The American investor and businessman Wilbur Ross, Jr. led a consortium of investors who took a stake in Bank of Ireland in 2011 in order to reduce the risk the Irish state had to take. The investment also helped restore investor confidence in the ability of Ireland’s economy to recover. For his efforts, Ross was presented with the American Irish Historical Society’s Gold … [Read more...] about Tales from the Vault
History
Carna Emigrants Centre
A village in County Galway uses DNA testing to connect with people whose ancestors immigrated to Portland, Maine and other places in the U.S. Maybe I am so excited about the partnership between the Carna Emigrants Centre and the Maine Irish Gaeltacht Project because I spent almost 40 years searching for my Irish ancestors. I spooled through miles of microfilm, asked vague … [Read more...] about Carna Emigrants Centre
The Irishman Who Invented the Submarine
By Teresa O’Dea Hein
August 12, 2014
August 12, 2014
August 12th 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the death of John Philip Holland, a Clare man recognized as “the father of the modern submarine.” Much of Holland’s pioneering work on submarines was done after he emigrated to the United States in 1873. Despite many challenging times and rough currents, Holland persevered for decades to refine and perfect his vision of a … [Read more...] about The Irishman Who Invented the Submarine
The Irish and World War I
One hundred years ago this summer, the story goes, a Daily Mail war correspondent named George Curnock followed British Expeditionary Forces as they made their way across the English Channel to aid the French in what most believed would be a brief skirmish with the Germans. In mid-August 1914, Curnock heard the Connaught Rangers singing a raucous tune as they marched through … [Read more...] about The Irish and World War I
How Guinness Saved Ireland
By Bryce Evans
June / July 2014
June / July 2014
At nearly one billion liters of Guinness sold per year, it has become one of the world’s most recognizable Irish brands. And though it is brewed in over 60 countries and available in more than 120, there is only one which owes its very survival as a sovereign state to the Black Stuff. Seventy years ago – February 1944 – and it is at last clear that the Allies are going to win … [Read more...] about How Guinness Saved Ireland