"There were men and women, over their fences, shouting names and spitting and pulling people's hair...and then a bomb flew over. Father Troy told us all to run. I thought everyone was going to die." Roisin Crawford was nine years of age during the infamous Holy Cross protest of 2001, when a group of Loyalist protesters, claiming provocation from local Republicans (including … [Read more...] about Holy Cross, the Untold Story
Roots: O’Flaherty
O'Flaherty (also Flaherty) ancestors have been documented since the time of Christ. One of the first Irish historians, Roderick O'Flaherty, recorded their history in Ogyia, published in London in 1685, in which he said they originated from Scythia and came to Ireland with a traveler called Milesius. Descendants of Milesius founded the tribe Ui Briuin who were thought to witness … [Read more...] about Roots: O’Flaherty
Celtic White Gold
Riddle: I am everywhere, but I am difficult to obtain. When I am wet, I am invisible. When I am dry, you can hold me in your hand. I can fertilize or sterilize. I preserve, and I destroy. I am found in water, but I make you thirsty. I am a rock, but you consume me. Too much of me will kill you. Without me you will die. I am a paradox, a mystery. Answer: I am salt. The … [Read more...] about Celtic White Gold
From Sectarianism to Racism
The only sign that something happened here last night is the shower of shattered glass spread across the pavement. A few hours after a pregnant Pakistani woman and her brother-in-law moved in to this house in the Village area of south Belfast, a large plank of wood was hurled through their living room window, forcing them to flee the area. Perhaps as disturbing is the … [Read more...] about From Sectarianism to Racism
The Irish Scrubwoman
In the days when "No Irish Need Apply," my maternal grandmother, Margaret McCabe Ackerson, was lucky to find work scrubbing office floors to support her five children. My aunt remembers sitting as a little gift on the curb in front of their East 29th Street, Manhattan tenement until her widowed mother came home around midnight. This was not the American dream Margaret's father, … [Read more...] about The Irish Scrubwoman