You hoist one of Colorado’s fine craft beers at the long, dark bar of the Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville, and consider this possibility: had history played out a little differently, Oscar Wilde and Doc Holliday might have exchanged bon mots right at this spot. Both caroused here, Wilde in 1882, Holliday a year later. They both provided memorable episodes in a wild … [Read more...] about Oscar & Doc: A trip to Leadville, Colorado
History Archives
Brían Boru’s Last Battle
A thousand years ago, on April 23, 1014, the Battle of Clontarf, and Brían Boru’s last costly victory, changed Irish political life forever. The following, from The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus, sets the scene in Ireland prior to the battle. The SettingIrish literature of a thousand years ago is obsessed with the occupation of Ireland by the Norse (also … [Read more...] about Brían Boru’s Last Battle
The Orphan Trains
Over 250,000 children were transported from New York to the Midwest over a 75-year period (1854-1929) in the largest mass migration of children in American history. As many as one in four were Irish. Life in the 19th century in New York City could be brutal for a child. A magnet to immigrants in search of work, it was also a haven for alcoholics, drug addicts, thieves and … [Read more...] about The Orphan Trains
The Fifth Province
By Dr. Miriam Nyham, Contributor
February / March 2014
February / March 2014
There is a well-known Irish saying: ar scáth a chéile a mhaireas na daoine that can be loosely translated as “it is in the shelter of each other that the people live.” Particularly during acts of migration, this adage becomes a critical component of immigrant success. In New York and other parts of the United States, as Irish immigrants attempted to recreate a sense of home in … [Read more...] about The Fifth Province
William Mulholland Brought Water to a Thirsty Land
On January 24, 1848 a handful of shiny metal found in the water channel below John Sutter’s lumber mill in Northern California launched the first world-class Gold Rush. Within seven years, the population of San Francisco swelled from 200 to more than 50,000. More secure work than prospecting could be found on the vast cattle ranches of the original Spanish land grants, and many … [Read more...] about William Mulholland Brought Water to a Thirsty Land