The (New York) Evening World declares the war over on Nov. 7, four days before the Armistice was formally signed. (Library of Congress)

To commemorate 100 years since the ending of the First World War, Find My Past is offering free access to its family history database collections this weekend from 12:00 noon (GMT)…

In 1798, the new Oaths issued by the Wexford Council had good effect. As Crown forces gathered on Wexford’s borders for the showdown, Nicholas Gray, Secretary of the Council, wrote on 16 June to Fr. Philip Roche, the new commander‑in‑chief. Gray was…

(Edwin O'Hara, loading the 4 inch gun on the SS Stephen Hopkins. By W.M. Wilson, on display at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.)

For them there are no big parades, 

No heroes' welcome…

On June 23, 1963 the people of Ireland fell in love with a member of “The Wild Geese” who had less than five months to live. If ever an American politician had a style and ease that allowed the people of Ireland to see the “Irish” in him, it was John…

It was 1948, and as the military half-track drove through the Beit Netofa Valley, at the village of Madna in Galilee, shots rang out. One Israeli soldier was killed and another was hit in the head. A sniper had zeroed in on the men and was…

Aidan MacCarthy crouched low in the air raid shelter he and the other prisoners of war had dug themselves. They had seen two American B-29 bombers flying toward the city of Nagasaki before they went into the shelter. A few POWs had stayed outside, though,…

To outsiders, the village of Ballinalee, in County Longford, might seem like no great shakes, just a bump in the road, a blink-and-you-miss-it spot that you’re through before you even notice. Were they to consult a map of the county, the seemingly…

As John Paul Jones, captain of the Bonhomme Richard, prepared to face two British…

(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…

Born in Dunamanna, County Tyrone, Ireland. John Russell Young (November 20, 1840 – January 17, 1899) was a journalist, author, diplomat, and the seventh Librarian of the…

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. …

Navy veteran John Washington Michael Condon died as he lived, a gregarious man with a penchant for sharing a good story. He was one of my father’s numerous uncles, and was known to me through Dad’s recollections as Uncle Jack. As evidenced by the…

Tun Tavern was erected in 1686. In the 1740s, "Peggy…

The first Irishman to visit Tolstoy was Michael Davitt. He…

William E. Shannon (c 1821-November 3, 1850) was Born in Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland.  He passed the New York State Bar, was commissioned as a captain in the New York Volunteers, and given command of Company J.  He arrived in San…

Integrity Protecting the Works of Man (by Ward) on the pediment of the New York Stock Exchange Building, Integrity, in the center, wears the winged cap of Mercury, the god of commerce. The figures on her left represent mining and…

It been a while since anyone held my feet to the fire over what I wrote, but Patrick O'Toole questioned some of the facts in my 7/5/16 blog America's Birthday and the…

Last week, in his sleep, in his small palace in Rome, 400 years ago, one of the greatest figures in Irish history passed away, Hugh O'Neill. . With him in his final moments may have been his teenage son, John, whom he had nominated to…

The Revolutionary War's final land engagement…

Patrick Gallagher was born in Derrintogher, County Mayo, Ireland on February 2, 1944. At the age of 18, Patrick immigrated to the United States for the promise of a new life, one filled with opportunity. He quickly started on the immigrant dream: studying law while…