I identified strongly with this poem from the first time I heard it spoken. Much like the follower that was Seamus in his childhood, I followed behind my father and grandfather as they worked cattle and handled ranch duties ... mimicking, getting under foot and learning, growing, as I did.

And now ... in the silver times, my father is slowing, jabbering on, following my lead ... sometimes: 

Follower

My father worked with a…

I, for one, can’t wait. When the time longs into my soul and the creak in my knees cause gentle steps, I’ll grow long my eyebrows. I’ll let them loose on my face as I chase away the last days of my living.…

The following is a transcript of the LIVE community chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Monday, August 12, 2013 with author, Brian O'Sullivan (left).  Some editing has been applied for clarity.

 …

Members, here's your chance to chat with author, Brian O'Sullivan, a County Kerry native now living in New York City.  Join us Monday, August 12th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time in …

It is still a work in progress, but my second book is to be published in October. It deals with lesser-known aspects of Irish history. The cover is being designed as we speak and should be ready within a fortnight. Some of the chapters appear on my blogspot:

http://ronangearoid.blogspot.ie

Here is a description of my latest book on…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE members' chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Monday, July 29, 2013 with Belfast native (and fellow Wild Geese member), Gerry Cappa, right.  Gerry's first novel, "…

As a writer I often find that inspiration comes from the strangest of places. But none so odd as that for my ebook, "…

When: Monday, July 22, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. ET

Where: TheWildGeese.com Main Chatroom…

Still sitting there now in The Gather Inn at well past the hour and with a flight to catch in the early morning, Padraig began to wonder when the old man’s rant would come to its conclusion. All the old stories from days long gone and friends resting in the soil.

“And I’ll tell ye this and I’ll tell you no more, your mother is a saint, looking after our family the way she did. Looking after me all these years and I her father for jaysus sake.”

 The old…

By John Bruton

American Scoundrel: The Life of the Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles (Anchor Press, 2012, 416…

I recently finished reading "Transatlantic," by Colm McCann. Several years ago, a friend gave me McCann's previous novel, "Let the Great World Spin." I hated it; didn't like the times, didn't like the setting or the subject (mid-1970s drug-infested New York City).

I Loved "Translatlantic." It is story of a family (specifically a grandmother, mother and…

Book Review

"That’s That" By Colin Broderick

Broadway Paperbacks $15

No memoir you have read about growing up in Ireland, not even Angela’s…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE members' chat hosted here at TheWildGeese.com on Monday, June 17th with County Tyrone native (and fellow Wild Geese member),…

I thought it was worth noting that today, June 13th, is the anniversary of the birth of Irish poet, W.B. Yeats.  William Butler Yeats was born on June 13, 1865 in Sandymount, County Dublin.  He would go on to be among the most influential writers in the 20th century -- not just in Ireland, but throughout the world.  He was a driving force behind the Irish…

On Monday June 17th at 3:00 p.m. ET, members of The Wild Geese will have the opportunity to chat live with author, Colin Broderick.  If you cannot join us to submit your questions…

The online availablity of core genealogy material such as census returns, births, marriages and deaths records, emigration/immigration lists, military service records etc can prove such an attractive lure to family history researchers that they often overlook the wealth of information that can be gleaned from newspapers. Although census returns and BMD data can provide the bread and butter facts needed to compile a family tree, newspapers can provide the details that flesh out a person's…

(First published…

The following is a transcript taken from the LIVE members' chat hosted here at TheNewWildGeese.com on Wednesday, May 8th, with Connemara-based author, poet, and publisher (and fellow Wild Geese member) …

New York (first published 9/14/10) -- Playwright Teresa Deevy, left, would likely be well pleased with the renewed focus her work is receiving these days. The Waterford-born auteur has been dead for 47 years, but one of her plays is on an extended run off-Broadway and Thursday mere talk of Deevy drew more than enough people to fill all 90 seats at a presentation at…

I would not presume to elevate my meanderings by calling them a “review” but having just finished "The Misrememberd Man," a lovely first novel by Christine McKenna, a Derry-born artist and writer, I am willing to go out on a limb and recommend it as a…