A trip to the West of Ireland would be a lifetime dream come true for me.  I have never been to Ireland and have always had a great longing to go.  I live in the western side of San Francisco and have many Irish friends and neighbors.  There is a spirit among these people like no other I have felt before.  My Irish friends are loving, spirited and proud people with a gift of gab.  I love spending time with these lovely people.  I have some Irish roots but have not formally explored my…

Well, considering that I have yet to contribute anything to this site, now seems like an excellent place to start. My knowledge of Irish culture is considerably lacking and I wish to amend this vexing predicament, preferably by going on an all inclusive trip to Ireland. Though I may have an innate fondness for all things potato related (or the "starchy tuberous crop" as it is described on Wikipedia), I wish that there could be something more substantial and less spudly connecting me to my…

Dearest Ireland and your Wild West heart, 

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to visit you, yet, Ireland. Somehow, I've known you my whole life without having met you, and always felt we would meet one day. I let it live deeply and quietly within as I dreamed myself into a…

My childhood was blessed with but one grandparent, my County Donegal, Ireland born grandmother.  Fondly I remember "Gamma's" pancakes sprinkled with sugar and warm milk, her boiled apple dumplings and fried doughboys, along with supervised bedside prayers each evening...bodily sustenance and soul food.  Most precious of all, though, were tales of her homeland, last seen as a young woman, which always ended with, "When my ship comes in, Patsy, you and I will go to Ireland".  The seed was…

You never forget your first time in Ireland.  Actually, you never forget anytime spent in Ireland.  Like many others, to me, Ireland feels like home.  Yes, it may sound trite or clichéd, but it is so true!  This is not only because I have Irish ancestry, it is also because I seem to have always been drawn to Ireland.  I have…

          My first trip to my ancestors homeland was one I will never forget. I was so excited to finally be able to see the land where my Great Grandparents lived. The place  that my family would talk about so often. How hard it must of been for them to leave a country they loved so much because of famine and travel to an unknown land so far away never again to see there beautiful birth place again. We arrived in Dublin from an over heated plane. The heat valve got stuck(we were told) and…

Ok, so really I’m completely obsessed with and addicted to Irish butter. We eat it every single day. To be exact, I did the math and we eat 24 ounces every week, which comes out to…drumroll please….72 pounds/32.5 kg a year! It is the best butter on the planet so of course it comes from this magical country. That being said, Ireland is literally in my blood in more ways than one! I’ve always known that my roots on my mother’s side go…

I was thrilled to hear that long departed Brendan Behan, one of my fellow Irish storytellers, has finally been resurrected. “Brendan at the Chelsea Hotel,” a new play about his time in NYC has recently opened off Broadway to tumultuous reviews and much ribaldry, women chasin’ and bar hoppin’. Behan, a rebel, carouser, drinkin’ man’s drinkin’ man, racounteur and above all a writer, taught us that you can be both a fighter and a writer.

I have here in my possession a letter written to…

So ... you think you know Rudy?

You know he went to Notre Dame, and through sheer perseverance he won a spot on the football squad. Because everyone admired his grit so much, he got to suit up for the last game of his senior year, and…

An example of the images as available on "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" website

And check out our Facebook Page.…

Walking tours on the historic campus of Trinity College Dublin are definitely interesting to studious visitors of Dublin.

(Left: Parliament Square, Trinity College from the Graduates Memorial Building - photo by …

So you think you know Rudy?

You know he went to Notre Dame, and through sheer perseverance he won a spot on the football squad. Because everyone admired his grit so much, he got to suit up for the last game of his senior year, and he was put in the game for the last two plays. On the last play of the game, he broke through the line and sacked the quarterback. The team lifted him up and carried him off the…

It was a "soft", chilly March day years ago when my then-20-something daughter, Quinn, and I left the Abbey House Bed and Breakfast for the short journey across the highway to the Jerpoint Abbey ruins in Kilkenny.  (To the Irish, a "soft" day means it isn't raining cats and dogs---just puppies and kittens.)  We planned a quick stop at Jerpoint, then a drive up to Dublin for the remainder of our stay in Ireland.  Celtic tigers were still roaring and you could feel energy in the air.

We…

Constance Gore-Booth Markiewicz’s amazing life came into my purview on my second trip to Ireland in 1989.  My husband and I were browsing in a Dublin bookstore eager to buy as many books on Irish history as we could fit in our suitcases for our return to…

Please click on the video below to find out why I want to win in my contest entry!

Tell us why YOU want to experience the ‘Wild West’ of Ireland, and you might win a free 9-day trip there, courtesy of Wild West Irish Tours and WOW Air. …

From the Wild Westie’s owners a message was conveyed,

Win a free trip back with airfare paid!

You need to tell us why you want to return and have it posted,

On the Wild Irish Geese website where the contest is hosted.

So tell us why in a video, picture, or blog on their site,

And wait for a decision as they pick the one that’s just right.

So here is my entry, a story to tell,

Of a magical journey as I drop my poem…

Meeting with Mr Eamon Gilmore TD , Pat Gilmore Ballygar , and Historian Author and Broadcaster Turtle Bunbury about the progress on the P S Gilmore story . Mr Gilmore emphasized that he was most impressed with the story and its potential in America and promised his support for the project at all levels . Turtle Bunbury felt that the story would be a catalyst to visit the…

I seem to be always thinking, dreaming, planning my next trip to Ireland.  Born and brought up in an Irish/American family, Irish references, jokes, songs and the inevitable quote have always been a part of me.  The neighborhood where I spent the first 20 years of my life was full of "comeovers", the Sugrues', Hogans, McElroys', Costigans', O'Grady's of my childhood told many a story that always fascinated me, creating a yearning that was finally satisfied in 2007.  A grand trip with my…

Recorded in the spelling of Jeune, Lejeune, and June, this is an English surname, but of pre medieval French origins. Probably introduced into England by the Normans immediately after the famous 1066 Invasion when for three centuries French became the official language, the surname originates from the word "jeune" meaning "young" and was originally a nickname or term of endearment, for a young man. About 15% of all surnames are believed to have originally been nicknames, so this one comes…