On the bicentennial of Combate de Montevideo, May, 1814, which won the River Plate and secured Argentina’s independence from Spain, Harry Dunleavy writes about the considerable contributions made by Irish people, such as Admiral William Brown, in the formation and development of the country. In the southeastern part of South America lies the wedge-shaped country of Argentina, … [Read more...] about Salsa Verde: The Irish in Argentina
History
Lovely Lola: The Countess Who Became the Vamp of the Mining Camps
By Rosemary Rogers
June / July 2014
June / July 2014
There was a time in the mid-19th century when all Europe raved about the Spanish dancer, Lola Montez, not realizing that she wasn’t Spanish and couldn’t dance. She wowed them in Paris, London, Berlin and St. Petersburg with her famous Spider Dance, a number that had Lola wearing a black mantilla, clicking castanets and shaking tarantulas out of her petticoats. When the hairy … [Read more...] about Lovely Lola: The Countess Who Became the Vamp of the Mining Camps
Oscar & Doc: A trip to Leadville, Colorado
You hoist one of Colorado’s fine craft beers at the long, dark bar of the Silver Dollar Saloon in Leadville, and consider this possibility: had history played out a little differently, Oscar Wilde and Doc Holliday might have exchanged bon mots right at this spot. Both caroused here, Wilde in 1882, Holliday a year later. They both provided memorable episodes in a wild … [Read more...] about Oscar & Doc: A trip to Leadville, Colorado
Lady of Sligo Finds New Home in Quinnipiac
Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT recently acquired the historically significant collection of Hester Catherine de Burgh, Lady Sligo (1800-1878). The letters and other related artifacts will be on display at the institute’s inaugural exhibition, titled “Lady Sligo Letters,” which opens to the public April 29. The collection of more than 200 … [Read more...] about Lady of Sligo Finds New Home in Quinnipiac
Brían Boru’s Last Battle
A thousand years ago, on April 23, 1014, the Battle of Clontarf, and Brían Boru’s last costly victory, changed Irish political life forever. The following, from The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus, sets the scene in Ireland prior to the battle. The SettingIrish literature of a thousand years ago is obsessed with the occupation of Ireland by the Norse (also … [Read more...] about Brían Boru’s Last Battle