For nine days in October, Cape Breton Island is home to a unique celebration of music and culture, with the finest of storytellers, musicians, and dancers from around the globe taking part in the festivities. John Kernaghan was there, awash in nostalgia.
The estrangement ran for more than 45 years, but when a vagrant Irish heart landed on the shores of Cape Breton, love was … [Read more...] about The Celtic Heart
of North America
December January 2016 Issue
The Celtic Heart
Smoky The Lucky War Dog
The famous war dog who served in World War II, and Bill Wynne, the U.S. Army Air Force G.I. who adopted her. The first time Cpl. William Wynne saw Smoky, he found it hard to believe she was a dog. “She was as big as my G.I. shoe,” Wynne says. “She weighed all of about four pounds.” In addition, the animal was almost bald; someone had hacked off most of her fur in an attempt … [Read more...] about Smoky The Lucky War Dog
“Kathy White House”
Were she alive today, the odds are that Kathy Buckley would be as well-known as celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. Sharon Ní Chonchúir profiles the Irish woman who was head cook for three U.S. presidents. Kathy Buckley was born in Upper William Street in Listowel, Co. Kerry. She was the eldest of seven. Her father worked as a cooper in a workshop at the rear of … [Read more...] about “Kathy White House”
Michael Flatley: The Last Dance
Michael Flatley, 57, who has turned traditional Irish dancing into an international phenomenon, is retiring. It’s been his dream since he was a little boy to be on Broadway and that’s where he will be through the end of this year with his new dance show, Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, which opened at the Lyric Theatre on November 10th to wide acclaim. The son of Irish … [Read more...] about Michael Flatley: The Last Dance
From Ellen to Eileen
An excerpt from In Search of Our Ancestors: 101 Stories of Serendipity and Connection by Megan Smolenyak. Many of us have a particular ancestor who calls to us louder than others, one with whom we feel a special kinship. For me, this is one of my great-great-grandmothers, Ellen Nelligan. Perhaps it’s because my own grandmother – her granddaughter – told me tales of her life. … [Read more...] about From Ellen to Eileen