On Sunday April 16, 1865, Secretary of War Edwin McMasters Stanton was in his office dealing with the sudden blow of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln two nights earlier, at Ford’s Theater. He pondered how to hunt down and capture the conspirators, for in addition to…

By Pat Hickey

No textbook tells the story of James J. Shields, but his personal story and resume are among the most impressive of any American, in any era.

(Left: "Churubusco" by James Walker, 1819-1889. James Shields fought there during the Mexican War.)

Shields'…

Michael Brennan waved his arm and called out to the men of the East Clare Flying Column to abandon their positions along the road near Glenwood House in southeast County Clare, about 12 miles north of Limerick City. Like so many ambushes laid by members of the Irish Volunteers during the Irish War…

I think it is fair to say that a great many of us are wringing our hands in despair at the state the world is in now. It seems that we are in total disagreement with each other and cannot or will not find common ground on which to unite. It is a case of widespread ‘he said-she said’ and every other…

In Ireland, February 1 is the feast day of Saint Brigid, a woman whom many believe should be granted equal billing with Saint Patrick as Ireland’s female patron saint and that her feast day should be declared a national holiday. Saint Brigid’s…

Back in the mists of time, long before the Milesians arrived from Egypt, and even longer before the Celtic tribes came and settled, another ancient tribe inhabited the island of Ireland. The ‘Tuatha De Dannan,’ translated as ‘people of the Goddess Danu,’ were a supernatural race who came to Ireland with the intention of…

Did you know that January is celebrated as “National Hot Tea Month”? I didn’t! As a member of a tea-loving Facebook group, I discover all sorts of information that only passionate tea-lovers know and share. And as the author of Teatime in Ireland, I do know that tea plays…

Slieve Gullion (from Irish: Sliabh gCuillinn, meaning "hill of the steep slope" or Sliabh Cuilinn, "Culann's mountain") is an extinct volcanic mountain in the south of County Armagh, Ireland. The mountain is the heart of the Ring of Gullion and is the highest point in the county, with an elevation…

For obvious reasons, Christmas 2020 will be scaled back a bit, so for many the “big Christmas cake” won’t happen this year. Not to worry: for those like me who still love holiday baking, these mini fruitcakes will fill the bill. Same great flavor, same great taste, just sized down to fit the “new…

Fourteen-year-old Marcus Daly sat staring into the hearth of his family’s stone cottage in Derrylea, just outside the town of Ballyjamesduff in County Cavan. Closing his eyes he could still imagine his grandfather, who seemed to be 100 years old when Marcus was a boy, sitting across from…

Apparently, a Black and Tan member of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Cappoquin (left) had been in the sights of the I.R.A. for “ill-treating Sinn Fein supporters.” Reportedly, members of the Volunteers (Oglaigh na hEireann) in Cappoquin  were  “reluctant to kill him.”  Accordingly, three, Dungarvan men –…

One warm evening in August 1903 a large crowd gathered outside the Custom House in Dublin, Ireland. Nearby, the river Liffey, flowing slowly toward the sea, carried the sounds of the bustling city with it, on its never ending journey, as it had done for millennia. An imposing, well-dressed…

In an old peat bog at Ummericam, sits the cruel headcutter's stone,

stained with the blood and fused with the ghosts, of men who are now long gone.

In the gorse and the furze their cries could be heard, when Johnston was out on the roam

their fates soon sealed with the headhunters wield, and where red still…

Cranberries take center stage this month in both sweet and savory dishes. One of my favorites is this quick bread, sweet enough for dessert but not-too-sweet for breakfast or afternoon tea. The versatile little berry is widely available in markets this month and next, so buy a few…

It was a lovely spring morning in the foothills of the Knockmealdown Mountains in southern County Tipperary on April 10, 1923. Six members of the Irish Republican Army, then engaged in the Irish Civil War against the Free State…

May I respectfully add my…

In the early evening they would gather in the grove, beneath the sheltering embrace of the sacred white oak tree. The Master had carefully dowsed the area, and had chosen it for the serene beauty and peaceful aura. The salmon-filled, crystal clear waters of the river wound a course through the…

By the summer of 1920, the I.R.A. policy of attacking British administrative and police structures was bearing fruit. In August the  Waterford R.I.C County Inspector noted:  “there is hostility to the police everywhere…I do not regard it as safe for a single police vehicle to travel. We are losing men every day from retirement and resignations and getting…

When did the War begin and who was the first casualty?

The majority of historians will be able to answer these without hesitation, but, now I am going to throw, yet, another name into the mix!! Luke Quinn may be a name unfamiliar to many, but it deserves to be remembered along with the many other Irish that gave “the last full measure” between…