An excerpt from the memoir “Tipperary to Tibet,” a collection of Irish stories by Joseph M. Cahalan. It had all the earmarks of a classic sibling rivalry. My sister, Pat – or Patsy as she was called until adolescence – was born four years earlier than me and had our parents all to herself for those early formative years. When I came along, things changed dramatically in all … [Read more...] about Toy Trains
Issues
Roots: The O’Dowd Clan
By Adam Farley, Assistant Editor
February / March 2014
February / March 2014
In 982 the King of Connaught, Aedh Ua Dubhda (or Hugh O’Dowd), “died an untroubled death.” This note in Lebor Laignech, the medieval Irish manuscript better known as the Book of Leinster, is the first record of the O’Dowd surname, making it one of the oldest continually-used family names in Europe. It is also one of the few names that has almost universally kept the “O,” O’Dowd … [Read more...] about Roots: The O’Dowd Clan
Strong Boy
On February 7, 1882, John L. Sullivan was on his way to becoming “America’s first sports hero.” All the 24-year-old son of Irish immigrants had to do was throw his hat into the ring. Literally. Nineteenth-century boxing tradition had it that when a challenger wanted to take on the champ, both would show up at a predetermined fight site and, in a highly elaborate ritual, the … [Read more...] about Strong Boy
What Are You Like? Thomas Cahill
Thomas Cahill is a bestselling author and scholar whose landmark book, How the Irish Saved Civilization, marked its 18th anniversary in 2013. The book, which spent two years on The New York Times bestseller list, tells the story of fifth-century Irish monks who copied, and thereby preserved, almost all of what has survived of Western classical poetry, history, oratory, … [Read more...] about What Are You Like? Thomas Cahill
Sláinte: Soup is ON!
It rained yesterday. That might not be a big thing in Ireland or New York where drenching downpours only generate brief comments from the weatherman. In Los Angeles even scattered showers are top news stories. Every cloud is tracked on radar, and when people in the street are quizzed about how they’re coping, they groan about the lack of sunshine. I, however, love a good … [Read more...] about Sláinte: Soup is ON!