back to life a heroine of the Great Hunger, a story of the Famine little known but…

Seán Mac Diarmada (Sean MacDermott) is yet another one of the 1916 Easter Rising leaders who has remained in the historical shadow of other prominent leaders who have enjoyed iconic status in the history books.  He has been described by some as one of the greatest of the…

Book Review

"Belfast Days: A 1972 Teenage Diary," by Eimear O’Callaghan

Merrion Press

Copyright 2014

"Belfast Days: A 1972…

Thomas Fitzsimons was born at Ballikilty, County Wexford, Ireland in October of 1741 to Anthony Fitzsymons in the mid-1750s.  We know his mother's name was Jane, but we do not have a record of her maiden surname.  Fitzsimons immigrated to Philadelphia where his father…

Seán Heuston is yet another young man who is scarcely known as one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising.  He does not share the historical iconic status that is accorded to James Connolly or Patrick Pearse, for example.  He was and still remains one of many leaders of the 1916…

By guest blogger Constance Hall

Last November, a dream came true for me when I read about a knitting and craft tour that Irish Tourism had…

Wild West Irish Tours on Irish radio, TV and newspapers!

Michael Regan-Waugh on Irish TV

We are grateful to IrishTV.ie, Clare FM radio, The Clare Champion, and  Raidio Corca Baiscinn –…

The video below, which I produced, spotlights my coffee-table book on Ireland, "Ireland in Word and Image," on sale at Amazon, Rizzoli Bookstore and Rizzoli…

The law-officer, whose business was to apprehend criminals, was long- known popularly as the "catch-pole."  But few remembered that he obtained that designation due to the fact that he originally carried with him a pole fitted by a peculiar apparatus to catch a…