I have no interest in Ancestry.com or tracing my roots. I know most of my DNA and it’s all Irish on my mom’s side. Her father, the son of a Ballylongford, County Kerry, farmer, was named Tom Keane. He emigrated to America sometime around 1900 – it’s believed he had to hightail it out of Ireland because of his IRA affiliation, and that doesn’t surprise me at all. Tom had crossed … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Tales of New York
County Kerry
New Jobs for Kerry
Irish fintech company Fexco is creating 175 jobs over the next three years at its headquarters in Killorglin, County Kerry. The jobs will be in the areas of information, communication technology, software development, and sales as part of the payment firm’s expansion strategy. The 175 new jobs will add to the existing staff of 2,300 working across Fexco’s Irish and … [Read more...] about New Jobs for Kerry
Hibernia: Jeanie Johnston’s Arrival Postponed
The arrival of the replica famine ship Jeanie Johnston in the U.S. has been postponed until spring 2001. The Jeanie Johnston Project had originally hoped to bring the ship to the U.S. later this year and winter her on the East Coast, but decided against this because of concerns about the weather. However, Kerry county manager Martin Nolan has told The Kerryman newspaper that … [Read more...] about Hibernia: Jeanie Johnston’s Arrival Postponed
Gregory Peck
Hollywood Legend
Gregory Peck, the Hollywood legend, will long be remembered for his Oscar-winning performance as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and his roles in such classics as The Yearling, Gentleman's Agreement and Roman Holiday. Here he recalls a visit to his relatives in County Kerry.
I love Wicklow, but I suppose if we ever rented or bought a cottage it would be in County … [Read more...] about Gregory Peck Hollywood Legend
A Visit Home
By Betty O'Connor Wald
January / February 1998
Betty Wald visits Ireland for the first time in search of her grandmother's home in Kilmacillogue, County Kerry In all the long years of Sunday visits to my grandmother's apartment in the Bronx, she never talked about Ireland. There were no tales of a far-off land for a child's imagination to grab hold of, to elaborate over the years, making family myths to pass on to future … [Read more...] about A Visit Home