“Nollaig na mBan,” or “Little Women’s Christmas,” is an old custom that’s still celebrated by women all over Ireland. It goes back to the days when large families were the norm. Men never lifted a finger in the house to help, and were never expected to. If a man washed the dishes, he would be called an “auld…

By Richard Tillinghast b. 1940…

LUAIN -- On January 4, 1781, Irish-born Revolutionary War Gen. James Hogan died in British captivity at Haddrel Point, South Carolina. Hogan (sometimes spelled Hogun) was born in Ireland about 1721, and emigrated to North Carolina about 30 years later. In May 1776, Hogan was appointed a major in the…

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…

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…

Cuireadh do Mhuire was composed by Máirtín Ó Direáin (1910 – 1988), the great Irish language poet from the village of Sruthán, on Inis Mór (Inishmore), the largest of the Aran Islands, in Galway Bay.

Ó Direáin penned this beautiful and delicate verse at Christmas 1942, when the whole world was at war and his…

Prior to the firing squad death of Hickey, there appear to have been few reprisals for I.R.A. ambushes -- with the notable exception of the Hampshires running amok in Youghal after the November 1920 Piltown Cross engagement. This may very well have been attributable to the general chivalry displayed by Lennon’s…

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

The Church of the Holy Rosary was dedicated on Rosary Sunday 7th October 1901.

The need for a new church had been acknowledged as far back as the 1860’s. Cannon Mc Gee like his predecessor Archdeacon Brown was an enthusiastic and talented man. He saw the need for a new church and set about the task of raising funds for the establishment of a new church. As…

It was well past sundown in a village named Bethlehem, just beyond Jerusalem, in the hills of Judea, on a surprisingly mild winter’s night.

Now the Roman occupiers of the kingdom of Israel required that all men go to their own towns…

DOMHNAIGH -- On December 27, 1969, Dan Breen, one of the most famous IRA leaders during Ireland's War of Independence, died in Dublin. Breen was born in Grange, Donohill, Co. Tipperary, on Aug. 11, 1894. He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1912 and the Irish Volunteers in 1914.…

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…

It’s not too late to make this delicious dessert, a riff on steamed pudding and gingerbread. Similar to a one served at the Meyrick Hotel (Eyre Square, Galway), this pudding starts with deliciously gooey pears on the bottom and finishes when the cake is turned upside down to reveal them as a deliciously gooey top! In…

The film "Spotlight" was recently released, based on the true story of the Boston Globe’s investigation of the Boston Archdiocese’s willful coverup of child molestation and abuse. The reviews have been, like the movie itself, scattered.

This is, without a doubt, a shattering film. Well made and well acted, it…

The Gods were smiling on us that day, long ago when we travelled out to the windswept island of Sceilg Mhichíl (or Skellig Michael), eleven kilometres off the coast of Kerry.  What a special place!  Sacred. Unique. Awesome.

It is not known when the monks first arrived on the…

There’s the turkey, of course, but oh those sides! Roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, boiled onions — the list goes on and on for favorite dishes to serve at Christmas. Without relinquishing any family favorites, you might want to try this recipe from my new cookbook “Favorite Flavors of…

In light of all the terrific Christmas-flavored postings lately, I've been prompted to share an excerpt from my historical novel "The Lockwoods of Clonakilty," a scene based on a little adventure my own family had a few…

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.…

DEARDAOIN -- On December 20, 1865, Maud Gonne  was born in Aldershot, England. Her father…

The authorities took Hickey’s remains to the barracks of the Royal Irish Constabulary, in Dungarvan, where the body of Sean Fitzgerald lay. He was duly conveyed, on Tuesday the 22nd, to the new section of the cemetery at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Dungarvan. No civilians, except…