(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…

DEARDAOIN -- 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…

LUAIN - On February 27, 1735, Thomas Conway, a soldier in French and U.S. armies, was born in Cloghane, County Kerry. Conway was taken to France at the age of six to be educated and, in 1749, he joined the Irish Brigade of…

It is New York City and the Civil War is brewing. Norah McCabe, an Irish immigrant who escaped the Famine as a child, is now a young widow with a daughter. A milliner, struggling to survive in tumultuous times, Norah meets Abraham Lincoln, befriends the extraordinary African-American woman Elizabeth…

DOMHNAIGH -- On February 5, 1733, Arthur Dillon, son of the 7th Viscount Dillon, and first commander of Dillon's regiment of the Irish Brigade of France, died at St. Germain-en-Laye, France. His father, Theobald, was killed in 1691 at…

LUAIN -- On January 30, 1879, Edme Patrice de MacMahon (right) retired as president of France. MacMahon's ancestors had immigrated to France from Torrodile, County Limerick, in 1691, after the…

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…

SATHAIRN THROUGH MÁIRT -- From December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, Irish-born Confederate Gen. Patrick Cleburne commanded a division at…

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…

MÁIRT -- On November 29, 1895, Denny Lane (right), author and poet, and member of the revolutionary Young Ireland party, died in Cork. Lane was born in…

'My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' -- JFK

For JFK

May 29, 1917 - Nov…

Recovering from a stroke provides a fellow time to consider his future. I plan to make 2 changes as my 83^rd BD rapidly approaches. …

CÉADAOIN -- On Nov. 16, 1814, Michael Kelly Lawler, general in the Union army during the American Civil War, was…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Oct. 9, 1779, members of Dillon's and Walsh's Regiments of the Irish Brigade of France took part in the Franco-American assault on Savannah, Georgia, during the final stages of the siege there during the American Revolution.…

LUAIN -- On Oct. 3, 1691, the Treaty of Limerick was signed, ending the…

CÉADAOIN -- On Sept. 21, 1827, Michael Corcoran (right), a brigadier general in the Federal Army during America's Civil War, was born in Carrowkeel, County Sligo. Corcoran served as a policeman in the Royal Irish Constabulary but resigned during the Great…

MÁIRT -- On September 13, 1803, John Barry (left), of Ballysampson, Co.Wexford, considered by many to be the 'Father of the U.S. Navy,' died in Philadelphia. At a young age, Barry went to sea as a fisherman; by age 20, he had a master's licensee. He emigrated to…

New York's Irish pack a chapel to recall beloved FDNY chaplain, friend (first publish in October, 2001)

Mychal Judge may be happily 'working the door' at St. Peter's Gate, and heaven would be the fuller for it. But for those many lives he touched on earth, there is an aching sense of loss.

By Gerry Regan

NEW…

Rocker Larry Kirwan, the founder and front-man of Irish rock mainstay Black 47, had a close-up perspective on the mayhem of 9/11. He shared the following reminscence of that day with subscribers to the band's newsletter in 2006. (Kirwan mentioned to readers that the excerpt is based upon a chapter from his memoir,…