Irish America

Cuba

Hall of Fame: Grammy Award-Winning Musician Arturo O’Farrill

By Rosemary Rogers, Columnist
March / April 2019

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At first the names Arturo and O’Farrill don’t seem to belong together. But, in the long, romantic history of the Hibernia-Hispania connection, they do: Bernardo O’Higgins liberated Chile; the San Patricios Brigade fought for Mexico in its War of Independence; the Milesians, settlers of ancient Ireland, sailed from Spain to “the Promised Isle.” Then there were those lucky … [Read more...] about Hall of Fame: Grammy Award-Winning Musician Arturo O’Farrill

Report from Havana: Irish Latin American Conference

By Harry Dunleavy, Contributor
April / May 2017

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The annual conference of the Society for Irish Latin American Studies (SILAS), “Island Relations: Ireland, Cuba and the Latin World,” was held in Havana over four days in February. The conference coincided with the first Irish presidential visit to Cuba and the launch of novelist Joseph O’Connor’s book Star of Sea at the Havana International Book Fair. O’Connor’s book is the … [Read more...] about Report from Havana: Irish Latin American Conference

Dynamite Johnny

By Marian Betancourt, Contributor
December / January 2003

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The Cuban struggle for independence and the remarkable Irishman who helped. ℘℘℘ Johnny O'Brien was already famous among sailors for his extraordinary skill as a harbor pilot guiding ships through the treacherous waters of Hell Gate in New York harbor. But when he out-maneuvered Spanish gunboats and United States Revenue cutters to keep the Cuban rebels supplied with weapons and … [Read more...] about Dynamite Johnny