The ad man knew what he was doing. Hired to write copy about a road that didn’t yet exist, he had an idea: create something out of whole cloth. He had as his subject an about-to-be-named Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway, the ramshackle one that would be quilted together from dozens of variously named and sometimes unconnected roads. He would dress that baby up. He’d call it … [Read more...] about Okie Faces & Irish Eyes: John Steinbeck & Route 66
History Archives
The Céide Fields
Liam Moriarty explores the Stone Age archaeological wonder in County Mayo. When one thinks of Stone Age archaeological sites, Stonehenge, Altamira and Newgrange may come to mind. Most likely The Céide Fields will not. But it should. On the way to Ballycastle, County Mayo I was not sure what to expect. Neither was I sure, given the treacherous nature of the cliff-side Irish … [Read more...] about The Céide Fields
The 1930s: When Irish Catholics Changed America
Before the decade was over, America would be a vastly different nation, thanks in no small part to Irish Catholics. Nineteen hundred and twenty-eight was a dark year for Irish Catholics in America. It was, of course, the year Al Smith ran for president and lost. The anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant Ku Klux Klan played a major role in bringing down Smith, who lost “because of … [Read more...] about The 1930s: When Irish Catholics Changed America
Casey Returns to Galway
Former Bishop of Galway Dr. Eamonn Casey returned to Ireland at the start of February following 13 years in exile. Dr. Casey, 78, lived and worked in the U.S., Ecuador, Mexico, and England and has retired to the parish of Beagh near Gort in Co. Galway. "I regret that in the past I let a number of people down," he said in a rare interview with the Irish media. "It caused great … [Read more...] about Casey Returns to Galway
The Irish Scrubwoman
In the days when "No Irish Need Apply," my maternal grandmother, Margaret McCabe Ackerson, was lucky to find work scrubbing office floors to support her five children. My aunt remembers sitting as a little gift on the curb in front of their East 29th Street, Manhattan tenement until her widowed mother came home around midnight. This was not the American dream Margaret's father, … [Read more...] about The Irish Scrubwoman