National Library of Ireland James Napper Tandy

DOMHNAIGH -- On November 9, 1791, James Napper Tandy convened the first meeting of the…

It was a sunny, hot September afternoon in 1887 at the South End Grounds baseball stadium in Boston. Mike “King” Kelly, the player-manager of the Boston Beaneaters, sitting on the bench, wiped the sweat off his brow with his sleeve as he watched his pitcher,…

As the brilliant rays of the morning sun began to flash off the whitewashed adobe wall in Santiago, Cuba, 30-year-old William Albert Charles Ryan reflected that it would be yet another beautiful day on the tropical island he had come to love. He could hear the sweet songs of a few…

New York -- We at TheWildGeese.irish are sorry to learn of the passing of journalist Ed Moloney, who provided our readers a front-row seat to one of the most consequential free-speech debates of the Irish Troubles. Moloney died Friday at his home in the city after a brief…

We conducted this interview in September 2011 for our Newsletter readers but because of the importance of the issues represented to the practice of oral history in this country, we have chosen to share this interview here in its entirety. To sign up for exclusive content through our newsletters,…

The port of Brest in the mid-1790s by Jean-François Hue (1751-1823)

As he watched the small French fleet carrying his friend Theobald Wolfe Tone and about 3,000 French troops sail out of Brest, France on September 20,…

It was 20 years ago that the United States and the world held their breath as the worst terrorist attack in history took the lives of nearly 3,000 people. The attack was in the U.S. but many of the victims were from other countries around the world.

(Left:…

Welcome to August a significant month in Irish history. Here are a few examples, August 1 is the ancient feast of Lugnasad – the Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest. Begun by the De Danann god, Lugh, in honor of his foster-mother Tailtiu, it included religious…

We Irish artists, descended, as we undoubtedly are from the tribe of Dannan, an ancient breed of mystics, are tasked with the unenviable mission of walking the invisible, fine line. It is a gift that enables us to transcend the mundane, and experience the world as we see and feel it, and know how it should be. We have…

To the Irish-American community, to Civil War historians and to local history in general, and to all who care about truth, heritage, and the stories of those who came before us, we lost one of our greatest champions. Joseph G. Bilby passed away this week, and with him, we lost more than a man. We lost a…

Avoca Cafés and restaurants, with 14 locations throughout Ireland from Mount Usher in County Wicklow to Moll’s Gap in County Kerry, serve luscious lunches, dreamy confections, and sweet treats to eat-in or to take- away. Even some of the best cooks in the country supplement their own baked goods…

            It may be a cliché, but everyone really is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! Aran knits, tweed caps, and shamrock-emblazoned scarves come out of the closet on the 17th. If you’re cooking, that means your treasured Irish recipes emerge, too, ones that everyone loves and expects on the most celebratory day on the…

At the Commemorative mass for Anne Devlin in St. Catherine's Church, Meath Street, Dublin on Sunday 14 September, 2014 I gave the following Eulogy:

"As we celebrate this decade of centenaries, it is easy to forget those who went before, and without whom many of these events would not have happened.

One such person was Anne Devlin, in…

     In my latest cookbook, Delicious Ireland: Forty Years of Fabulous Food, I wrote about experiencing my first Irish breakfast: “We all treasured Ireland for reasons of our own, but none of us thought much about the food then — except breakfast, perhaps, when we would sit down with…

Most of the stuff in my novels comes from my imagination but I owe a fair amount of what I write to a pub called The Rocking Chair where there’s such a variety of characters that you’d need to be brain deaf not to pick up some nuggets. …

            It’s peach season in most places around the country, a time for crisps, cobblers, pies, upside-down cakes, and these delicious baked peaches. No crust or crumble required, just stuff and bake for an easy, elegant dessert.

Baked…

Round Lough Derg's holy island I went upon the stones,

I prayed at all the Stations upon my marrow bones,

And there I found an old man, and though, I prayed all day

And that old man beside me, nothing would he say

From “The…

"Every civilization in this world built on top of the one they conquered. You go to Rome or Jerusalem or Paris, France, and it's cities stacked on top of towns, stacked on top of villages, stacked on top of one man's house built on top of one man's…

         Imported asparagus are available all year round, but there’s nothing to beat the flavor and texture of those locally grown in its short spring season: in Ireland, traditionally beginning on April 23 and ending on Midsummer Day. Although its delicate flavor and seasonality make…

Our educated guess is that Dr. Theodore Thaddeus Dominic O’Kelly came to Guatemala around 1696. He might be a surgeon from the ranks of the Jacobite Army that fought in Aughrim. According to his account, he was an Ulsterman born in Loughgall (County Armagh) around 1658.

In…