Where does red hair come from?  There is a lengthy and complex discussion of the red hair genetics here. Be sure and read the comments (everybody has an opinion and is an expert!) Within this…

Irish composer Patrick Cassidy wrote a magnificent choral/orchestral work based on the Celtic legend - The Children of Lir.  It is available on iTunes and beyond.  The first North American tour (1995) of…

Ladies and Gents,

Good day to you all. Late joiner to the party here but none-the-less hopefully bringing an important message to you all. 

Fort Patrick Kelly is named for the famed leader of the Irish Brigade,…

Iveagh Gardens

Clonmel Street, Dublin 2, Ireland



The Iveagh Gardens are amoung the finest and least known of Dublin's parks and gardens. They were designed by Ninian Niven, in 1865, as an intermediate design between the 'French Formal' and the 'English Landscape' styles. They demonstrated the artisitc skills of the landscape architect of the mid 19th century and display…

On the afternoon of Wednesday, 6 August, 2014, our own Ryan O'Rourke had the opportunity to visit the site of the old White O'Morn Cottage in Tiernakill, Maumm, County Galway.  This old site, which now lies in ruins, is better known to the world as "The Quiet Man Cottage."  The…

I set up my blog here with the intention of telling the real, deeper story of the land of our collective birth -- Ireland.  Mise Eire. Not the watered-down, errant Hollywood version. Not the version beaten into us by harsh invaders. The real deal, if you like. Anyone reading it…

The  following is a transcript from the LIVE Community Chat held here at TheWildGeese.com on Friday, August 8, 2014 with with Annette…

The scarcity of 19th century census returns for Ireland means that we genealogists place a huge emphasis on census substitutes. What is a census substitute ? My colleague, John Grenham explains it very well when he states, "Almost any document which records more than a single name can…

Professor James J. Ryan II was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1903.  In a most literal sense, Professor James Ryan earned his nickname. A professor in the University of Minnesota’s mechanical engineering department from…

I've been down in the green valley, the holy place.

In his book "Ireland – A History," Robert Kee describes Collins thus:

Of all the many rebel leaders to shine out of Irish history only one stands out as a really effective revolutionary: Michael Collins --- He took hold of a potentially revolutionary situation in Ireland and made it work.’

Born in 1890 in County Cork, he…

Duffy Square as it was in 1904

Duffy Square…

"A writer is not interested in explaining reality. He’s only interested in capturing it.” ~ Brendan Kennelly.

 Inside my father's bones lie a million secrets.

 Secrets passed down the long chain from…

Do you want to help drive the dramatic growth of The Wild Geese, our 17-month-old network of devotees of Irish…

Sligo Abbey

Abbey Street, Sligo Town, County Sligo



Known locally as simply "The Abbey," this Dominican Friary was founded in the mid 13th century by Maurice Fitzgerald. The site contains a great wealth of carvings including Gothic and Renaissance tomb structure, well preserved cloister and the only…

Britain declared war on Germany 100 years ago today, on 4 August 1914 and on 9 August the British Expeditionary Force began leaving for France. Some other Wild Geese have blogged here about their ancestors who fought in the war, so I just thought I'd put up these resources…

Bernardo O'Higgins (1778–1842) was born in Chile -- not Ireland.  However, his father, Ambrosio O'Higgins (a Spanish colonial Viceroy) was…

Who was "General O'Reilly," and how did a man with such an Irish name become the "Spanish Governor of Louisiana?"

While on a consulting assignment in August of 2000, I was bicycling through the streets of New Orleans and randomly came across a historic marker that read: "Fort St. Charles On Oct. 25, 1769, under Gen. O'Reilly, Spanish governor of…

Lance Corporal William Devine, 5th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

The 5th Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was raised at Omagh in August 1914, part of Kitchener's First New Army.…

My grandmother’s small flat was usually crowded on Sunday morning after mass. My father, uncles and aunt talked noisily as the room filled with cigarette smoke (almost everyone smoked in the 1950’s). Seated in the armchair between the…