A new chapter of the harsh and often brutal experience of Irish immigrants in America is literally being unearthed thanks to the efforts of local historians Bill and Frank Watson of Pennsylvania. They are currently undergoing excavation of a site known as Duffy’s Cut in Pennsylvania, a railroad construction site dating back to the nineteenth century. Their research has … [Read more...] about Excavation of Duffy’s Cut Continues
Famine
The Great Hunger and the Celtic Gene
Thomas P. Duffy MD of the Yale School of Medicine explores why certain people survived the Great Hunger and reasons that the answer may lie in their gene pool. Shortly after the great Irish famine of 1847-49, the initial description appeared, in 1865, of a fatal disorder that compromised the liver and pancreas and resulted in bronzing or hyperpigmentation of the skin. Many … [Read more...] about The Great Hunger and the Celtic Gene
Hunger and its Children
Schizophrenia and other diseases associated with starvation. The outward physical consequences of famine and severe malnutrition have been long known. They are the same everywhere. In his recent history of the Irish Famine, The Graves Are Walking, John Kelly describes them this way: “In the later stages of starvation, the eyelids inflame, the angular lines around the mouth … [Read more...] about Hunger and its Children
Stopping the Famine Trigger – Phytophthora infestans
A pathogen called Phytophthora infestans has long been recognized as the cause of the Irish Potato Famine, which led to over one million deaths. But until recently, scientists were unsure of exactly how it subverted the natural immune system of the crop and wreaked such rampant failure. A new study published in Nature Genetics uncovers the process by which Phytophthora cripples … [Read more...] about Stopping the Famine Trigger – Phytophthora infestans
“TransAtlantic,” by Colum McCann
An excerpt adapted from Colum McCann's novel, TransAtlantic. ℘℘℘ Colum McCann won the National Book Award in 2012 for Let the Great World Spin, which through an extraordinary feat of storytelling connects a disparate group of ordinary New Yorkers to Philippe Petit’s 1974 tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. His novel TransAtlantic is another tour de force: a series of … [Read more...] about “TransAtlantic,” by Colum McCann