The spirit of a New York hero lives on in his family. Nine years ago, in the months following the September 11th attacks, the Lynch family from the Bronx, New York, made a commendable and remarkable choice. They had just lost Michael Francis Lynch: son, brother, uncle and fiancé; a firefighter who died during the rescue efforts in Tower 2. He was assigned to Engine 62, Ladder … [Read more...] about A Hero Remembered:Michael Lynch
Memorials
Corner of Ireland in America: Mt. Holly, North Carolina
In a time long forgotten, six Irish families came to the foothills of North Carolina. The men were miners and they came to work the gold mines on the banks of the Catawba River near what is now the town of Mt. Holly in Gaston County. The families, four headed by the Lonergan brothers, the other two being the Cahills and the Duffeys, came from Cork, Dublin and Tipperary … [Read more...] about Corner of Ireland in America: Mt. Holly, North Carolina
A Celtic Cross at Bunker Hill
The Irish buried in a Catholic cemetery on Bunker Hill are remembered. The cemetery is gated and well hidden, and there have been no burials in it for three score years and more. It’s a lovely, grassy, tranquil place, and Dan Mahoney, the parish priest, remarks how all the headstones face northeast toward home, toward Ireland. The Catholic burial ground is on the fabled … [Read more...] about A Celtic Cross at Bunker Hill
Remembering Frank McCourt
Why We Loved Him Tom Cahill, Colum McCann, Peter Quinn, and others pay tribute to Frank McCourt I saw Frank a couple of weeks before he passed. It was at the Irish Repertory Theatre gala fundraiser in June. He had just finished his last round of chemo. He looked fine. I spoke to him for a couple of minutes but I didn’t say anything that I wanted to say. Frank was my hero … [Read more...] about Remembering Frank McCourt
100th Anniversary of Celtic Cross at Grosse Île
“Children of the Gael died in the thousands on this island having fled from the laws of the foreign tyrants and an artificial famine in the years 1847-48. God's loyal blessing upon them. Let this monument be a token to their name and honour from the Gaels of America. God Save Ireland.” - Inscription on Celtic Cross, Grosse Île, Canada August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, is … [Read more...] about 100th Anniversary of Celtic Cross at Grosse Île