Irish America

Irish America

Issues

Michael Collins: From the GPO to Béal na mBláth

By Dermot McEvoy, Contributor

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Michael Collins was born into a farming family near Clonakilty in County Cork in 1890. In 1906 he passed a civil service exam and went to London to work in the British postal system, which included the banking and communications sections – an invaluable learning experience for the future Minister for Finance in the first Dáil. While in London, Collins joined the usual Irish … [Read more...] about Michael Collins: From the GPO to Béal na mBláth

Éamon de Valera: Man of Mystery

By Robert Schmuhl, Contributor
February / March 2016

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Éamon de Valera, the dominant political figure of Ireland’s 20th century, was an enigmatic figure to the end of his life.  Éamon de Valera was sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1916 Easter Rising, but, under circumstances that are still a mystery, he escaped the firing squad and was instead shipped off to prison in England. Later that year, in July, the … [Read more...] about Éamon de Valera: Man of Mystery

Joe McGarrity: De Valera’s Man in America

By Sean Cronin, Contributor
February / March 2016

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“…the general awakening that was taking place in Ireland seemed to make us forget everything else for the time and think only of the fight in prospect.” – Joe McGarrity Joe McGarrity was Éamon de Valera’s right hand man in America and was once described by poet Padraic Colum as “a gallowglass ready to swing a battleaxe with his long arms.” It was an apt description for the old … [Read more...] about Joe McGarrity: De Valera’s Man in America

Constance Gore-Booth:
The Rebel Countess

By Rosemary Rogers, Contributor
February / March 2016

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Constance Gore-Booth may have married a Polish Count, but in her heart she was an Irish revolutionary who had an active part in the Easter Rising and in the formation of the new state.   Countess Markievicz, the fierce Irish revolutionary of the 1916 Rising, cultivated her romantic image by fusing a flair for theatrics with her great heart, earning forever a place in Ireland’s … [Read more...] about Constance Gore-Booth:
The Rebel Countess

Eoin MacNeill: The Man Who Cried Halt!

By Maureen Murphy, Contributor
February / March 2016

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Eoin MacNeill (pictured above) tried to stop the Rising, but there would have been no Rising without him. Maureen Murphy writes that it’s time to reevaluate the role of this true Irish patriot. When it comes to the Easter Rising, Eoin MacNeill (1867 – 1945) is generally dismissed as the man who canceled the mobilization of the Irish Volunteers for Easter Sunday 1916, a … [Read more...] about Eoin MacNeill: The Man Who Cried Halt!