The name Kennedy or O'Kennedy is derived from the Gaelic O'Cinneide, which is itself derived from the original Gaelic form Cean Eidig meaning "rough head." This was the name by which the father of Brian Boru was known, and the name refers specifically to the line of Dunchad, who was one of the sons of Cean Eidig and a brother of Brian Boru. Brian Boru was perhaps the most … [Read more...] about Irish Roots: The Kennedys
Issues
George Mitchell’s Mandate
President Clinton's Economic Advisor to Ireland When Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell announced he would not seek re-election it came as a surprise to many, not least his Maine constituents who had given him 80 percent of the votes in the 1988 election. When the 61-year-old senator then turned down a Supreme Court nomination to the great disappointment of the President, … [Read more...] about George Mitchell’s Mandate
Historic Times in Ireland
Irish America's publisher Niall O'Dowd wrote the following column on the occasion of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 5, 1998. Every once in a lifetime or so comes an opportunity to reflect on truly historic news which affects all Irish Americans of whatever class or creed. The peace agreement signed in Northern Ireland on Good Friday after much burning of the … [Read more...] about Historic Times in Ireland
The New “Special Relationship”
President Clinton's Commitment to Ireland The White House economic conference on Ireland on May 24-26, 1995 will be the latest in a series of Irish initiatives by President Clinton. Niall O'Dowd reports on the making of a new "special relationship." On May 24 President Bill Clinton will become the first U.S. president ever to deliver a major speech on Irish issues when he … [Read more...] about The New “Special Relationship”
Seamus Heaney
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Lightenings viii
The animlas say: when the monks of Clonmacnoise
Were all at prayers inside the oratory
a ship appeared above them in the air.
The anchor dragged along behind so deep
It hooked itself into the altar rails
An then, as the big hull rocked to a standstill.
A crewman shinned and grappled down a rope
And struggled to release it. But in vain.
'This man can't bear … [Read more...] about Seamus Heaney
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature