Tara Stackpole read Football for Dummies from cover to cover. She needed to know the difference between a fullback and a halfback. Her husband, Timmy, had been a football player on the FDNY team, a coach for the kids' league and a huge sports fan. Tara wanted to get up to speed on the intricacies of the game so that she could be more than just a fan at her kids' games, and just … [Read more...] about Mothers United
Family
Irish on Parade
June 1, 1907: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. ℘℘℘ My grandfather Phillip L. McQuillan, one of the early plumbing and heating engineers, celebrated his Irish-American patriotism by participating in the 1907 Memorial Day Parade in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The sign on the side of the wagon reads "P.L. McQuillan, Good Plumbing." Two of his twelve children, Ruth and Frances, are tiding … [Read more...] about Irish on Parade
An American in Ireland
Somewhat Removed. There was death in Roscommon Town tonight. The street outside Smith's Funeral Home (which occupies a sad plot opposite the local livestock mart) was packed with cars. As I threaded my way through the crowd, I recognized a few neighbors who were going in. We waved, and I felt a twinge of shame for passing by on so frivolous an errand as buying cigarettes. But … [Read more...] about An American in Ireland
Photo Album: All in the Family
1972: The Noone Family, Brooklyn. Little did Luke Noone and Mary Ellen Doherty dream when they left Ireland that they would leave a legacy of five children, 20 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren – a total of 55 good-looking, God-fearing Narrowbacks (as Luke often referred to his family). Luke emigrated from Curramaeigh, Kilkerrin, Co. Galway in 1922 at 20 years of … [Read more...] about Photo Album: All in the Family
The Origins of The Clan McNamara
The roots of the McNamara family are in the distant past of Thomond, the region of Ireland that today is known as County Clare. By the 11th century the sept (or clan) had become the Lords of Clancullen, the territory comprising most of East Clare. The Irish form of the surname, MacConmara, which means "son of the hound of the sea," eventually evolved into the two most common … [Read more...] about The Origins of The Clan McNamara