Tourism Ireland’s Executive Vice President, North America & Australia / NZ Alison Metcalfe, explains why Ireland is a unique travel destination, offering beautiful landscapes, a wealth of things to see and do, and a host of special events coming up in 2020. What’s the outlook for tourism from the US to Ireland – you’ve enjoyed several years of double-digit growth. Total … [Read more...] about Ireland: There’s Never Been a Better Time to Visit
Europe
Irish American of the Year: Michael Flatley
For what he has done for the world of Irish dance, Irish America is proud to honor Michael Flatley as our Irish American of the Year. Flatley talked to Debbie McGoldrick about his extraordinary journey and what's next on the cards. It's hard to remember the days when Irish stepdancing wasn't in vogue, when it wasn't scintillating and sublime and sexy, when it wasn't a global … [Read more...] about Irish American of the Year: Michael Flatley
The Irish as Playful Souls
The old St. Patrick's Day quip about there being two kinds of people – those who are Irish and those who wish they were – turns out to be not so far from wrong.The research my colleague Michael Hout has carried out shows that there are a lot more Americans claiming to be Irish than one might expect from immigration records, because the children of ethnically mixed marriages … [Read more...] about The Irish as Playful Souls
Roots: The Curran Clan
The surname Curran is common in all four provinces in Ireland, but especially in County Donegal and throughout Ulster. The name is also prevalent in the south of Ireland, appearing many times in the County Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls of 1665-7. Currans showed up frequently as Waterford residents in the census of 1659. The 1901 census in Kerry counted 142 Curran or Currane … [Read more...] about Roots: The Curran Clan