In Ireland the Irish word Bealtaine is the word used for May Day. Medieval Ireland marked this day as the changing of the seasons from spring to summer. The occasion was marked with bonfires in the hope that all would bode well for the coming harvest. May is also the month that Catholics devote to Mary the mother of God, and in Ireland the tradition of putting up a May altar in … [Read more...] about May 1, 1954
November 27, 1953
On this day in 1953, Irish American playwright Eugene O'Neill died at the age of 65. O'Neill was fittingly born in a Broadway hotel room to Irish immigrant actor James O'Neill and Mary Ellen Quinlan. He grew up around the stage and while at boarding school, he surrounded himself with books. After a long depression and battle with alcoholism and a recovery from tuberculosis, … [Read more...] about November 27, 1953
November 17, 1953
The remaining residents of the Blasket Islands, off the coast of Kerry, were evacuated on this day in 1953. Today the Blasket Islands are uninhabited but tourists still visit. Because the islands were so isolated and extreme weather made passage to the mainland possible less than half the year, the population began to dwindle. By the time of the evacuation in 1953, there were … [Read more...] about November 17, 1953
September 12, 1953
On this day in 1953, Irish American Massachusetts senator and soon-to-be president John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island. "Jack," as Kennedy was nicknamed, and Jackie met each other in 1951 at a dinner in Georgetown. The two dated for two years and in 1953, John F. Kennedy proposed. They married at the Catholic parish of St. Mary's Church in … [Read more...] about September 12, 1953
September 7, 1953
Irish American tennis star Maureen Connolly won the U.S. Open at only 18 years old on September 7 of 1953. Connolly defeated Doris Hart, 6-2, 6-4, making her the first woman in tennis to ever win the "Grand Slam." She had won the prior French Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon of that same year. After this achievement, Connolly went on to be named Associated Press Female … [Read more...] about September 7, 1953