Irish America

Irish America

History Archives

Nellie Bly: “The Best Reporter in America”

By Darina Molloy

November 1999

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Nellie Bly’s biographer, Brooke Kroeger, captured the essence of his admirable subject when he wrote: “In the 1880s, she pioneered the development of ‘detective’ or ‘stunt’ journalism, the acknowledged forerunner to full-scale investigative reporting.” Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864 to Michael Cochran and Mary Jane Cummings, both of whom were of Irish descent, Bly … [Read more...] about Nellie Bly: “The Best Reporter in America”

Dorothea Lange’s Ireland

All photos © The Dorothea Lange Collection, The Oakland Museum of California, The City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.

March/April 1996

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When photographer Dorothea Lange, best known for her haunting series of images from the Depression era, chose Ireland as her subject in the 1950s, she was not very happy with the way the finished product was presented in Life magazine. She was, however, deeply pleased with the way her photographic series portrayed the people and the land of Ireland.  Lange had put pressure on … [Read more...] about Dorothea Lange’s Ireland

How the Irish Saved Civilization

By Patricia Harty, Editor-in-Chief
March/April 1996

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Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, talks to Patricia Harty. Thomas Cahill was born one of six children to a middle-class Irish family in the Bronx. He grew up in Queens, New York, attended a Jesuit high school on Long Island, and later became a Jesuit seminarian earning a pontifical and becoming proficient in Latin and Greek – language skills which were … [Read more...] about How the Irish Saved Civilization

The Irish and Abolition

By Robin Bardovick

January/February 1996

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Observations of African-American and Irish AbolitionistsDuring his career, O'Connell was elected Mayor of Dublin and a member of the British Parliament. However, he was refused his seat in the House of Commons because the law prohibited Catholics from serving in government. The British finally passed the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829, thereby seating him in Parliament in … [Read more...] about The Irish and Abolition

How Generations Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

By Jim McCann
IA Newsletter, March 15, 2025

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Growing up in an Irish family in a proudly Irish neighborhood, I never saw St. Patrick’s Day as just a holiday — it was an event. Like Christmas, the anticipation started weeks in advance, from picking out the perfect green outfit to mapping out the celebrations. On the big day, we’d hop on the subway, joining a sea of green-clad revelers — we were all making our way to … [Read more...] about How Generations Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day