In France, during the reign of King Henry IV (1589-1610), a series of recurring religious conflicts erupted and grew so violent they became known as the Wars of Religion. The war was between the ruling Catholics and a…

On this day, February 24, 1841, we remember with pride the birth of a unique Irishman, a man whose fertile mind far surpassed the greatest minds…

The next time you look up at the full moon to make your wish, direct your gaze toward the southeast portion and locate the area known as the Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity). There you will observe the valley where Apollo 17, the last in a series of lunar missions, landed Dec. 10, 1972. Nearby,…

If you should someday find yourself in County Louth, Ireland, and if you have some time on your hands, it would be worthwhile if you visited the small village of Darver and the historic Darver Castle. The village is part of the …

Being of Irish heritage and an astronomer, astrophysicist and educator by profession, I have a particular interest in this story. As a founding member of Astronomy For Change (https://astronomyforchange.org) and the original author, I'm sharing it here on TWG. -- Tom…

In school, if you ever looked at images of the surface of the Sun you would have seen what appeared to be dark areas dotted across the surface. These anomalies are known as sunspots and appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. Occasionally you would also have seen…

The next time you make a trans-Atlantic phone call, raise a glass, smile and tip your hat to an ingenious Irishman; a man that Charles Darwin once described as being “like an odious specter.” This man had incurred the wrath of Darwin for daring to oppose…

On March 21 1879, 143 years ago, the worlds first working guided missile was successfully tested in Hobsons bay, Melbourne, Australia by Irish inventor Louis Brennan from Co. Mayo, Ireland.…

“The Bog Road” as it is know is a three mile stretch of road between Athlone and the village of Clonown. The village has the unusual distinction of not having a pub - for Ireland this is quite an anomaly!…

The Fadden More Psalter, a book of psalms as old as the Book of Kells, was found by turf cutters in a Tipperary bog in 2006.  It is written in Latin and includes illuminated letters and other decoration.  Dr. Eamonn Kelly and his team at The National Museum of Ireland dated the book to around 800 AD, and spent five years restoring it. 

The find was very exciting to Irish…

On Wednesday, May 6th 2015, we were joined by two special guests: World renowned archaeologist and "bog bodies" specialist Dr. Eamon…

Turf cutters have unearthed more than home heating fuel from Ireland's bogs.  Bog bodies - naturally preserved human remains - are a fascinating study.  The chemical composition of the bog has antibiotic properties which kill the bacteria that would normally break down the flesh.  The…

Irish is considered to be the first uttered literary language of Europe. The ancient Gaeilge of Ireland served as the seed language for Scottish Gaelic and Manx, just as the venerable Irish gene pool originally spread north and east to Scotland, to the west of England, and beyond.…

In our genealogy classes, we often investigate the origin of the surname.  In one case, this led to an interesting historical fact about the phrase “The Real McCoy.”

McCoy: “A common surname of Scottish origin in…

Ireland in the 1650s lay in ruins. Twelve years of calamitous warfare had destroyed the country's infrastructure and resulted in the death of over 20% of the Irish population.

In August 1649 the New Model Army, led by Oliver Cromwell, went to Ireland to re-occupy the country following the Irish Rebellion of…

When the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) marched up Fifth Avenue in New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade it should have been crystal clear, if it wasn't already, that this parade is incompatible with any serious effort to support Irish freedom. The PSNI is the…