Irish America

Irish America

American History

Jeremiah O’Brien and the American Revolution

By Bob Lyons

IA Newsletter, October 24 2026

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When Lord Mountjoy lamented in Parliament in April 1784, “America was lost by Irish emigrants,” he probably had in mind the stunning naval feat of six Irish brothers from Machias, Maine. After Capt. Jeremiah O’Brien, the oldest brother, heard how “embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world” in Concord, he organized the first challenge to supremacy of the … [Read more...] about Jeremiah O’Brien and the American Revolution

The Wild American Tenure of Wicklow Native Matthew Lyon

By Ray Cavanaugh

IA Newsletter June 6 2026

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Matthew Lyon was a man on the rise. But not in a slick and ingratiating way. He was bold and brash. These traits apparently surfaced quite young in life. He may well have possessed them from the time he was born in County Wicklow on Jul. 14, 1750 (some sources say 1749).  According to The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, Lyon's father was executed for treason … [Read more...] about The Wild American Tenure of Wicklow Native Matthew Lyon

Window on the Past: A Savior of History

By Ray Cavanaugh, Contributor

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John Gilmary Shea preserved much of the existing knowledge of the beginnings of American Catholicism. Considering the Irish-American influence on U.S. Catholicism, it makes sense that someone of Irish descent – John Gilmary Shea – undertook to preserve much of the existing knowledge of the beginnings of American Catholicism. A prolific writer and dogged rescuer of rare … [Read more...] about Window on the Past: A Savior of History

Window on the Past | Mathew B. Brady, Photographer

By Raymond Schuessler

October 1991

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Mathew B. Brady captured the intrigue and frustration, the sorrow and bitterness of "the war that had to be fought." In a traveling darkroom wagon, nicknamed the "What's It" by the troops, Brady followed the terrible onslaught of the Civil War, recording for history scenes that otherwise would have been lost forever. In effect, Brady became a pictorial war correspondent, though … [Read more...] about Window on the Past | Mathew B. Brady, Photographer