Looking for a truly exceptional adventure? Paddleboarding is the fastest growing sport in the world, and Ireland offers an abundance of waterways – some challenging, some less so – and, as our intrepid Canadian couple discovered, all flanked by stunning landscapes of mountains, lakes, coastlines, and islands. ℘℘℘ We wanted to drink in Ireland’s audaciously green spring, but do … [Read more...] about Paddling in the Wake of St. Patrick & Game of Thrones
Canada
The Black Stone on Bridge Street
Montreal's memorial to Irish Famine victims. ℘℘℘ In 1997, Irish people around the world will remember the 150th anniversary of the Famine that resulted in one million deaths and forced one million and a half to emigrate to Canada and the United States. The deplorable conditions these immigrants endured aboard ship resulted in a typhus epidemic that decimated many en route to a … [Read more...] about The Black Stone on Bridge Street
Salt Spring Island:
The Land of Fairies
British Columbia’s oldest working farm, founded by Irishman Henry Ruckle in 1872, has turned into something of a fairy land.
℘℘℘
Between a visionary immigrant farmer and an unknown planter of “fairy doors,” Salt Spring Island has liberal lashings of Irish magic, and that’s not counting a coastline that would put you in mind of Ireland’s rugged west.
Henry Ruckle, who left … [Read more...] about Salt Spring Island:
The Land of Fairies
150 Years: The Fenians and Canada
One hundred and fifty years ago, members of the Fenian Brotherhood sought to force Britain’s hand by creating disturbances along the Canadian border. The raids failed, but they led to an unexpected outcome in 1867. OTTAWA, Ontario – It was civil warfare, with some almost comic sidelights, and it might have been lost in the mists of time but for a discovery in the attic of a … [Read more...] about 150 Years: The Fenians and Canada
The Celtic Heart
of North America
By John Kernaghan, Contributor
For nine days in October, Cape Breton Island is home to a unique celebration of music and culture, with the finest of storytellers, musicians, and dancers from around the globe taking part in the festivities. John Kernaghan was there, awash in nostalgia.
The estrangement ran for more than 45 years, but when a vagrant Irish heart landed on the shores of Cape Breton, love was … [Read more...] about The Celtic Heart
of North America