Historical Happenings

Independence Day, July 4th is America's biggest holiday. Its her birthday; but it doesn't mark the day she won her independence, it marks the day when it was declared. And the Irish were there. Great numbers if them filled the ranks of Washington’s patriot army from foot soldiers to high ranking officers, and those who were unable to suffer the hardship of a colonial soldier, contributed in other ways. The military won the war, but who led the march toward the battlefield? It was the settlers, merchants, and community leaders who really shaped our destiny, for they were the ones who dreamt the … [Read more...] about The Fourth of July

The 17th century dawned in Ireland during the 9-years war of the northern Chieftains against the Crown. By 1602 that conflict was over; Red Hugh O'Donnell had been poisoned, the Irish had capitulated, and Queen Elizabeth was dead. Against the treachery that threatened their heirs and families, the noblest Chieftains of the north - The O'Neill, the O'Donnell, and the Maguire - left Ireland forever in what became known as the Flight of the Earls. The Irish were leaderless, the Clan system had been broken, the great Gaelic Houses destroyed, and a foreign power had been established in possession … [Read more...] about The Battle of Benburb

It was Easter, 1916, and a group of patriotic Irishmen combined to work for the independence of their native land. Their leaders were Tom Clarke, the unrepentant Fenian returned from America to rejuvenate the aged Irish Republican Brotherhood; Padraic Pearse, a poet, playwright and schoolteacher who taught the history and language of Ireland; and James Connolly, a champion of the laboring class who had dedicated his life to organizing Irish workers against employers who exploited them, and who formed the Irish Citizen Army to protect them. It was a time of promised change. World War I was … [Read more...] about On Sunday He Rose, On Monday We Rose

Roger Casement was born in Antrim on September 1, 1864 to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother. At 17, he went to work for the Elder Dempster Shipping Company in Liverpool; three years later he was sent to west Africa. There he joined the British Colonial Service and was gradually advanced to a position in the British Consulate there. Always a fair and honorable man, he was horrified at the inhuman treatment of native workers in the Congo, and wrote a report exposing those conditions. The story was published, and when Casement returned to England in 1904 he was celebrated. In London he … [Read more...] about Sir Roger Casement Caught on April 21

In March we think of St. Patrick and his story is on our national website AOH.COM, so this month we will tell of a remarkable military unit named for our patron saint. When America was a young country, not yet matured with the wisdom born of experience, we made mistakes. The acceptance of slavery, the treatment of native Americans, prejudice against Catholics, and armed opposition to labor unions, were but a few. But the wisdom of our founding fathers and the form of government they established gave all people a voice, and in time saner heads prevailed in the electoral process and the nation … [Read more...] about The San Patricios