Tralee Thursday - Death from insufficiency of food and from dysentery are so numerous in this neighborhood that the funds in the hands of the relieving officers for providing for the living , in cases of sudden and urgent necessity are now absorbed into purchasing coffins for the dead. ......... "there were no cases of cholera today but the medical officer in charge states that the exhalations from the accumulated filth on the floors of the houses of the poor in the lanes of the town , and…

The Great Hunger was a natural calamity which was made into an appalling disaster by a selfish lack of assistance on the part of the British Parliament. Their disregard for large-scale human suffering in the land that they had made part of their empire only 44 years earlier bears…

by Dr. Christine…

MÁIRT -- On January 20, 1771, Don Hugo…

While P.S. Gilmore prepared for his departure from Athlone in September of 1849, the papers are filled with example of the depraved…

by Dr. Christine Kinealy

While Dublin was less affected by the famine than almost any other region or county in Ireland, this…

Discussing 'The Great Hunger' with Dr. Christine Kinealy…

"Jack Tar" was a common English term originally used to refer to seamen of the Merchant or Royal Navy, particularly during the period of the British Empire. By World War I the term was used as a nickname for those in the U.S. Navy. Both members of the public and seafarers…

When someone says to me that the Irish are natural storytellers, I’m usually really pleased. I’m an Irish writer, and isn’t it the ultimate aim of all writers to tell a cracking story? The writing life is full of rejection and self-doubt. You draw hope and confidence from…

https://irishredstar.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/exclusive-interview-with-american-filmmaker-and-screenwriter-david-dinning/

Check out our past quizzes here.

There is a site on the web devoted to finding out the history of your surname and what is the Irish Equivalent of you surname. It's a pretty spartan affair, but the website is very easy to use.

You can find it here: Sloinne 

Thanks to the Irish Central website for the tip

From the website:

Welcome

'Sloinne' is the Gaelic translation for 'Surname', the purpose of this website is to develop a comprehensive…

Irish Society Writing Contest

The Irish Cultural Society announces its annual writing contest for students in the 9^th through 12^th grades in the Nassau County high…

 While I was researching my Grand- mothers story ; I found it facilitating  that I had know all these things about my grand-mother ; but did not really [in my child's mind] connect them to reality. 

When she spoke about the cabins - as in ' you do not go cabin hunting'  [to her grand-children] - I honestly thought that this was just a phrase she used  to ensure that we did not stay in other peoples homes. 

What in fact she was telling us was that her life had been spent in a…

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'
         -- Edmund Burke

National Army Museum An officer from an Irish regiment of the Spanish army, 1808. The uniform coat would have been sky-blue.

DOMHNAIGH -- On January 11, 1775, Louis De Lacy,…

What’s hard about doing your family tree is finding some branches you’d rather break off, and one that comes to mind is a Kentuckian, a Gregory, whose 19 slaves were identified only by gender and age in the 1850 census, as if they were machine parts rather than human beings. That’s…

"Selma," a new film that just went wide to screens around the US, is an Interesting film, and for me as a student of the American, as well as the Irish, experiences, one well worth the investment to watch. The film narrates…

Nollaig na mBAn ; women’s Christmas  - or Old Chrstmas Day as it later became know as .

For the lucky women who were able to participate in Nollaig na mBan  - it was considered a tradition to be a part of women’s gathering together  for a celebration of their right to a ‘day off’ if you will !.

As it was a common held thought that a women was at the hearth of the family and on beck and call for their menfolk ; being entirely responsible for the whole running of the household…