Mike McCormack

  Edward Walsh was born in Dublin in 1873 and lived with his family in the North Inner City around the Bolton Street area. Edward married Ellen in 1894 and from that date on, he and his new family lived in the run-down tenements on Henrietta Street and, at the time of the Rising, on Dominick Street. By then they had 2 children, Christopher (20) and Helena (11). He worked as a Carter for McMasters in Capel Street. Edward joined the Hibernian Rifles just after their founding. The Hibernian Rifles were a military wing of the Ancient Order of Hibernians American Alliance. Many of the … [Read more...] about Edward Walsh

  Up to the 20th Century, the closest that the Irish ever came to complete independence happened when Irish Catholics and Protestants united in a brotherhood of purpose for the benefit of all. It started after the American Revolution. The 1777 surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga in the American Revolution was followed by the alliance of France to America's cause. The British began to fear an invasion of either England or Ireland. In April 1778, John Paul Jones crossed the Atlantic, captured two British ships, then boldly sailed into Belfast Bay in broad daylight, and sank a British … [Read more...] about THE BIRTH OF REPUBLICANISM

  When one sees Round Towers, it’s only natural to think of Ireland. These impressive monuments from the past have a long, storied and mysterious history; long – because they date back to medieval times; storied – because there are many tales surrounding their purpose; and mysterious – because no one knows the names of those bygone architects who built them. They are mostly found in Ireland, where they were built, sometime between the 7th and 10th century according to the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. Their use has provided many theories. Some say they were built as a defense against … [Read more...] about IRISH ROUND TOWERS

By the mid 1800s, most of the fertile land in Ireland was in the hands of landlords, forcing the Irish to survive on smaller plots, until they became totally dependent on the crop that could produce the most yield per acre – the potato. It was difficult, but at least they weren't starving for potatoes are a remarkable source of vitamins and minerals. Then late on August 20, 1845, a potato fungus was discovered at the Dublin Botanical Gardens. The following day, August 21, is a date remembered in Irish history as the first day of An Gorta Mor - the Great Hunger. Within the week, reports came in … [Read more...] about Nineteenth Century August

We remember the Patriots of 1916 whose executions began on 3 May and extended until 12 May. However, 75 years later on 5 May, another patriot joined them in Tir na nOg and should also be remembered. It was 1981 and a young 26-year old patriot named Bobby Sands had succumbed to a self-imposed hunger strike. The spin-doctors in the British Information Service were at wits end preparing propaganda, the Irish Diaspora around the world were protesting, and the media had a field day. Sadly, few knew or understood – even while it was happening – the reasons why. Unable to stem the rising tide of … [Read more...] about IRISH MARTYRS OF MAY

The last patriot to be executed for his part in the Easter Rising of 1916 was a Protestant from Northern Ireland further disproving the North vs South, Catholic vs protestnat mythology promoted by the British to divide and conquer. His name was Roger Casement and he was born in Antrim on September 1, 1864 to a Protestant father and Catholic mother. At 17, he went to work for the Elder Dempster Shipping Company in Liverpool; three years later he shipped out as purser on one of the company's ships headed for the west coast of Africa. There in 1892 he joined the British Colonial Service and was … [Read more...] about SIR ROGER CASEMENT

Wallabout Bay is small body of water along the northwest shore of Brooklyn, NY. In 1801, a settlement called Vinegar Hill was built on that bay to attract Irish immigrants to settle there and provide the labor to build the Brooklyn Navy Yard which opened in 1806. However, Vinegar Hill was built on an area which, 20 years earlier, had seen incredible horror! During the American Revolution, the British had captured thousands of soldiers, sailors, and even private citizens who would not swear allegiance to the Crown. When they ran out of jail space to house their prisoners they used ship hulls, … [Read more...] about THE FIRST COFFIN SHIPS IN AMERICA

The Boyne Valley, some 20 miles northwest of Dublin in County Meath, is one of the most remarkable sites on earth, for there stands three monuments to the early settlers of Ireland, and their civilization. At first they appear to be huge mounds or hills, but closer investigation reveals them to be man-made structures. They are, in fact, more than 5000 years old and the oldest, still-standing, man-made structures on the planet. They are known as Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth and celestial manifestations occur there each December. The ancients who built the mounds called them Brú na Bóinne. The … [Read more...] about THREE ANCIENT OBSERVATORIES

There are few events in Irish history as tragic as the death of Thomas Osborne Davis. He was a rare man whose impact on the history of Ireland has never been truly appreciated. Born in Mallow, Co Cork on Oct 14, 1814, the son of a British Army Surgeon, he was educated at Trinity College and called to the Bar in 1838, but Davis heard another call: the call of Ireland. He heard it in the voice of Dan O'Connell when the Great Emancipator visited his home town in 1842, and asked a crowd of 400,000, “Where is the coward who would not die for Ireland?” This was a fiery young O'Connell, not the … [Read more...] about THOMAS DAVIS

After Cromwell’s conquest of Ireland, more than 40,000 Irish were relocated west beyond the Shannon by the end of 1654. Those who didn’t were press-ganged into the British Navy, or sold as indentured servants to the colonies. There was one group however, who refused to relocate. They eluded capture in the hills and glens near their ancestral homes, and raided the new settlers on the lands of their clans. They led an outlaw existence, and the British called them highwaymen; the Irish called them Rapparees. They were a constant concern to the English as they continued to strike the new owners of … [Read more...] about THE GALLOPING HOGAN

A centenary is a 100-year anniversary and next year we will commemorate the Centenary of the Easter Rising.  However, last year Ireland commemorated a millenium, or a thousand year anniversary, of the battle of Clontarf in which the power of the Vikings in Ireland was forever broken – the only country to ever do so.  Wherever Vikings settled, they took control, but when they tried to control Ireland they failed.  For two centuries they attacked towns and monasteries, making quick raids and plundering wherever and whenever they could.  Their failure came at the hands of Brian mac Kennedy in … [Read more...] about BRIAN BORU

One of Ireland’s most tragic daughters, Grace Evelyn Gifford, was born on March 4, 1888, the second youngest of 12 children of a Catholic father and a Protestant mother in Rathmines, Dublin.  As was then the practice, the boys were brought up Catholic and the girls as Protestants.  Grace went to school in Dublin and later studied under Irish artist William Orpen who regarded her as most gifted.  In 1907 she attended a Fine Art School in London and  returned to Dublin in 1908 to work as a caricaturist, publishing cartoons in several magazines.  She earned little money, but enjoyed a lively … [Read more...] about GRACE