April 1916: England was deep into the most savage war the world had ever seen. Millions had died already, millions more would die. Many Irish had grown impatient with the broken promises of Irish home rule within the United Kingdom. Others were contemptuous of home rule, seeing it as a betrayal of Irish sovereignty. They believed the time to strike for Irish freedom would never be better. And so they did. In the words of Yeats, "a terrible beauty" was born. WGT's Joe Gannon narrates.

A hearty congratulations to the winners of our Tell Your Irish Story and Irish Freeze Frame Contests. James Francis Smith gives us a brief history of his Irish family, including his relation to the immortal U.S. Army commander Phil Sheridan. His winning article won him The High King Package from our newest Heritage Partner, Irish Homeland Photography. Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin shares an image of the Rowan Gillespie sculpture "Famine" on Dublin's Docklands. His entry won him The Bard Package from Irish Homeland Photography. Go Raibh Maith Agat to the contest underwriter, Ryan O’Rourke and Irish Homeland Photography -- providing heirloom images of your ancestral lands.

WG: LIVE!

WG broadcast live during our March 9 launch party. Our panels, covering topics as diverse as Ireland’s rich cultural legacy, covered Irish travel, genealogy, cooking, the Irish in America’s Civil War, and the Irish noble pedigree in the ongoing fights for a fair shake for the working class
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Participants included: “Travel Hag” blogger, author, tour guide Mindie Burgoyne fielding questions about Irish travel and the “Thin Places” in Ireland where our world intersects with ‘the other’; Dublin-based genealogist Nicola Morris, Irish cooking devotees Mairead Geary aka “Irish American Mom” (above right) and WG’s in-house cooking maven Maryann Tracy; Ireland-based authors Damian Shiels and Robbie Doyle; archaeologist Toni McGuire, Magdalene activist Mari Steed, and WG Preservation Editor Linda Evangelista, discussing the legacy of Ireland’s Cillini and Magdalene Laundries; and William Patterson University’s Richard Kearney, focus on Irish activists in the American labor movement.

* Yvonne Healy (left) does a lot of research on Irish culture and history and spreads it through oral storytelling and one-person shows.  She hails from Howell, Michigan.  You can see her in action HERE. Please check out Yvonne's profile and her work, and say Hi!

Bit Devine (right) has traveled extensively through Ireland. She resides in Phoenix, Arizona.  Check out her blog posts and striking photos.

Pamela Boyd Shields (left), from Little Rock, Arkansas, shares on WG about her travels to Ireland, her search for her family history, and some great photographs.

Go raibh mile maith agaibh, Pamela, Bit and Yvonne, for helping us all, each day, explore, promote, preserve, and celebrate, the epic heritage of the Irish ... worldwide. Nominate others for this spotlight by alerting coordinator Linda Evangelista.

Member News and Views:

• The Boyds of Ireland, by Pamela Boyd Shields

• The Best St. Patrick’s Day Gift Ever by Martine Brennan

I am so proud of being Irish.
I come from a long line of gutsy women.
The women in my family survived against the odds.
They survived hunger.
They survived oppression. ,,, More

* The Cremean Family -- From Ireland to Appalachia  by Riocard O'Cruimin 

Cremeans family history is an interesting one to say the least: Our forefathers hailed from southern Ireland, where the Cremeans and its variants came into being in the late 14th century as a major second branch of the MacCarthy Reagh lineage.

Céad Míle Fáilte to the
Newest of The Wild Geese: 

Jim Curley, Sjoran Dennis Ewing Fitzpatrick, Erin Oates, Silke Broyles, Mable Forbes, Peggy Sue Shay, Dennis Dunn, Rachael Elizabeth Flynn, Jacob Ludwig, Ben Moore, Cristina Kyung Radaelli Lee, Jamika Janes, Cesar Seale. (Joined 3/25/13-3/27/13)

Have You Heard ...?

Member and tenor John R. Sheehan, a Jesuit priest serving as director of Manhattan-based Xavier Society of the Blind, sings an old song of farewell, 'The Parting Glass." Also listen to John perform 'Cruiskeen Lawn,’ a traditional ballad he describes as passed from father to son to son.

Events

(Left: Clifden, from an old postcard)

• Hoboken Hurling Club’s Roots Planted on Elysian Fields

• Sisters Seek Funds for Legendary Kylemore Abbey

• Liam Neeson packs New York's tribute to Irish heritage

This Week in Irish History