Irish America

Irish America

Megan Smolenyak

Tim Walz of the Tomhaggard Doyles

By Megan Smolenyak

Fall 2024

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How A Solitary Tombstone in Wisconsin Solved the Mystery of His Irish Origins As a professional genealogist of half-Irish heritage, I’ve long embraced the opportunity to underscore the ties between Ireland and the United States, and one of the most obvious ways to do this is to trace the roots of high profile Americans to their place of origin in Ireland. This is trickier than … [Read more...] about Tim Walz of the Tomhaggard Doyles

“No Man Left Behind”

By Megan Smolenyak
IA Newsletter, June 1, 2024

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"No Man Left Behind" is so much more than a slogan to me. In a sense, I contemplate Memorial Day year-round due to my work with the Army. For the past 25 years, I’ve been assisting the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) with the identification of our soldiers who gave their lives in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam but have not yet been accounted for. My role as a … [Read more...] about “No Man Left Behind”

How I Found My Elusive John Murphy

By Megan Smolenyak
IA Newsletter
April 6, 2024

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The Deadly Trail that Finally Revealed a Phantom Branch of My Family Tree My earliest American-born ancestor was my great-great-grandfather, Edward Murphy. It took a while to figure this out as the skimpy traces he left claimed both New York and Ireland as his birthplace, but then I stumbled across his baptism. To my delight, he was christened in the historic St. James church … [Read more...] about How I Found My Elusive John Murphy

How Name Changing Hid a Heritage

By Megan Smolenyak

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Barry Manilow. Yes, I know, most think of him as a Jewish fellow from Brooklyn – and he is. But he’s also a quarter Irish, and due to certain circumstances in his family, that Irish share has had a disproportionate influence on his family tree. - Megan SmolenyakName ChangingThough he wouldn’t have known it, when Barry changed surnames, he was the third generation of Pincus … [Read more...] about How Name Changing Hid a Heritage

Manx, Music, Military, Moxie, and a Bit Irish

By Megan Smolenyak
IA Newsletter May 27, 2023

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Roots detective Megan Smolenyak researches Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham's roots What can’t Hannah Waddingham do? I’m late to the party discovering her talents in her portrayal of team owner, Rebecca Welton, in Ted Lasso, but oh, how I wish I had seen her in Spamalot, Into the Woods, or Wizard of Oz. And if I weren’t enchanted enough already, her turn as one of Eurovision … [Read more...] about Manx, Music, Military, Moxie, and a Bit Irish