Calgary, nicknamed “Cowtown,” is home to the largest rodeo in the world, the Calgary Stampede, which annually draws millions of visitors. The first Calgary rodeo in 1912 was organized by a New Yorker with Irish roots, as Ray Cavanaugh explains. Cowboys seem like a self-assured lot. But Guy Weadick was more than self-assured; he was a bold visionary, and … [Read more...] about Window on the Past: Stampede of a New York Cowboy
The South
Scarlett is 75 and Still Going Strong
On the 75th anniversary of the publication of Gone With the Wind, David O'Connell explores how Margaret Mitchell's Irish background influenced her writing. Writing in the second edition (1940) of his monumental and influential study The American Novel, Carl van Doren wrote: “Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind not only gave a revised version of the Civil War in the South, … [Read more...] about Scarlett is 75 and Still Going Strong
Echoes of Ireland in the Deep South
Denis Bergin reports on an upsurge of Irish cultural activity in Charleston, where the relics of old Southern decency are still much in evidence. Charleston, South Carolina is everyone’s idea of the captivating U.S. South. The city draws more than four million visitors a year to sample its atmospheric evocations of everything from slave-based plantation lifestyles to stirrings … [Read more...] about Echoes of Ireland in the Deep South
America’s Other Irish
Tom Deignan looks at the rich and diverse influence of the Irish in the South Statistics regarding the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Savannah, Georgia, are well known. When the 2006 festivities kicked off on March 17 at Abercorn Street, not far from Forsyth Park, it was the 182nd time the Irish in and around Savannah celebrated their heritage. “This parade has been named … [Read more...] about America’s Other Irish