Irish America
Irish America
Michael Twomey emigrated to the U.S. in the 1880s from County Cork. The Twomeys primarily settled across the New York and New England region. My dad, John Toomey (the name changed from Twomey to Toomey on arrival in America), and his brother owned and operated Toomey’s Diner in Brooklyn on the corner of Rogers Avenue and Empire Blvd, from 1935 to 1965. Since it was only two … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Toomey’s Diner
Kharkiv: Russia’s war on Ukraine looks different up close. It’s a mix of extreme danger and everyday functionality. Shopping malls, coffee shops and restaurants are open and thriving, despite the daily and nightly bombardments of this frontline city. Kharkiv is about the size of Philadelphia, around 25 miles from the Russian border. The Russian army has been camped about 12 … [Read more...] about View from the Eastern Front of the War on Ukraine
Annie Burke shares memories of how her father, Jim Burke, helped her overcome childhood respiratory illness. My son, Jim, has been after me to write down some of the remembrances of my father I’ve shared with him over the years. Before it’s too late, I’m sure he’s thinking. He keeps referring to an old, faded photograph of a group of refinery workers. It’s one of the few I … [Read more...] about Sea Voyages With Father
My grandfather John Bernard “Barney” Hynes and his brother, Thomas J. Hynes emigrated in their early teens from Lochrea, Galway, Ireland to Boston, Massachusetts in 1875. They were children of the famine – sent to America by their parents because there was no future for them in Ireland. Barney got a job with the Elevated Railroad Company, and Tom went to Harvard where he spent … [Read more...] about family album | The Road to Bright City
Chicken today, feathers tomorrow. That’s how my mother described life with my father, James McQuilan Stewart, a Belfast-born charmer whose love of literature led to my career as an advertising writer. In this 1923 photo, he looks every inch the winner. He arrived in New York in the early 1920s, bringing with him an excellent head for figures, a great sense of humor and the … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Chicken Today, Feathers Tomorrow
