The Desmond Fitzgerald Photographs, a stunning collection of 179 photos is now available to view on the University College Dublin Digital Library website.  This collection of photographic prints forms part of the papers of Desmond FitzGerald. The majority of these photographs arise out of the…

Today in southern Russia, Irish-Canadian Sean Greenwood will be sliding head-first down an iced-over track at speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour.  Sean is from the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, but he's competing for Ireland in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.…

Fifty years ago today (21 January, 1964), the Irish Language Commission released a report stating that Galway should be made an Irish-speaking city.  RTÉ News spoke to some of Galway's citizens to get their opinions of the plans.  …

On New Year's Eve of 1602, Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare (Domhnall Cam Ó Súilleabháin Bhéara), Chieftain of the great O'Sullivan clan of west Cork and 1,000 others from the area over which he ruled set out on one of the most harrowing and brutal treks in the history of Ireland.  Of…

This one's for all you animal lovers out there, and especially for all you equine lovers.  On second thought, this is something that will be enjoyed by anyone who loves Ireland, her unique landscapes, and her grand auld traditions.

Last night (26 December, 2013), a new…

The traditions on the 26th of December in Ireland have not largely carried over to most sectors of the worldwide Irish diaspora.  Known as St. Stephen's Day or Wren Day in Ireland, this is a brief crash course on the traditions of this day for those outside Ireland who are…

The Wild Atlantic Way will be Ireland’s first long-distance driving route, stretching from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in west Cork.  With a launch date of March 2014, this route consists of existing roadways, but it will offer visitors an opportunity…

The image to the left is the first page of a hand-written letter from Jacqueline Kennedy to Eamon De Valera in January of 1964.  In the letter, Mrs. Kennedy expresses how much her late husband's trip to Ireland the previous summer had impacted him, and how much his Irish heritage meant to him.  

You can download the full letter in PDF format by clicking…

On 31 October (Halloween), 1973, the IRA used a hijacked helicopter to free three of its members from Mountjoy Jail in Dublin.  Below is a video clip from RTÉ's archives which shows the footage from the aftermath of this daring escape:

When International Coffee Day came and went at the end of September, it got me thinking about the odd coffee culture here in Ireland.  Why do I call it "odd"?  

I'm an Irish-American now living in Ireland -- I…

Lebor na gCeart, the "Book of Rights", details the rents and taxes paid by the King of Cashel to various others in Ireland.  The original manuscripts date to the 11th or 12th century, and it contains a treasure trove of references to the customs and practices of Irish nobility in the Middle Ages.  This collection of manuscripts was…

I wanted to share this very nice (and potentially useful) map created by Kingston University, London.  The Irish surnames plotted on this map have either historic or numeric importance to the counties of Ireland.  Of numeric importance are the birth counts from the 1891 census.…

The Doegen Records Web Project (Tionscadal Gréasáin Cheirníní Doegen) has made available a treasure trove of audio recordings from the 17 counties of Ireland, mostly concentrated in the northwest.  This multi-media archive is a project of the Royal Irish Academy Library in collaboration with the Digital Humanities Observatory, and…

Check out this absolutely brilliant history of Ireland in six minutes created by Wild Geese member …

After watching the videos produced by Coláiste Lurgan in Connemara and posted here a few weeks ago, I think a few eyes have been opened.  Any eyes who are still blind to the budding revival of the Irish…

The image above on the left is a detail from Richard Bartlett's A.D. 1602 map of Ulster showing the inauguration of the O'Neill chief/king at Tullyhogue, County Tyrone. Bartlett has been called, "…

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…

Hello, Wild Geese!  I just wanted to make you aware of an intriguing new recipe shared by fellow member, Maryann Tracy.  We've posted it in the special members' group called, "…

Ready for a somewhat obscure bit of celebratory news?  Did you know the Italian community in Ireland (and especially Dublin) has a long, proud history of operating some of the most established fish & chips restaurants in the country?  Yes, indeed!  In fact, the involvement of Italian immigrants in this scrumptious niche business dates all the way back to the 1880s in…

Galway City has historically been among the "most Irish" of all Irish towns/cities -- some would even argue that it would top that list.  For evidence of this, one need look no further than Galway's unofficial slogan, Croí Cultúrtha na hÉireann,…