The 2019 International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, November 3. Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, Josepha Madigan T.D., made the announcement in July. “This year’s commemoration represents an opportunity to not only recognize the work … [Read more...] about Phoenix Remembers the Great Hunger
Hunger
In the Shoes of Refugees
Walking in the footsteps of 1,490 Irish exiled in 1847. In 2017, and again in 2019, I was honored to be part of a small group of five historians who were invited by Caroilin Callery of the Irish Heritage Trust to follow in the footsteps of 1,490 refugees from the Great Hunger. As a historian, I have researched and written extensively about the Famine since completing my Ph.D. … [Read more...] about In the Shoes of Refugees
The Un-Quiet Ghosts of the Carricks
Bones of Irish children were found 170 years after they died on a “coffin ship” en route to Canada in 1847. Vertebra and jaw bones were identified among the remains, believed to be of Irish children fleeing the Great Hunger, that were discovered in 2011 on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, about 500 miles from Montreal, in Canada. Canadian scientists have concluded that the bones that … [Read more...] about The Un-Quiet Ghosts of the Carricks
Irish Eye on Hollywood: From Gone Girl to Widows
In November, Liam Neeson and Colin Farrell will team up with Irish American writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) in a crime thriller loaded with talent. Entitled Widows, the film features Neeson as one of a quartet of thieves who are killed in the middle of a heist. Their widows (among them Oscar winner Viola Davis) decide to finish the job. Widows is based on a 1980s British … [Read more...] about Irish Eye on Hollywood: From Gone Girl to Widows
The Perils of Pat
Peter Quinn writes about his immigrant grandfather. ℘℘℘ The man on the horse is my paternal grandfather, Patrick Francis Quinn. The date is September 5, 1904. Pat is about to take his place as grand marshal of the New York City Labor Day Parade. The horse was rented for the occasion. I have the sash he is wearing in the photograph, a piece of faded blue silk embroidered … [Read more...] about The Perils of Pat