Baseball is a sport built for superlatives and appellations; with every passing season, another member of the sport seems to be bestowed the title of "the Greatest" or a nickname. Yet, there is only one "Grand Old Man of Baseball," and there will never be another like Irish American Connie Mack nor anyone as deserving of the title. Connie Mack was born Cornelius McGillicuddy in Brookfield, Massachusetts, on December 22, 1862. His parents were both Irish immigrants, Michael McGillicuddy from Killarney, while Mary (nee McKillop) McGillicuddy was from the Catholic section of … [Read more...] about The Grand Old Man of Baseball: The Enduring Legacy of Connie Mack
Past Irish American Heritage Month Profiles
A Fearless Irish American Angel and Pioneer in America’s Wild West
Nellie Cashman There were many Irish women among the settlers of the American West, and one of the best known in her time was a lady from County Cork named Ellen Cashman. Ellen came to America, like so many others, fleeing the effects of the Great Hunger. She arrived in Boston in 1850 with her mother, Fanny, at the tender age of five where she grew up caring for a younger sister. An ambitious young lady, she worked as a bellhop in a well-known Boston hotel when she decided to follow the call of the American West with the idea of making her fortune. She moved to San … [Read more...] about A Fearless Irish American Angel and Pioneer in America’s Wild West
“Our Last Hero”: the Incredible Story of “Wild Bill” Donovan
At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, for the first time in over four years, the guns fell silent across the trenches that scarred the face of Europe during the First World War. America had been latecomers to the conflict but at a tremendous cost had tipped the scales in what had been a murderous stalemate. No division had sacrificed more than the 42nd Division, nicknamed the "Rainbow Division," as it had been formed from National Guard Units whose origins stretched across the country. No unit in the Rainbow Division fought on more fronts, nor suffered more … [Read more...] about “Our Last Hero”: the Incredible Story of “Wild Bill” Donovan
Patrolman, Poet, and Hero; the Remarkable Life of Phillip Fitzpatrick
Philip Fitzpatrick was born in Aughavas, Co. Leitrim in 1892. Like so many of his generation, he emigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. He joined the NYPD in 1926 and was assigned to Mounted Squad 1 in Manhattan. He would serve with distinction for over 21 years as one of ‘New York’s Finest’ and would prove more than worthy of the title. However, in addition to protecting the streets of New York, Patrolman Fitzpatrick had another talent that few realized until many years after his death; he was a talented poet. Fitzpatrick came from a family having a long … [Read more...] about Patrolman, Poet, and Hero; the Remarkable Life of Phillip Fitzpatrick
Irish American Heritage Month: Archbishop “Dagger John” Hughes
John Joseph Hughes was born on 24 June 1797 in Annaloghan, Co. Tyrone, to a poor farmer. As a Catholic in English-ruled Ireland, he couldn’t even receive a Catholic education. When John was 15, his younger sister, Mary, died and British law barred a Catholic priest from presiding at her burial; the best he could do was to scoop up a handful of dirt, bless it, and hand it to John to sprinkle on her grave. Hughes never forgot that and dreamed of ‘a country in which no stigma of inferiority would be impressed on my brow, simply because I professed one creed or another.’ Fleeing poverty and … [Read more...] about Irish American Heritage Month: Archbishop “Dagger John” Hughes