The Sinn Féin office is located in a what could hardly be called a luxury building in what seems to be a mostly deserted area of West Belfast. In the room where I sit, there is a one-bar electric fire, a couple of mismatched chairs and little else. Somewhere on the outside a band is practicing, the drums that one usually associates with Loyalists are getting a fair belting from … [Read more...] about Ourselves Alone: An Interview with Gerry Adams
April 1991
Grosse Ile: Island of Sorrows
By Marianne O'Gallagher
Irish America’s April 1991 Magazine
Irish America’s April 1991 Magazine
The name Grosse Ile (Big Island) is almost a generic term on the map of North America, it appears in so many places. But there is one island by that name that far outstrips the others for the drama and pathos that took place on its shores. Grosse Ile in the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec City is the spot sometimes called "The Island Graveyard," or "L'Ile des Irlandais" (The … [Read more...] about Grosse Ile: Island of Sorrows
Parnell and Kitty: A Love Story
By John J. Dunne April 1991
In 1936, one of the most highly publicized romances of our time, an American divorcee, Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson, prompted the uncrowned king of England, Edward VIII, to give up the throne because of his love for her; less than half a century before, however, Charles Stewart Parnell, "the Uncrowned King of Ireland," sacrificed his political career and spun irrevocably the … [Read more...] about Parnell and Kitty: A Love Story
Irish War Brides: A Little Irish Romance
A group of workers on the docks serenaded the passengers with “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “Come Back to Erin.” The sirens of other ships in the harbor wailed while the 314 Irish brides waved, held up their 140 babies, and sang “Auld Lang Syne” through floods of tears as the Henry Gibbins, a 12,000-ton U.S. Army transport vessel, sailed away from the Herdman Channel, … [Read more...] about Irish War Brides: A Little Irish Romance
Roots: Walsh, Welsh (or Brannagh)
By James G. Ryan
November/December 1996
The name Walsh or Welsh is one of the most numerous of Norman associated names found in Ireland. It seems to have been the name used independently by the many different groups of Welsh people who arrived in Ireland with the Normans during the 12th century. The name simply means Welshman and its early Norman form was "Le Waleys" but this became gradually anglicized to Walsh. The … [Read more...] about Roots: Walsh, Welsh (or Brannagh)