After learning that TheWildGeese.Irish social network and its partners, Wild West Irish Tours, WOW Air (a/k/a "Viking Air"), and Irish American News, are offering a 9 day/8 night fantastic personalized tour for two lucky people to explore the west of Ireland, I was immediately moved to submit…

John Mitchel as portrayed by Currier and Ives, who made a number of Irish prints to appeal to the Irish-American market.

LUAIN -- On June 8, 1853, John Mitchel escaped from…

Arise in the morning with a day anew

What new adventures are waiting for you

Chatter and laughter filling the air

Full Irish breakfast is the fare

We spy the blue beastie driving up from the drive

Quickly we get ready like bees in a hive

We board our blue stallion not knowing which way

We are headed towards cloudy…

My family always took great pride in being Irish Americans. We celebrated St Patrick's Day with gusto. We spoke of our Irish roots on both sides of my family tree. My father's mother's family were from County Claire ( no one ever said where or when they came to America). His father's father was German and my Great Grandmother mother was a FitzGerald. My mother's mother was also German and my maternal grand father came from a long line of Irish farmers who had lived here in Sullivan County,…

For quite some time, it appears that I've been surrounding myself with treacherous deeds and hardly been aware of it.

I got into designing jewelry with 3D modeling software and 3D printing services almost 3 years ago now. Four years ago, I'd have never guessed this would be a big hobby for me. When I first started tinkering with these 3D printing services like…

Photographer Darren McLoughlin has lived in fair Dublin for 15 years and says walking, and more walking, is how he’s really gotten to know his city.…

Endless shades of green everywhere you look

Sounds of water from a babbling brook

Fresh smells the air after a summer shower

As we walk the woods you can feel the power

Of a land whose people love so dear

And with each step taken dwindles our troubles and fears

Soon we gather and board into the Blue Beast

And with steady driver at the helm we head to a pub for a feast

Soon voices, music, and laughter fill the air

And we celebrate…

Ireland's "Wild Atlantic Way" usually refers to the rugged conflux of seacoast and mountains to be found in the western counties. But in the city of Galway, "The Wild West" takes on a different connotation.

Galway, known throughout history as a trading center, has…

Did you know that there is a tunnel running under Parnell Square in Dublin's city centre? Indeed, if the truth be told, there is probably a network of tunnels down there. How do I know?  Well, believe it or not, there’s an entrance to this tunnel under no. 5 Cavendish Row, where Olivier Cornet…

This will be my first blog post here on The Wild Geese. Be gentle with me! I'm only part of this flock since October last year and am just about stretching my wings to fly now. To be honest, I have "flown" before. In the mid 90s I ventured to Herefordshire , England…

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. Get the details!…

Now that I can finally get to post, I will simply say that I am interested in a summer tour of Ireland to see the land of my ancestors.  Simple as that.

thanks and I hope I win the contest.

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. …

I discovered this article about the Potato Orphans. Its a story about young girls orphaned during the Famine and sent as wives or maids to Australia. …

Every couple of years this man would come to Loughrea, County Galway and set up shop on the footpath outside Molloy's Harp Bar on Main Street. He was an itinerant blade grinder, or knife sharpener.

Folks would get wind he was in town and quickly a queue would…

Now I am in the public-house and lean upon the wall,

So come in rags or come in silk, in cloak or country shawl,

And come with learned lovers or with what men you may,

For I can put the whole lot down, and all I have to say

Is fol de rol de rolly O. – Yeats.

                It’s probably a wince-worthy cliché to begin with a Yeats, but I feel that I must. The songs of Ireland have long since compelled me to dance to their rhythm; the fluting of Yeats and…

“Ah, my darlin, surely you've got the map of Ireland on your face.”   He always dropped his “g’s” when speaking. Perhaps it was still a hint of Ireland in his voice.  

As a boy, he along with enough…

When visiting the West of Ireland, consider making time to explore County Leitrim.  This lesser-known gem is the homeland of my ancestors, and I first traveled there in 2008.  In addition to the beautiful countryside, lakes, and waterfalls, County Leitrim is home to …

The Wild West of Ireland

 All my life I have yearned for and felt a calling to visit Ireland-The Emerald Isle.  And although I am hundreds of miles away, I’ve always held Ireland and my Celtic roots passionately close to my heart. It is my sincere desire for this trip to become a reality-and then my heart will finally have its rest.

Our family roots are from Clifton County, Galway (Riley). These roots were passed down…