Happy Birthday John.

Oct. 9 1940

We still love and miss you.

Thanks for the joy and inspiration.…

Driving out of frenzied Manhattan heading out over the 59th Street Bridge and through the congested highway traffic east into Queens, the dense urban landscape is suddenly broken up by a jarring sight- an immense sea of green. Coming closer, the driver, who sees a vast number of gravestones and…

Chicago River Dyed Green for St. Patrick's Day

[Cross-Post from Chief O'Neill Blog]

What would Chief…

"…

I'm a musician by trade but have also worked a good bit in documentary film over the last few years. Hy Brasil, as well as being the title of my new album, is an island from Irish mythology. "That shadowy isle" appeared on maps until the 1860's until they realised that it wasn't there at all, as…

Louis Philip Brennan was born on Main Street, Castlebar, County Mayo, on January 28, 1852, the 10th child of Thomas Brennan, a hardware merchant in the town. 

DOMHNAIGH -- On February 24, 1854,Daniel Florence O'Leary a general in Simon Bolivar's South American army, died in Bogota, Colombia. O'Leary was probably born about 1800 in Cork city, the son of a butter merchant. Little is known of his early life. In 1817, he traveled to London to…

DOMHNAIGH -- On the night of November 26, 1781, units of Dillon’s and Walshes regiments of the Irish Brigade of France were among a force of about 400 commanded by Marquis de Bouille that landed on the British-held West Indies island of St. Eustache (now known…

When I was asked to write a series of poems for an art exhibition in Australia earlier this year, I embarked on a dark voyage of discovery into the lives of Irish immigrant children 150 years ago.

Image: 'Image Above: Falling' by Jane Theau (2017)

There is a special brand of human misery so steeped…

I am surely not the first Irish emigrant to have heard these words from their heartbroken mother. Guilt at the impact of my decision to leave Ireland and grief at the loss of my beloved mother are central themes in my poetry collection…

I began researching my family tree a little over three years ago, and two years ago I shared some of my journey in this post:…

"In eighteen hundred and forty-four

I landed on the Liverpool shore

Me belly was empty me hands were raw

With working on the railway, the railway

I'm weary of the railway

Poor paddy works on the railway"

(from Poor Paddy on the Railway by The Dubliners…

(Above: "When Wagon Trails Were Dim," Charles Russell's depiction of a wagon train in the American west.)

Many men and women with Irish roots participated in the “winning” of the West for the new nation that was growing into a…

The immigration experience of the Presbyterians in colonial Virginia was an oppressive time for the Scotsmen from Northern Ireland. Subject to the penalties imposed on them by the Established Church of England, their presence in Virginia, especially, in Hanover and Louisa County was tenuous. Formed from New Kent County,…

The genealogy and history of the Presbyterian Church has always been intertwined in Virginia history. Beginning in the 18th century, protestant dissenters were seen unfavorably by the Established Church of England. Presbyterians, Quakers, and Puritans because of their religious beliefs were penalized by the British government socially, politically, and in matters of religion. The Presbyterians, especially, had a traumatic…

DOMHNAIGH -- On December 4, 1887 Maria Winifred (Winnie) Carney (right), trade unionist and revolutionary was born at Fisher's Hill, Bangor, Co. Down. Her father, Alfred was a protestant…

There once was a time when Irish giants roamed the earth, their feats of strength and courage becoming legendary. However, these were not the mythical Cuchulain, or Finn McCool; they were real men who pushed the boundary of what was thought to be humanly possible. They were known as “the Irish Whales” for their size and strength and they dominated the strength events of the Olympics for the first part of the 20th century.…

Last week, in his sleep, in his small palace in Rome, 400 years ago, one of the greatest figures in Irish history passed away, Hugh O'Neill. . With him in his final moments may have been his teenage son, John, whom he had nominated to succeed him as Earl of Tyrone and as The O'Neil. Also, there…

National Pilgrim Paths Day is a new Easter Festival based on Ireland’s dense network of medieval pilgrim walking routes. This new heritage themed event is organised by the local communities adjacent to each of our principal penitential routes and is aimed at raising…