It was the accidental discovery of a vintage photograph, which enabled me to meet my first Irish-American relative, my great grandmother, Ellen Whelan Lyons of Co Waterford, Ireland. At a family reunion in South Dakota, my cousin, John Maloney, had tossed out on the table a bushel basketful of old photos. My wife Nona retrieved from the pile a photo of an … [Read more...] about Photo Album My Great-Grandmother Discovered
Pennsylvania’s Irish and the
Founding of the State
By Tom Deignan
December/ January 2021
Joe Biden's nail-biting Pennsylvania win was just the latest episode in Pennsylvania's rich Irish American history.
You can take the boy out of Scranton. But Scranton still helped put its most famous Irish Catholic boy – Joe Biden – into the White House.
The 2020 presidential election famously came down to a handful of states – including Pennsylvania. That’s where … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania’s Irish and the
Founding of the State
The Catalpa Rescue
By Donald J. Magilligan
December/ January 2021
In 1876, a daring escape from an Australian prison colony by six Fenian prisoners was masterminded by the revolutionary and journalist John Boyle O’Reilly. The sailing triumph of the Catalpa and the daring escape of six prisoners from an Australian prison dates back to 10 years earlier, 1866, to the failure of the Fenian rising in Ireland, when they were among those … [Read more...] about The Catalpa Rescue
Recently Published Books
of Irish Interest
By Darina Molloy
December/ January 2021
Big Girl Small Town
by Michelle Gallen
Writer Sinead Moriarty has probably gifted Big Girl Small Town with the best synopsis ever – “Milkman meets Derry Girls. A cracking read’ – which is proudly emblazoned on the Irish version of the cover. Majella is one of those outliers – ignored by most people, and reasonably content to potter on with her life. She lives with her … [Read more...] about Recently Published Books
of Irish Interest
The ‘Daddy of Baseball’
Was an Immigrant from
County Clare
By Pat O'Neill and Tom Coffman
December/ January 2021
Although almost completely forgotten now, Ted Sullivan (1848 - 1929) was once among the best-known characters in baseball. He was called “The Daddy of Baseball” and “The Godfather of the National Game.” His story touches dozens of American cities, from Chicago to Washington D.C., Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Dallas, where he managed teams, started leagues, scouted … [Read more...] about The ‘Daddy of Baseball’
Was an Immigrant from
County Clare