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The United Irishmen and their American Legacy

By Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

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When the rebellion of 1798 failed, many of The United Irishmen, including Thomas Addis Emmet, came to the United States where their influence was enormous. You may well wonder why a historian of the United States should presume to write about the United Irishmen of 1798. There are two reasons: one personal, the other historical. The personal reason is that I had the great good … [Read more...] about
The United Irishmen and their American Legacy

Photo Album:
Discovering Rossa on Film

Submitted by Williams Rossa Cole, New York, NY
February / March 2016

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Growing up in New York City, there was always a formal photographic portrait of our great-grandfather Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa on the wall of our apartment. In this photo, Rossa looks dignified, dressed in a 19th-century suit and broad-rimmed hat, his clear eyes giving the impression of strength, clarity and determination. Next to it hung an illustration from the cover of the … [Read more...] about Photo Album:
Discovering Rossa on Film

The Last Rebel of the 1916 Rising

By Irish America Staff
January 20, 2016

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The last remaining person in the U.S. to have fought in the 1916 Rising in Ireland died in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 99 on January 21, 1996. Elizabeth "Lily" Kempson McAlerney, who threatened a man at gunpoint when he wanted to leave the scene of the fighting, was exiled to the U.S. when the uprising was suppressed, but supported the cause of a united Ireland until … [Read more...] about The Last Rebel of the 1916 Rising

Henry Ford’s Ancestral Home
Opens in West Cork

By Adam Farley, Deputy Editor
October / November 2015

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The West Cork ancestral home of Henry Ford, the Ford Motors founder whose Model T revolutionized transportation in the United States, opened to the public in September following a €20,000 renovation project. Located on what is now the 200-acre “Ford Farm,” the home is a traditional stone-built, single-story cottage believed to date from the 1700s when the Fords emigrated from … [Read more...] about Henry Ford’s Ancestral Home
Opens in West Cork

Mathew Brady’s Irish Mystery

By Matthew Skwiat, Contributing Editor
October / November 2015

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In August, a sign in Johnsburg, New York that claimed to mark the birthplace of acclaimed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady went missing. But in addition to sparking a search for the sign itself, its absence sent historians into a quest to find the true birthplace of Brady, eventually discovering he was probably born in Ireland. While there is no doubt that Brady, often … [Read more...] about Mathew Brady’s Irish Mystery