Project Children’s 40th anniversary celebration in Washington D.C. in September brought to a close an important chapter in Northern Ireland’s struggle for peace. For decades, this all-volunteer organization has been bringing children from both sides of the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland to spend the summer with a family in the United States as a respite from violence of … [Read more...] about Project Children Draws to a Close
2015
New Edition of John Kerr's "Cardigan Bay" (Review)
As a work-a-day archival historian, I am generally allergic to historical fiction. But occasionally I discover a novel that reaches into the minds of contemporaries in a way that historians themselves cannot match because they are usually tied to written evidence. Sometimes there is a psychological dimension to historical insight that comes across in the art of the novel, for … [Read more...] about New Edition of John Kerr's "Cardigan Bay" (Review)
Those We Lost
Jackie Healy-Rae 1931 – 2014 Following a long illness, Former Fianna Fáil TD for South Kerry Jackie Healy-Rae died early December. He was 83. Acknowledging Healy-Rae’s deep involvement with and appreciation for the people he represented in Kerry, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern called him “a great man who was very loyal. He never forgot his constituents and fought tooth and nail … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Follow the Music: Advice from a November Holiday in Ireland
By Liz Cunningham-Purchia, Tim Gannon, Clare Gannon, and Jano Cabrera, Contributors
February / March 2015
February / March 2015
Liz Cunningham-Purchia, her boyfriend Tim Gannon, his sister Clare, and her husband Jano Cabrera, all Washington, D.C. transplants, planned a November escape to trace their roots and follow the music. This is their account of six nights in Ireland. We’ve never heard any of our relatives say “You have to visit Ireland in November.” Nor would our practice of booking evening … [Read more...] about Follow the Music: Advice from a November Holiday in Ireland
The Girls Are Alright
Five years after the tragic loss of their mother and sister, the five Murray daughters and their father, Sean, continue to thrive. Tie-dyed sheets line the back of a Chevy Chase classroom where a group of preteen girls sit discussing some of the weightier topics of adolescent life: Why do we feel the need to conform? Is it harder to stick up for ourselves or for someone else? … [Read more...] about The Girls Are Alright