Irish nationals were instrumental in helping secure American independence from England during the Revolutionary War. Edythe Preet explores the key figures. John Barry County Wexford Driven from their ancestral home by the British, the Barry family relocated to the American colonies, where John Barry became a prosperous transatlantic trading captain. In December 1775, he was … [Read more...] about Famous Irish of the American Revolution
Irish in America
War Numbers: Counting the Irish-born Dead in WWI
Megan Smolenyak delves into the archives and reaches the conclusion that many more Irish-born soldiers were killed in the U.S. Armed Forces in WWI than previous calculations have shown. As a New Jersey resident with Jersey City Irish roots, I am constantly on the lookout for resources that can assist with Garden State genealogy, so was delighted when I first stumbled … [Read more...] about War Numbers: Counting the Irish-born Dead in WWI
Forty Shades of Brooklyn
With a film version of Colm Tóibín’s 2009 novel Brooklyn, coming to American theaters later this year, Tom Deignan looks at the borough that was home to so many mid-century Irish immigrants. Back in January, a new generation of Brooklyn high school students were exposed to the beautiful prose of one of Irish America’s most gifted writers, Pete Hamill. “Bridge of Dreams,” an … [Read more...] about Forty Shades of Brooklyn
Pittsburgh Couple Finds Ancestors Are in the Same Boat
On their first date ten years ago in a French restaurant in Pittsburgh, John Kudlik and Susan Showalter, both part Irish, discovered they had something in common. John, a historian, is the great-great-grandson of Daniel Dowd, a farmer who came to America on the Jeanie Johnston in 1849. When he told Susan his family was from a town in Country Kerry called Ballymacelligot, she … [Read more...] about Pittsburgh Couple Finds Ancestors Are in the Same Boat
Women Warriors
Irish women in the army from the Civil War to today. ℘℘℘ On May 18, 1863, Private Albert D. J. Cashier was among the many Union soldiers under General Ulysses S. Grant who took part in the infamous siege of Vicksburg. The Union army shelled the city relentlessly for weeks, and during the course of the battle Private Cashier, a member of the 95th Illinois Infantry, was actually … [Read more...] about Women Warriors