Praise to the Lord in all His glory.

(Note: This was originally posted April 9th, 2020) 

Last week,…

My Tír na nÓg

To Patricia A. McLaughlin from Dan,

her husband, February 14, 2022

Though this poem may…

Saint Valentine

Born: 226 AD, Terni, Italy

Died: February 14, 269 AD, Rome, Italy

Full name: Valentine of Terni 

Valentine was a Christian priest who had also worked as a doctor and ministered to persecuted Christians and Romans alike. He lived in Italy during the third century AD and served as a priest in Rome. Historians don’t…

Praise the Lord in all his glory.

A tremendous ray of sunshine burst forth fully adorned in the natural splendor of its Creator’s heat, light and energy. It hurtled forward in perfect obedience to the sun from which it came and landed on earth, leaving in its wake the…

In A.D. 406 during a particularly harsh winter, the river Rhine froze over. Across this temporary land bridge poured hordes of Germanic tribes led by the charismatic Aleric, King of the…

Kissing a wife or lover under the mistletoe at Christmas is derived from an old Roman custom that honored the god Saturn. The Romans associated mistletoe with peace, love, and understanding and hung it over doorways to protect the household, as well as protection from witches and demons. Hanging…

On November 1, 1625 Oliver Plunkett was born at…

In July 2013, I was honoured to give an oration at the graveside of Fr. John Bannon. The following, though long, is the text of my speech. Regards, Liam. (This post is part of a week-long series I've titled, 'Their Stories, Our Heritage, Not Forgotten', in honor of Irish Heritage Week 2020.) 

Commemoration…

Reverend Peter Cooney, CSC

Born in Dublin in 1856, Laurence Carroll worked his way across the Atlantic, hoboed across the States from New York to Chicago via Montana to San Francisco, worked as a sailor on the Pacific Mail to Yokohama and wound up in Asia, where he became an…

 Youtube VIew my Video : http://youtu.be/oT0oOa0jx28  

Ireland has a centuries-old, rich and proud history defending its people and attempting to take back control of the Island for the native population (predominantly Roman Catholics)…

I see his blood upon the rose

And in the stars the glory of his eyes,

His body gleams amid eternal snows,

His tears fall from the skies.…

When Fr. Sylvester Malone died Dec. 29, 1899, almost at the very end of the century, it signaled the end of an era not only for the Catholic community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn but also for the entire neighborhood. A beloved and respected figure among all local residents, Fr. Malone (pictured…

Does human nature translate divinely?

Have you ever had lunch with a Jewish mother? “Have I mentioned my son David graduated valedictorian from high school and is now on full scholarship to Johns Hopkins University? (About 14…

26 Common Irish Sayings

The following is a compiled list of 26 common Irish sayings with their translations below written by The Irish Store.

You may find these useful to save confusion & hassle when crossing paths with an Irish person.…

What comes to mind for you when you hear the words “St. Patrick’s Day”? Green, I’d imagine; probably spirits, soda bread, and so on – but have you ever thought about…teeth?

Most people associate the loss of teeth with things like aging, nightmares, or even tooth faeries – but what if instead of a…

"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…

I've managed to get myself to a country where there is no St. Patrick's Day Parade -- not even an Irish embassy, just an honorary consulate. I suspect March 17 will be a little quieter than I'm used to. 

I am alive and well and enjoying Amman -- and so far, Amman seems to be enjoying me.

I'm settling in --…

Ships, Real and Imaginary

It’s a piece of rock with a wonderful beginning.

A cause for marvelling in a right of its own.

Formed deep in the magma of earth.

Mainly composed of quartz, the colour of light

And feldspar carrying the…