Gay Priest Comes Out Father Martin Dolan, a priest at the Church of St Nicholas of Myra in Francis Street in Dublin's city for 15 years, came out as gay to his parishioners during a Sunday Mass in early January while calling for same-sex marriage equality in advance of the country’s May referendum on the issue. He received a standing ovation from his parishioners. The Dublin … [Read more...] about News in Brief
Genealogy
Roots: The Ulster Clans O’Neill and O’Donnell
Outside the city limits of ancient Rome at the top of the Janiculum hill is the 15th century church of San Pietro in Montorio. The church was supposedly built on the site where Saint Peter was crucified in 64 C.E. and its courtyard holds a small, circular, domed building meant to mark the exact spot of his crucifixion. The “Tempietto” (lit. “little temple”) was built by Italian … [Read more...] about Roots: The Ulster Clans O’Neill and O’Donnell
Jimmy Fallon Family Tree
By Megan Smolenyak, Contributor
February / March 2014
February / March 2014
Megan Smolenyak, the roots detective, takes a look at Jimmy Fallon’s Irish side. Not yet forty, Jimmy Fallon already has an impressive history to look back on. Between “Saturday Night Live” and hosting “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” he’s logged more than a decade on air, and is now primed for his take over of “The Tonight Show.” Not bad for a Brooklyn-born, Saugerties-raised … [Read more...] about Jimmy Fallon Family Tree
Roots: The O’Dowd Clan
By Adam Farley, Assistant Editor
February / March 2014
February / March 2014
In 982 the King of Connaught, Aedh Ua Dubhda (or Hugh O’Dowd), “died an untroubled death.” This note in Lebor Laignech, the medieval Irish manuscript better known as the Book of Leinster, is the first record of the O’Dowd surname, making it one of the oldest continually-used family names in Europe. It is also one of the few names that has almost universally kept the “O,” O’Dowd … [Read more...] about Roots: The O’Dowd Clan
USS Monitor Sailors Laid to Rest
What will likely be the last burial of the U.S. Civil War took place at Arlington National Cemetery on March 8. Two sailors whose skeletons were found in 2002, when the gun turret of the sunken USS Monitor was unearthed off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, were finally laid to rest in a full naval ceremony. Speaking at the funeral service, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus … [Read more...] about USS Monitor Sailors Laid to Rest