LUAIN -- On September 13, 1803, John Barry (left), of Ballysampson, Co.Wexford, considered by many to be the 'Father of the U.S. Navy,' died in Philadelphia. At a young age, Barry went to sea as a fisherman; by age 20, he had…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Aug. 1, 1915, the funeral of Fenian Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa was held before a huge crowd at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. Rossa's body had been returned from New York where he died June 30. He had been exiled by the British…

DOMHNAIGH -- On July 18, 1874, Irish revolutionary Cathal Brugha (left) was born Charles William St. John Burgess on Richmond Avenue in Dublin. Cathal joined the Gaelic League in 1899 and became…

DOMHNAIGH -- On June 27, 1862, the Irish 9th Massachusetts Infantry regiment of the Union Army was heavily engaged at the battle of…

MÁIRT -- On June 8, 1853, John Mitchel escaped from Australia, eventually making it to the United States. Mitchel, a member of the Young Ireland Party, was born in Comnish, Co. Derry. John was the son of a Presbyterian minister. He obtained a…

LUAIN -- On May 10, 1806, James Shields (left) , who would have one of the most remarkable careers in…

MÁIRT -- On April 27, 1779 Irish-born (County Donegal) U.S. Navy Capt. Gustavus Conyngham , "The Dunkirk Pirate," was captured by the British…

Fort Sumter in Charleston harbour was fired on by Confederate forces in the early hours of April 12, 1861, the bombardment continuing well into the following day. Fortunately for Major Robert Anderson and his garrison, there were…

LUAIN - On April 5, 1818, Bernardo O'Higgins (right) defeated the Spanish at the battle of Maipo River, Chile.…

DOMHNAIGH -- On March 28, 1820, William Howard Russell , (right) among…

DOMHNAIGH -- On March 21, 1763, William MacNeven, United Irishman, was born in Aughrim, County Galway.

(left: The emblem of the United Irishmen. It reads "Equality" above and "It is new strung and shall be heard" below.)

Educated in the…

MÁIRT -- On March 16, 1828, Patrick Cleburne, one of the finest generals produced by either side during America's long, bloody civil war was born at Bride Park Cottage in Ovens Township, Co. Cork, just outside Cork City. Robert E. Lee would one day say of…

Ever wonder who started the tradition of welcoming in the new year in Times Square? Well, it was a Famine Irish immigrant, Galway man Patrick Gilmore who was the most well-known Irish immigrant of his day and a famous person, but today sadly, Gilmore and his contributions to American music are…

LUAIN -- On March 1, 1776, Irish-born Andrew Lewis was appointed a brigadier general in the…

DOMHNAIGH -- On February 14, 1895, Seán Treacy, a revolutionary leader during the …

DOMHNAIGH -- On December 27, 1969, Dan Breen, one of the most famous IRA leaders during Ireland's War of Independence, died in Dublin. Breen was born in Grange, Donohill, Co. Tipperary, on Aug. 11, 1894. He joined the Irish Republican…

DOMHNAIGH -- On December 20, 1865, Maud Gonne  was born in Aldershot, England. Her father was a wealthy…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Dec. 13, 1862, the Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac suffered horrendous casualties as they assaulted massed Confederates firing from within a sunken road beneath Marye's Heights during the Battle of…

DOMHNAIGH -- On November 29, 1895, Denny Lane (left), author and poet, and member of the revolutionary Young Ireland party, died in Cork. Lane was born in Riverstown, near Glanmire in County Cork, in 1818. Denny attended Trinity College, Dublin. While a…

LUAIN -- On Nov. 16, 1814, Michael Kelly Lawler, general in the Union army during the American Civil War, was born in County Kildare, Ireland. Lawler emigrated to the United States with his family at just 2 years of age. His family moved from New York to Maryland, and finally to Gallatin…