John Barry, the father of the American Navy, went to sea as a child to escape the Irish penal laws and rose to command the entire U.S. fleet. Tim McGrath writes that Barry's skills as a mariner and warrior were rivaled only by his heart. On a fine spring day in 1787, John Rossiter’s merchantman, the Rising Sun, glided towards the Philadelphia waterfront after a successful … [Read more...] about His Brother’s Keeper: Commodore John Barry
History Archives
The Hannah: An Irish Odyssey
The story of The Hannah, an Irish famine ship that hit an iceberg in 1849, is now a documentary. John Kernaghan explains how it happened and how Irish America played a part. Paddy Murphy’s body is slowly being stilled by a degenerative disease, but his eyes are alive, bright and knowing as he struggles to form words to match his racing thoughts. He knows that the story he … [Read more...] about The Hannah: An Irish Odyssey
Corner of Ireland in America
The Irish Mansion in Greeneville, Tennessee. William Dickson left County Antrim, Ireland at the age of 16 for a better life in Greeneville, Tennessee. He succeeded. By 1796, when he was 21, he was commissioned by President George Washington to be the town’s first postmaster, a lifetime appointment. He also amassed a considerable fortune as a merchant. This mountainous region … [Read more...] about Corner of Ireland in America
The Muses of W.B. Yeats
By James Flannery, Contributor
The women who influenced the poetry of W.B. Yeats. It will come as no surprise to admirers of W.B. Yeats that this greatest of modern poets was a celebrant of the art of love from the beginning to the end of his long and immensely productive career. But now, thanks to W.B. Yeats and the Muses, a brilliant and magisterial work of scholarship by Joseph M. Hassett, we can fully … [Read more...] about The Muses of W.B. Yeats
War & Peace: Ireland Since the 1960s
Christine Kinealy’s newest book is destined to become a standard reference. Christine Kinealy’s background as a professor of history at Drew University and her past publications place her at the forefront of Irish historical research. She has authored at least fourteen books, prior to her current book War and Peace: Ireland since the 1960s. She is one of the foremost … [Read more...] about War & Peace: Ireland Since the 1960s