Merry Christmas to you all!

There are more than just Christmas lights illuminating the darkness as the sun rises on the Winter Solstice in Ireland.  On December 21, a marvelous event occurs at Bru na Boinne.  On a hill in the Boyne Valley of Co. Meath stands a complex of three monuments to the early settlers of Ireland, and their civilization: Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange.  Built more than 5000 years ago, they are among the oldest man-made, still-standing structures on the planet.  Newgrange, in particular, is surrounded by enormous standing stones.  A magnificently carved kerbstone lies before the entrance to its 65-foot … [Read more...] about LIGHTS FROM THE PAST

One hundred years ago, in the Ireland of 1914, many pacifists adhered to the legacy of Daniel O’Connell’s and Charles S. Parnell’s non-violent course and put their hopes in Home Rule and John Redmond’s Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) as an answer to equal rights for the native Irish.  Unfortunately, Home Rule meant different things to different people.  O’Connell had seen a domestic Parliament for Ireland under the Crown while Young Ireland and the Fenians saw Home Rule as total separation from Great Britain.  Parnell sought a Parliament in Dublin through constitutional means with limited … [Read more...] about A CENTURY AGO – 1914

One hundred years ago was a great time to be in Ireland to paraphrase Thomas J. Clarke who had been sent by Clan na Gael leader John Devoy to revitalize the dormant IRB.  Clarke was, of course, talking about rising nationalist sentiment across Ireland and the growth of the Irish Volunteers as an army of his dream of a new Irish Republic!  We are currently in a decade-long period from 2013 to 2023 when the centenary of many of the events along the road to that Republic should be commemorated.  Beginning with the Great Dublin Lockout of 1913 which established the Irish Citizen Army to 1923 when … [Read more...] about To Commemorate Or Not To Commemorate

August 7, 1916 is significant in Irish history because it marks the premiere of Ireland’s first motion picture O’Neil of the Glen. It also led to another link between Ireland and America. There are so many Irish-American patriots who deserve to be remembered for the contributions they made for the sake of Ireland, yet their names have faded. One Irish-American was really an American Irishman, for even though he was raised in America, he was born in Kerry. His name was James Mark Sullivan and his family had been members of the Young Ireland Movement and editors of its newsletter, The Nation, … [Read more...] about Jim Sullivan

In June the world celebrates Bloomsday, a day in the life of James Joyce’s fictional character - Leopold Bloom, as he walks the back streets of Dublin. Some seem to know why, but most do it for the craic (merriment) - an exercise in self indulgence. Incredible as it may seem, in 1856, a man was born into those very same dirty Dublin streets who deserves more to be honored and revered than all the characters in Joyce’s book; more than even Joyce himself. His name was Matthew Talbot. One of 12 children he was reared in absolute poverty in north central Dublin at a time when there were no social … [Read more...] about From Dublin Drunk to Servant of God

A thousand years ago, April 23 was an important date – it was Good Friday, a date significant to Christians everywhere.  However, in Ireland it had another significance.  It was the day that the forces of High King Brian Boru met the Vikings on the field of Clontarf and broke Viking power in Ireland forever – the only country ever to do so. It really all began about the year 941, when Brian was born to Kennedy MacLorcain,  Chieftain of the Dalcassian clan in County Clare.  He was born near present day Killaloe on the River Shannon.  As the youngest son, he was destined to become a monk as his … [Read more...] about Brian Boru