Irish Ambassador Anne Anderson became the first women to be inducted into the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, an organization that has had an exclusively male membership since it was founded in Philadelphia in 1771. Twenty other women were also admitted as members at the Friendly Son’s 245th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Gala on Saturday, March 12. Anderson’s inclusion is also … [Read more...] about Anne Anderson Becomes First Female Member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick
Silent Testimony
A new series of portrait paintings by Colin Davidson captures the suffering and loss that marked the lives of ordinary people and their families during the period known as the Troubles in his Native Northern Ireland. ℘℘℘ Colin Davidson, 48, is known for his striking large-scale portraits of celebrities such as Brad Pitt (which hangs in the Smithsonian), Liam Neeson, and other … [Read more...] about Silent Testimony
1916 – 2016: Proclaiming the American Story
Leading historians reveal the American story behind Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising with new books and exhibitions that explore America’s role in the Rising. “No people ever believed more deeply in the cause of Irish freedom than the people of the United States.” —President John F. Kennedy, Leinster House Dublin, June 1963 On April 24, 1916, carrying a new tricolor flag, a small … [Read more...] about 1916 – 2016: Proclaiming the American Story
The Bonds of a Nation,
100 Years On
With the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising upon us, a curious piece of memorabilia printed 150 years ago reminds us that the Rising was not the only bid for Irish independence. In the possession of Patrick Doherty, a director in the state comptroller’s office for New York, is a Fenian bond dating from 1866. Doherty is an avid collector of Irish artifacts and a well informed … [Read more...] about The Bonds of a Nation,
100 Years On
Dear Julia: Personal Reflections on 1916 and its Aftermath
A grandmother’s letters, passed down through two generations, offer a fascinating, and at times intimate, glimpse into the period following the 1916 Rising. Dermot McEvoy talks to Rosemary Mahoney “My maternal grandmother, Julia Frances Rohan (née Fraher), and her five sisters who emigrated to Boston from Ballylanders, County Limerick, were fervid Sinn Féiners. My grandmother … [Read more...] about Dear Julia: Personal Reflections on 1916 and its Aftermath