Irish America
Irish America
The Irishman behind Saddam's Bunker A construction engineer from County Antrim has approached the British Defense Ministry with blueprints of Saddam Hussein's underground bunkers in Baghdad, saying that he was part of a Swedish company which built the bunkers in the mid-1980's. The engineer, who wished to remain anonymous, said that about 25 bunkers, including Saddam's … [Read more...] about Blazes Boylan
One of the major ports of entry for Irish Famine immigrants, Grosse Île lies in the St. Lawrence River, just east of Quebec. It contains the largest Famine cemetery outside of Ireland. When the authorities in Quebec heard news of ships arriving with sick passengers, they quickly set up Grosse Île as a port of entry and quarantine station at which all ships were required to … [Read more...] about The Ghosts of Gross Ile
The 2019 International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, November 3. Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, Josepha Madigan T.D., made the announcement in July. “This year’s commemoration represents an opportunity to not only recognize the work … [Read more...] about Phoenix Remembers the Great Hunger
Walking in the footsteps of 1,490 Irish exiled in 1847. In 2017, and again in 2019, I was honored to be part of a small group of five historians who were invited by Caroilin Callery of the Irish Heritage Trust to follow in the footsteps of 1,490 refugees from the Great Hunger. As a historian, I have researched and written extensively about the Famine since completing my Ph.D. … [Read more...] about In the Shoes of Refugees
Bones of Irish children were found 170 years after they died on a “coffin ship” en route to Canada in 1847. Vertebra and jaw bones were identified among the remains, believed to be of Irish children fleeing the Great Hunger, that were discovered in 2011 on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, about 500 miles from Montreal, in Canada. Canadian scientists have concluded that the bones that … [Read more...] about The Un-Quiet Ghosts of the Carricks
