The Comstock Lode in Nevada, uncovered in 1859 by two Irish laborers, ultimately produced more than $500 million worth of silver, a large share of which went to the Irish-American “Big Four” – James Fair, James C. Flood, John Mackay, and William O’Brien – who had left New York for the bigger opportunities of the Far West. Dr. Roger D. McGrath tells their story. Grinding … [Read more...] about The Silver Kings
History Archives
The Irish Coppers
The evolution of the Irish-American policeman – in real life and on screen. In the classic 1954 Looney Tunes cartoon entitled “Bugs and Thugs,” everybody’s favorite animated rabbit gets himself caught up with Rocky and Mugsy, a couple of bank robbers who flee the scene of the crime and head off to a rural safe house. Soon enough, Bugs Bunny fakes the sound of a police siren … [Read more...] about The Irish Coppers
An Irishman’s Civil War Diary
Michael Dougherty, a young Irish soldier in the American Civil War, kept a diary of his experiences, including the horrendous conditions endured in Confederate prison camps. Michael Dougherty, born in Falcarragh, County Donegal, on May 10, 1844, immigrated to America with his family at the age of 15 and went to work as a “Boots” in a Philadelphia hotel. On April 12, 1861, the … [Read more...] about An Irishman’s Civil War Diary
The Silent Master: Rex Ingram
Rex Ingram: The clergyman’s son who became one of the biggest directors in Hollywood and discovered Rudolph Valentino. There would have been no shortage of Irishmen who came ashore in New York that June day from the RMS Baltic – the Belfast-built liner that carried up to 3,000 passengers on the regular route from Liverpool to Cobh to New York. Just one page of the passenger … [Read more...] about The Silent Master: Rex Ingram
Important Items from Ireland's Past at Auction
Only fifty original copies of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic remain in existence. The proclamation, which famously called for a provisional government of the Irish Republic and proclaimed the country’s independence from the United Kingdom, was distributed and read aloud by Patrick Pearse outside the General Post Office, marking the beginning of the Easter … [Read more...] about Important Items from Ireland's Past at Auction