On the Hill of Uisneach, in a portion of land taken from the province of Connaught, a fortress was erected by High King Tuathal Teachthmar. Uisneach, believed to be the geographical center of Ireland, was,…

On Easter Monday, April 24 1916 one of the most important events in the long, tortuous history of Ireland took place. The event, so shocking and bold, is still debated and analyzed until this very day.…

One of the myriad of exceptional qualities that we Irish are blessed with is our ability to drop everything and sail out into the unknown completely unafraid. We have the uncanny ability to travel to the furthest reaches and, as they say, ‘become more native than the natives themselves.’ This ability has…

On April 11, 1878, a baby girl was born to Edward and Catherine Daly in Limerick. They named her Kathleen; she was the third daughter in a family of nine girls and one boy. The boy, Edward junior (Ned), was born in 1890, five months after the death of his father, and his 12-year old sister helped raise her…

DOMHNAIGH -- On March 27, 1872, Mary MacSwiney (Maire Nic Shuibhne), republican activist, was born in Surrey, England, of an Irish father and an English mother.

(Right: National Library of Ireland: …

In the ages past, the musician was and still is, a prominent figure in Irish society; whether he be a harpist, a fiddler or a multi-instrumentalist musician like Paddy Moloney, they all took their places in society, including the royal households of the Irish nobility. Centuries ago they called…

CÉADAOIN -- 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…

DOMHNAIGH -- On March 6, 1831, Philip Sheridan, one of the greatest Union generals in the American Civil War, was born. We know he was the son of Irish immigrants, but his place of birth is uncertain, with Albany, New York;…

One of the many trees growing near to where we lived on the Creamery Road was an old rowan. It was perfect for climbing and in the summer when in full leaf, I could see for miles from my vantage point in the topmost branches, it was my favorite of all the trees in the area with a big oak next.…

DOMHNAIGH -- On February 13, 1782, Dillon's regiment of the Irish Brigade of France helped capture St. Kitts from the British during the American Revolution. Earlier, Dillon's…

Softly, gently, "Comrade", he cried

"No longer on earth can I stay

I will never more roam through my own native home

Tipperary so far away"…

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…

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…

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…

“The wran, the wran, the king of all birds,

on Stephen's day was caught in the furze.

His body is little but his family is sweet

so rise up landlady and give us a treat.

And if your treat be of the best

your soul in heaven can then find its rest.

And if your treat be…

This is my first Blog post, so I'll start with an introduction, and future blogs will just be about the episodes and individuals

Nation of Storytellers Podcast

I have started a podcast that aims to capture the stories and storytellers of Ireland, in the hope that it…

This year’s shortest day of the year is on Tuesday, December 21, which will also mark the longest night of the year. Every year, the winter solstice marks the turn of the calendar as autumn ends and the winter begins. From an astronomical standpoint, the winter solstice means that the two opposite points in the sky…

One hundred years ago, on 6 December 1921 a treaty was signed with the British government that was to end Ireland’s 3-year war of independence and grant a measure of autonomy to Ireland. It was to be fully implemented by March 31, 1922, and the fighting would end; it had…

St. Colmcille, also known as St. Columba, was born on this day Dec. 7 in 521 AD in Gartan, modern day County Donegal, Ireland.…