On Tuesday April 16, 2019, Dónal Clancy and Rory Makem performed in a special concert at the Tommy Makem Arts and Community Centre (TMAC) in Keady, County Armagh. The center is just a stone’s throw from the Makem homestead where their fathers, Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem, met for the very first time 64 years ago. Tommy died in 2007 and Liam in 2009, but they live on in the … [Read more...] about Makem & Clancy Together Again
Issues
Those We Lost
Bill O'Donnell (1935 – 2019) Former newspaper reporter Bill O'Donnell died in April, aged 84. A beloved and dedicated member of the Irish community in Boston, O’Donnell proudly held dual citizenship in Ireland and the U.S., and offered a great example of the strong connection between Ireland and the United States. O’Donnell was born and raised in Boston, and after attending … [Read more...] about Those We Lost
Wild Irish Women: A Most Sorrowful Mystery
Oh! star of Erin, queen of tears, Black clouds have beset thy birth, And your people die like morning stars, That your light may grace the earth. – "Stars of Freedom," 1981 By IRA volunteer Bobby Sands, M.P. H-Block, Long Kesh Prison Camp Watching Bobby Sands die in 1981, much of the world realized, finally, that the young IRA soldier and hunger striker was a freedom fighter, … [Read more...] about Wild Irish Women: A Most Sorrowful Mystery
“Wild Bill” Donovan: Irish-American War Hero and Superspy
“Wild Bill“ Donovan had many fascinating friends, including Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond – the fictional, globe-trotting superspy. Donovan’s real-life feats, however, surpassed even Bond’s wildest exploits. Perhaps no other Irish American served his country more daringly, yet Donovan’s largely clandestine service to America is still greatly under-appreciated. Born in … [Read more...] about “Wild Bill” Donovan: Irish-American War Hero and Superspy
Irish War Brides: A Little Irish Romance
A group of workers on the docks serenaded the passengers with “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “Come Back to Erin.” The sirens of other ships in the harbor wailed while the 314 Irish brides waved, held up their 140 babies, and sang “Auld Lang Syne” through floods of tears as the Henry Gibbins, a 12,000-ton U.S. Army transport vessel, sailed away from the Herdman Channel, … [Read more...] about Irish War Brides: A Little Irish Romance