Irish America

Irish America

By Seamus McKee June 18, 2026

America’s Birth Certificate’s Irish Connection

By Seamus McKee

June 18, 2026

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John Dunlap: The Irish-born Printer of the Declaration of Independence At the age of ten John Dunlap was sent to Philadelphia to help his immigrant uncle who was a printer there. He took over his uncle’s business and became the official printer to the provisional government of the 13 states which rebelled against British rule. On the night of July 4, 1776, Dunlap printed … [Read more...] about America’s Birth Certificate’s Irish Connection

Somalia: Ireland’s Concern

By Oistin MacBride

September October 1993

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Concern Worldwide are opening a school in Wil Wal, north Mogadishu, Somalia. It will soon have over 900 pupils. But first the playground has to be cleared of the remains of the dead. It is nauseating to discover that the little broken pieces of roofing asbestos jutting out of the ground are "gravestones," and that the pervasive smell is from corpses rotting inches below the … [Read more...] about Somalia: Ireland’s Concern

“Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor…”

By Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief
September October 1993

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"Gunmen Kill Irish Aid Worker in Somalia." The story made the headlines on Monday February 22, 1993. The worker was Valerie Place, 23, of the Irish charity Concern. For months the media had been bringing us the latest on famine-ravaged, war-torn Somalia, and it seemed that in almost every story an Irish volunteer was quoted. Now one had been killed. Relief workers have no … [Read more...] about “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor…”

Roots: That’s Not an Irish Name!

By James G. Ryan

July August 1993

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Names such as Kelly, Murphy, O'Brien and Ryan are distinctively Irish and are widely known to be so. However, there are many names which are Irish but this fact is far from obvious. Names such as Holland, King, Waters, Rabbitte, Woods, Smith, Kidney, Bird, Salmon, Moore, Traynor, Moss, Fox and Dean and many others can be of Irish origin due to some strange evolutions of … [Read more...] about Roots: That’s Not an Irish Name!

(Un)lucky Strike

By Jim Sullivan

July August 1993

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The Comstock Lode provided over half the silver ever mined in the United States but the Irishmen who discovered it weren't quite as lucky as one might think. By Jim Sullivan. Between 1850 and 1860 the numbers of Irish arriving on the shores of America rose from 206,041 to an incredible 1,611,304! Packed into the slums of New York City's East Side and Boston's North End, many … [Read more...] about (Un)lucky Strike