St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street may be the most sacred space in New York City. Long revered for its Franciscan ministry to the poor, the daily breadline for the homeless and, especially, for one extraordinary friar, Father Mychal Judge. Father Mychal was the FDNY chaplain who, on September 11, 2001, left the friary on 31st Street and rushed to the World Trade Center … [Read more...] about Father Mychal Judge
Newsletter
Violence Grips Belfast
An horrific knife attack on Monday night in Belfast (June 8) has been followed by widespread unrest, rioting and racists attacks. It has put the city, and Northern Ireland, back in international news in the way it hasn’t been since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended the decades-long conflict, often euphemistically called The Troubles. The attack was filmed and quickly … [Read more...] about Violence Grips Belfast
2026 Bloomsday Celebrations
Celebrating the Centenary Anniversary of the Release of James Joyce's Ulysses. Joyce’s Ulysses was first published in its entirety on February 2, 1922, which was also Joyce’s 40th birthday. Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of the novel. He is the Odysseus figure whose wanderings through Dublin during one 24-hour on June 16, 1904. This date is now … [Read more...] about 2026 Bloomsday Celebrations
‘The Famine in Ireland’
James Connolly writes to comrades in the U.S. of his recent tour through the famine districts of Ireland; its historic roots; and its impact on Irish politics. DUBLIN, Ireland. May 22, 1898. It is possible that even amid the excitement of the Cuban War and despite the all-absorbing labors of the S.L.P. of America in its prosecution of the far more important class war, … [Read more...] about ‘The Famine in Ireland’
Supreme Court to Rule on Birthright Citizenship
The 1800s were not all that different than our current times when it comes to scape-goating immigrants – the difference is that the target back then were Irish immigrants, an attorney told Supreme Court justices in April. “They believed Irish Catholic immigrants were unassimilable and could never become Americans,” attorney Cecilia Wang said of the Know-Nothing Party, which was … [Read more...] about Supreme Court to Rule on Birthright Citizenship





