WHEN MORALITY WAS DEADLY

  Seventy-five years ago, 35 orphans perished in a blaze in St. Joseph’s Orphanage in County Cavan. The orphanage was founded by the Poor Clares, a cloistered order of nuns, on Main Street in 1868. At the time, young delinquents could be educated and learn a trade in a reformatory, but orphaned and abandoned children were not accorded the same opportunity. The good sisters sought to address this by establishing an industrial school for girls. In the early morning of February 24, 1943, a small fire started in the laundry of the old building. Within 45 minutes it gutted the entire school, … [Read more...] about WHEN MORALITY WAS DEADLY

The traditional role of women in Celtic culture was one of equality in the Brehon Law. The coming of British law changed that and the subordination of women to the nursery and the kitchen began. But, there were always strong Irish women beneath it all. Those who knew the true value of Irish women never doubted their ability and the Ban naTigh (woman of the house) was a valued influence even though shuttered out of official society. The group of Irish scholars who emerged in the mid-1800s from the Gaelic Revival, translated literature from ancient Irish history and inspired a revival of … [Read more...] about THE STRUGGLE BEGINS ANEW

During the 1904 St. Louis World Fair, John Philip Sousa and his band dominated the entertainment, which included a young John McCormack singing at the Irish Pavilion. It was an era when America’s musical superstars were not individuals with a hit recording, but band leaders – people with the ability to not just play, but compose, arrange, and direct a musical organization. In early America, the superstars were those who led marching Brass Bands, and though Sousa was certainly one of them, he was not the first. That honor goes to a man whom Sousa himself called his mentor and whom he … [Read more...] about BORN ON CHRISTMAS – REMEMBERED ON NEW YEARS

Thanks to brother Liam Murphy for sharing additional information on a man we had mentioned as one of Washington’s Irish back in July of 2009 on the New York State Website NYAOH.COM and allowing us to share it with you. The 25th of November, 1783, was the last day of America’s War of Independence. After more than seven years of occupation, the British finally evacuated New York City and General Washington, leading members of the Continental Army, entered the city in triumph. To celebrate the event, Brigadier-General George Clinton, New York’s first and longest-serving Governor and a man of … [Read more...] about A SPY REVEALED

On October 2, 1600 a major confrontation took place in Ireland that revealed to the English that the Irish were no longer to be taken for granted as military opponents. Though Anglo Normans controlled the south of Ireland, the major clans of the north remained unconquered and Elizabeth was determined to resolve that issue. The English captured Enniskillen, Hugh Maguire's fort at the Gap of the North - one of two main entries to Ulster. Hugh O'Donnell, Chieftain of Tyrconnell, answered his call for aid, and the two Hughs swept across Ulster driving the English before them; they broke through … [Read more...] about THE BATTLE OF MOYRY PASS

by Mike McCormack, National Historian One of Ireland’s most enduring songs was first published in 1843 in the Young Irelander newspaper, The Nation, under the title Clan Connaill War Song. Its words tell of a prolonged struggle which started in 1594, and is recognized today as the last stand that Ireland made as a nation under her own laws. Led by Red Hugh O’Donnell, in alliance with the great Ulster Chieftains Hugh O’Neill, and Hugh Maguire, the struggle became the Nine Years War, and their opponent was none other that Queen Elizabeth I. The O’Donnells were clan chieftains of Tyr Connaill … [Read more...] about SAD SEPTEMBER AND A SONG