Irish America

Irish America

History Archives

Jeremiah O’Brien and the American Revolution

By Bob Lyons

IA Newsletter, October 24 2026

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When Lord Mountjoy lamented in Parliament in April 1784, “America was lost by Irish emigrants,” he probably had in mind the stunning naval feat of six Irish brothers from Machias, Maine. After Capt. Jeremiah O’Brien, the oldest brother, heard how “embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world” in Concord, he organized the first challenge to supremacy of the … [Read more...] about Jeremiah O’Brien and the American Revolution

Window on the Past | David F. Barry: The Irish ‘Shadow Catcher’

By Ray Cavanaugh

Fall 2026

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He was called the “Little Shadow Catcher” by the Indians, due to his 5’ 5” height and his miraculous ability to capture images on paper. Some whites called Barry the “Sioux Charmer,” due to his friendly relations with many Natives, especially those of historical and topical importance. In the remote 19th-century settings where photographer David F. Barry operated, photographs … [Read more...] about Window on the Past | David F. Barry: The Irish ‘Shadow Catcher’

The British Broadcast Ban, The Media and the Conflict in Northern Ireland

By Lesley Henderson, David Miller, Jacqueline Reilly / University of Glasgow Media Group

June 1991

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On October 19, 1988 the British Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, imposed unprecedented peace time restrictions on broadcasting. The banning of direct interviews with eleven Irish organizations, including Sinn Féin, a legal political party with elected councillors and an MP at Westminster, was widely condemned. This article documents the effect of the restrictions on British TV … [Read more...] about The British Broadcast Ban, The Media and the Conflict in Northern Ireland

Looking Back at the Hunger Strike

By Patrick Farrelly

May 1991

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He has chosen death: Refusing to eat or drink, that he may bring Disgrace upon me; for there is a custom, An old and foolish custom, that it a man Be wronged, or think that he is wronged, and starve Upon another's threshold till he die, The Common People, for all time to come, Will raise a heavy cry against that threshold, Even though it be the King's. From The King's Threshold … [Read more...] about Looking Back at the Hunger Strike

Deadly Tales from County Tyrone

By Patrick Farrelly

June 1992

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In 1970, at the age of 22, Bernadette ‘Devlin' McAliskey was elected to represent the constituency of Mid-Ulster, which includes her home area of East Tyrone. Although she is no longer a Member of Parliament, and her international profile has receded, this radical Republican activist is still a kind of people's tribune in her own embattled nationalist community. Nowadays … [Read more...] about Deadly Tales from County Tyrone