The  following is a transcript from the LIVE Community Chat held here at TheWildGeese.com on Friday, August 8, 2014 with with Annette…

The scarcity of 19th century census returns for Ireland means that we genealogists place a huge emphasis on census substitutes. What is a census substitute ? My colleague, John Grenham explains it very well when he states, "Almost any document which records more than a single name can…

Professor James J. Ryan II was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1903.  In a most literal sense, Professor James Ryan earned his nickname. A professor in the University of Minnesota’s mechanical engineering department from…

I've been down in the green valley, the holy place.

In his book "Ireland – A History," Robert Kee describes Collins thus:

Of all the many rebel leaders to shine out of Irish history only one stands out as a really effective revolutionary: Michael Collins --- He took hold of a potentially revolutionary situation in Ireland and made it work.’

Born in 1890 in County Cork, he…

Duffy Square as it was in 1904

Duffy Square…

"A writer is not interested in explaining reality. He’s only interested in capturing it.” ~ Brendan Kennelly.

 Inside my father's bones lie a million secrets.

 Secrets passed down the long chain from…

Do you want to help drive the dramatic growth of The Wild Geese, our 17-month-old network of devotees of Irish…

Sligo Abbey

Abbey Street, Sligo Town, County Sligo



Known locally as simply "The Abbey," this Dominican Friary was founded in the mid 13th century by Maurice Fitzgerald. The site contains a great wealth of carvings including Gothic and Renaissance tomb structure, well preserved cloister and the only…

Britain declared war on Germany 100 years ago today, on 4 August 1914 and on 9 August the British Expeditionary Force began leaving for France. Some other Wild Geese have blogged here about their ancestors who fought in the war, so I just thought I'd put up these resources…

Bernardo O'Higgins (1778–1842) was born in Chile -- not Ireland.  However, his father, Ambrosio O'Higgins (a Spanish colonial Viceroy) was…

Who was "General O'Reilly," and how did a man with such an Irish name become the "Spanish Governor of Louisiana?"

While on a consulting assignment in August of 2000, I was bicycling through the streets of New Orleans and randomly came across a historic marker that read: "Fort St. Charles On Oct. 25, 1769, under Gen. O'Reilly, Spanish governor of…

Lance Corporal William Devine, 5th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

The 5th Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was raised at Omagh in August 1914, part of Kitchener's First New Army.…

My grandmother’s small flat was usually crowded on Sunday morning after mass. My father, uncles and aunt talked noisily as the room filled with cigarette smoke (almost everyone smoked in the 1950’s). Seated in the armchair between the…

Pictured at right is Paul Vincent Carroll, born in Dundalk, County Louth.  He was a friend of my parents, Michael and Lilian (Power) Quinlan, when they were all members and actors of The Dundalk Drama Society in the early 1930s.  Paul's best known play was "Shadow and…

When I first heard the phrase "boutique hostel," I figured it was a bit of marketing gimmickry at work. I mean, hostels were bottom-of-the-barrel, right? I suspected the word "boutique" was in line to replace "charming" and "lots of character" for describing accommodation that wasn't quite up to par.

Well, this summer I got a taste of modern hosteling,…

General John Alexander McClernand, born May 30, 1812, Kentucky, self- educated lawyer at age 20 and private in Blackhawk War with Abraham Lincoln as his Captain. Son of Dr. John, immigrant from Antrim, Ireland and Fatima Cummins (her ancestors were part of the Jamestown…

I have been researching the history of Irish martial arts - styles of wrestling, boxing and stick-fighting - for about 30 years now. To the best of my knowledge, Glen Doyle of Newfoundland, Canada is the only person on earth who still practices a living style (not one recreated through books or manuals) of Irish stick-fighting. He learned and inherited…

Did you know that Ireland is a fly through for millions of migrating birds en route to North Africa and other parts of the Middle East?

Spiral Journeys will…

Creevykeel Court Tomb is made up of a long, trapeze shaped cairn which encloses an oval court, and a burial chamber that is…