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Lovely Lola: The Countess Who Became the Vamp of the Mining Camps

By Rosemary Rogers
June / July 2014

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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

By John Kernaghan
June / July 2014

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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

By Irish America Staff
April / May 2014

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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

Adapted from The Story of the Irish Race, by Seumas MacManus
Devin Adair Publishing
April / May 2014

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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

The Battle of Clontarf: Millennium Celebrations

By Sharon Ni Chonchuir, Contributor
April / May 2014

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Vikings, mercenary warriors, and competing clans made up the terrifying cast in one of Ireland’s oldest and best-known battles. All of these different elements will once again play their part in the many events taking place to commemorate the 1000-year anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf and the death of Ireland’s last great High King, Brían Boru. There are events taking … [Read more...] about The Battle of Clontarf: Millennium Celebrations