For 38 years, Stone Mountain Park, northeast of Atlanta, Georgia, fills with the sounds of bagpipes, fiddles and harps during the third weekend in October for the Stone Mountain Highland Games and Scottish Festival. Expect thousands of Scots to don their family tartans for this year’s festival October 16-18. Last year the Ulster Scots were there in full force; their pavilion … [Read more...] about Ulster Scots at Stone Mountain Highland Games
Sports
Gaelic Games’ New Future in San Francisco
Hard times are falling on communities across the country, and even in the affluent San Francisco area, belts are tightening and the economy is in decline. But on a recent December afternoon, on an island in the middle of the Bay, on a plot of land surrounded by cracked concrete and crumbling buildings, a lively celebration was gearing up, one that defied the growing gloom all … [Read more...] about Gaelic Games’ New Future in San Francisco
More Than Just Round of Golf
By Kevin Mangan, Contributor
August / September 2008
August / September 2008
I was fortunate to play the Old Head Golf Links on my most recent trip to Ireland. The Links is one of the most unique golf courses ever conceived. It is built on a 220-acre diamond of land, jutting out over two miles into the Atlantic Ocean. The links and practice area occupy 180 acres, and the remaining 40 acres of unspoilt cliff (rising in places to over 300 feet) frame … [Read more...] about More Than Just Round of Golf
A Flying Javelin: Marjorie Larney
When I competed for the U.S. in my first Olympics in Helsinki in 1952, I was only 15, the youngest javelin thrower ever and that record still stands today. But the most wonderful part about participating in the games was the reception from the Finnish people and a very special gift to me from a Finnish Olympic champion of the past, the first great “Flying Finn.” In Helsinki … [Read more...] about A Flying Javelin: Marjorie Larney
Padraig’s Day
By Cathal Dervan
October / November 2007
October / November 2007
If you drive across the mountain road that borders south Dublin, chances are you will see Padraig Harrington at work in the garden that serves as his office. Out the back of a modest but large dwelling he has installed a kidney-shaped green built to U.S. PGA specifications, two artificial putting greens, six small target greens, three bunkers filled with dif- ferent sorts of … [Read more...] about Padraig’s Day