For many Irish Americans traveling to the Emerald Isle, the chance to track down family histories and conduct genealogical research is one of the largest draws. Failte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, offers information on how best to prepare for genealogical research in Ireland. They recommend first gathering as much information as possible on known … [Read more...] about Finding Our Roots
Education and Debate
Maureen Murphy and Martin Mullin talk to Irish America about teaching American students about the Great Hunger. It has been nearly ten years since New York State released a new human rights curriculum, which would include alongside its existing subjects of the North American slave trade and the European Holocaust: the Great Irish Famine. Dr. Maureen Murphy, a professor … [Read more...] about Education and Debate
The Educator
In the tradition of great educators who helped the Irish grab the first rungs on the ladder of success, Dr. John Lahey, President of Quinnipiac University, reminds us from whence we came and the struggle to get where we are. As founder of Quinnipiac's Great Hunger collection, he is the guardian of a remarkable treasure of history that we can't escape. As president of … [Read more...] about The Educator
The Road to the White House
Mastery of urban politics helped the Irish rise from huddled masses to the heights of political power. An Ghorta Mór, the devastating famine that drove over one-and-a-half million Irish to America, put in place the foundations of the Irish-American community for the next 120 years. The Famine immigrants were a deeply rural people. Endowed with few material resources or … [Read more...] about The Road to the White House
Photo Album: Keeper of the Light
I was named after my paternal grandfather John P. Duffy. J.P., ‘Jack’ to his wife, Nora (Walsh), who hailed from Clare Island, County Mayo, where his father was the keeper of the light. J.P. was the 14th child and left Clare Island after finishing eighth grade. The world would teach him lessons as there would be no further formal schooling for him. J.P., as a young teenager, … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Keeper of the Light