Why it's time to reclaim the last days and figureheads of the old Gaelic world. Stories matter, so here’s a good one. Four hundred and ten years ago this November the last two living Gaelic lords of Ulster arrived in Rome, uncertain of their welcome and feeling physically spent. They were Rory O’Donnell former King of Tír Conaill, now the Earl of Tyrconnell, (with his brother … [Read more...] about Rome, Italy: Retracing the Footsteps of Hugh O’Neill one of the Last Gaelic Kings
Issues
Roots: The Mahoney Clan
The surname Mahoney originally designated the descendants of Mathghamhain, an Irishman of the early 11th century who was killed in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. He was the son of Cian mac Máelmuaid and his wife Sadhbh, who was the daughter of the High King Brian Boru, a member of the Eóganacht Raithlind dynastic line descending from Eoghan Mor, a 2nd-century King of Munster. … [Read more...] about Roots: The Mahoney Clan
GAA in the USA
The passion, competition, and camaraderie of supporters and players of Gaelic games were on display at the USGAA Finals in Philadelphia over Labor Day Weekend. ℘℘℘ September is traditionally the last month of the GAA season as the best of the best in Ireland play each other in the All-Ireland Finals. September is also the time of USGAA Finals, a competition that pits the best … [Read more...] about GAA in the USA
The Sacred Text of Rock ‘n’ Roll
The birth, re-birth, and enduring legacy of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. ℘℘℘ In 1968, Van Morrison was on the lam from the mob and hiding in Boston. Author Ryan Walsh takes Van’s frantic story of “another time, another place” and folds it into the radical zeitgeist of Boston Cambridge in Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968. Walsh argues that Boston, usually associated with … [Read more...] about The Sacred Text of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Oliver St. John Gogarty!
Caricatured as “Buck Mulligan” in Joyce’s masterpiece, Oliver St. John Gogarty was more than just a swashbuckling figure – he was a poet, a playwright, a politician, and a renowned surgeon who operated for free on poor children. “The physician must have at his command a certain ready wit . . .” - Hippocrates Two famous Irish authors, both Dubliners (and former roommates), … [Read more...] about Oliver St. John Gogarty!