June 1, 1907: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. ℘℘℘ My grandfather Phillip L. McQuillan, one of the early plumbing and heating engineers, celebrated his Irish-American patriotism by participating in the 1907 Memorial Day Parade in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The sign on the side of the wagon reads "P.L. McQuillan, Good Plumbing." Two of his twelve children, Ruth and Frances, are tiding … [Read more...] about Irish on Parade
August 11, 2003
American, Canadian and Irish engineers are successful in their combined efforts to fly the first transatlantic model plane. The plane, named the "Spirit of Butts Farm" after its testing site, landed on August 11, 2003 in Galway, 38 hours after it took off from Canada. The small wood and mylar plane flew a total of 1,888 miles using satellite navigation and an autopilot system. … [Read more...] about August 11, 2003
Gregory Peck: A Class Act
In June 1997, Peck, who rarely gave interviews in his last years, sat down with Irish America Editor Patricia Harty. An edited version of that interview follows. "Will you pour?" The gentleman sitting across from me cracked a smile as I nodded and lifted the teapot, wondering if I would be able to complete the task without making a fool of myself. I felt as if I was in a … [Read more...] about Gregory Peck: A Class Act
First Word: Heroes for Our Time
"You cannot put a rope around the neck of an idea. ... You cannot confine it in the strongest prison cell that your slaves could ever build." – Sean O'Casey on the death of Thomas Ashe. ℘℘℘ Just as I was getting annoyed that no one on the Larry King tribute to Gregory Peck mentioned the actor's Irishness, he mentioned it himself. "It must be that Irish stubborn streak in me," … [Read more...] about First Word: Heroes for Our Time
The Life of John Walsh
John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted and The John Walsh Show, talks about his family, his television shows, his thoughts on Ireland, and his tireless crusading. ℘℘℘ Before he was a TV icon, crime-fighter, father of a murdered child, legislative harbinger and "the guy in the leather jacket," John Walsh was an Irish-American everyman. Born in 1945 to Mary Jean Callahan and … [Read more...] about The Life of John Walsh