Edythe Preet looks at the legacy of the Vikings in Ireland, including influences that linger in Irish winter holiday celebrations. One day while searching for I can’t remember what in my foot-thick Webster’s, which has been my word go-to since high school, I stumbled upon a most interesting linguistic factoid. Every single question word in the English language (who, what, … [Read more...] about Slainte! Ireland’s Viking Heritage
History
The Photo Historian of Ireland: Sean Sexton
Take an aerial view of a dreary road in Walthamstow, a soulless part of the East End of London, and you will easily spot which house Sean Sexton lives in. For there, nestled among the rows of uniform, somewhat neglected and overgrown urban back yards, you will see a garden poetically “planted” with artifacts and statues, paying homage to their owner’s passion for Greek and … [Read more...] about The Photo Historian of Ireland: Sean Sexton
The McNulty Family Show Boat Sails Again
One of the most popular entertainment groups from the 1920s to the 1960s, Annie ‘Ma’ McNulty and her children Eileen and Peter have largely been forgotten, but that may change soon. Known as “The Royal Family of Irish Entertainment,” the McNultys were the leading Irish-American music act from the 1930s through the early 1950s. They had a hit radio show; they made hundreds of … [Read more...] about The McNulty Family Show Boat Sails Again
The Legacy of Church-run Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland
In the wake of the Ryan and Murphy reports*, both released in 2009, often the memories of the children, women and workers involved have taken a sideline to the question of who is to blame for systemic abuse. But while the Irish public attempts to heal from this broken past and demand justice, more stories are on the verge of disappearance: those of the unknown women and babies … [Read more...] about The Legacy of Church-run Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland
Butte: Montana’s Irish Mining Town
Many of the 1.8 million Irish who emigrated to Canada and the U.S. between 1845 and 1855 found employment in the dangerous but lucrative mines that played a vital role in building American industry. A documentary, Butte, America, shows how over the following decades, the American Industrial Revolution swallowed entire families who lived in mining communities, as the often … [Read more...] about Butte: Montana’s Irish Mining Town