On July 21, Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall and the mayor of the City of Berkeley, Jesse Arreguin, family members, and representatives of the Irish community unveiled a memorial plaque honoring the six students who perished when an apartment balcony collapsed underneath them in June 2015. The students, five of whom were from Dublin, Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Lorcán Miller, … [Read more...] about Berkeley Tragedy Remembered
California
Shamrocks and Salsa
Jerry Cox spent a lifetime ministering to California’s Mexican immigrants, and found similarities between Irish and Mexican cultures. ℘℘℘ Shortly after Jerry Cox was ordained a priest in San Francisco in 1950, the Irish American visited his relatives in Skibbereen, County Cork. That’s when great aunt Elizabeth Casey told him: “Welcome home, Father Jerry!” Noticing he was … [Read more...] about Shamrocks and Salsa
Corner of Ireland: Murphys, CA – “Queen of the Sierras”
Settled in 1848 by brothers John and Daniel Murphy from County Wexford, Murphys, California, once a mining town, is today a major tourist destination. ℘℘℘ Hidden in the Sierra foothills of California, in the vast and quiet Calaveras County, northwest of Yosemite, lies Murphys, a small town with a big personality. Made up of about 2,300 residents spread out over 10 square … [Read more...] about Corner of Ireland: Murphys, CA – “Queen of the Sierras”
California Schools to Study Irish Famine
A new initiative set forth by Cork native and California resident John F. O’Riordan hopes to introduce study of the Irish Famine (1845-52) into the curriculum of California public schools. O’Riordan is a parishioner at St. Dominic’s Parish in San Francisco as well as a member of the California Democratic Party’s Irish American caucus. California currently has the largest Irish … [Read more...] about California Schools to Study Irish Famine
Up a Tree
For over a month, John Quigley has been living the life of an ecowarrior, turning his back on the comforts of modern life to fight for the environment. He has been living up a tree in Santa Clarita, California in an effort to prevent its planned destruction. The tree in question is a 70-foot tall, 100-foot wide, 400-year-old oak tree that Los Angeles County has called to be cut … [Read more...] about Up a Tree