Irish novelist Donn Byrne was born Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne on this day in New York in 1889. He was raised in Ireland and grew up speaking English and Irish. He joined the Irish Volunteer Movement. Byrne attended University College Dublin, studying romance languages. He was published in "The National Student," the student magazine. In 1911, he returned to New York and worked in … [Read more...] about November 20, 1889
May 9, 1889
On this day in 1889, Thomas Kiley riding Spokane won the 15th Kentucky Derby. Spokane, who had Irish lineage as a descendant of stallion Faugh-A-Ballagh (Ire. 1841), was the only Montana-born horse to win the Derby. According to a report in Horse Racing Forum James James, Jesse James' older brother, was at the Derby on that day "looking like a Southern gentleman in his Prince … [Read more...] about May 9, 1889
August 5, 1888
Philip Henry Sheridan, Irish American born to immigrants from Co. Cavan, died on August 5, 1888 in Nonquit, Massachusetts. A union general in the civil war and a close friend of Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant, Sheridan defeated Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley by burning the city. He forced General Robert E. Lee to surrender at Appomattox. After the civil war, Sheridan … [Read more...] about August 5, 1888
March 3, 1887
On this day in 1887, 20-year-old Anne Sullivan arrived at Ivy Green, the Keller family's estate, to begin teaching their 6-year-old deafblind daughter, Helen. Born to Irish immigrant parents in Feeding Hills, MA, Anne herself went blind as a child. She attended Boston's Perkins School for the Blind--the same school Helen Keller eventually attented. Operations restored Anne's … [Read more...] about March 3, 1887
February 7, 1877
John O'Mahoney, Irish patriot and founder of the Fenian Brotherhood, died on this day in New York City. After joining Daniel O'Connell's movement for the repeal of the Union Act of 1800 and becoming dissatisfied with the progress, O'Mahoney led and took part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 in Co. Tipperary. His involvement forced him to leave Ireland. He first settled … [Read more...] about February 7, 1877