In Ireland, the last night of the year was called Oiche na Cada Moire, The Night of the Big Portion. It was common practice to have a big supper that night to ensure a full cupboard and plenty to eat in the twelve months to come. Of course, the custom dated back to a time when crop success meant the difference between feast and famine. Spells and incantations were invoked to … [Read more...] about The Night of the Big Portion
Ireland
The Origins of The Clan McNamara
The roots of the McNamara family are in the distant past of Thomond, the region of Ireland that today is known as County Clare. By the 11th century the sept (or clan) had become the Lords of Clancullen, the territory comprising most of East Clare. The Irish form of the surname, MacConmara, which means "son of the hound of the sea," eventually evolved into the two most common … [Read more...] about The Origins of The Clan McNamara
Photo Album: From the USA to Ireland
This passport picture of Peter Dolan and his son Andrew was taken in 1924 and was used when Peter took his then eleven-year-old son from Chicago to Ireland to be raised in what must have been at the time a rare incidence of emigration from the USA to Ireland. Dolan had been born in Croghan, Co. Roscommon in 1867. He emigrated to the USA around 1889 via Canada, moved to Chicago … [Read more...] about Photo Album: From the USA to Ireland
Anjelica’s Irish Memories
Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston spent part of her youth in Craughwell, Co. Galway where her father, legendary movie director John Huston, owned an estate called St. Clerans. Anjelica lived with her mother and younger brother Tony, in what was known as the estate's "little house," and the place still seems to have a place in her heart. Some ten years ago, Anjelica brought … [Read more...] about Anjelica’s Irish Memories
On Thomas Flanagan
(1923-2002)
On March 16 this year Thomas Flanagan reviewed a history of St. Patrick's day for The Irish Times and was identified by the paper's literary editor as "a novelist and scholar...currently working on a book about Irish-American writers." When he died in Berkeley from a heart attack five days later, he had submitted to The New York Book Review of Books his piece on William Kennedy … [Read more...] about On Thomas Flanagan
(1923-2002)