On March 6, 1988, in the shadow of the rock of Gibraltar, British Special Air Services (SAS) gathered behind IRA members Sean Savage, Daniel McCann, and Mairéad Farrell as they were ascending the rock. When the three victims, all unarmed, turned around, saw the soldiers, and saw their guns, they put their hands up, the universal signal of surrender and “for the love of God, … [Read more...] about Mairéad Farrell: A Fanatic Heart
Wild Irish Women
The Life And Adventures of Kit Cavanagh
How the search for her missing husband turned this Irish wife and mother into a daring and dauntless soldier.She was born Christian Cavanagh in 1667, although throughout her life, she changed names and identities with particular zest. Known mostly as Kit Cavanagh or Christopher Welsh, she dabbled in surnames that included Welch, Welsh, Jones, Davies, and oddly, Mother … [Read more...] about The Life And Adventures of Kit Cavanagh
The Star of County Down
‘In Banbridge Town in the County Down One morning last July, From a boreen green came a sweet colleen, And she smiled as she passed me by.'What is absolutely, positively true about Greer Garson is that she was born Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson to George and Nina Garson. From the beginning of her acting career until her death in 1996, she maintained her birthplace was Belfast … [Read more...] about The Star of County Down
The Lady From Chicago & The Pound Note
Her likeness appears on a banknote and in portraits by famous artists.Who was Lady LaveryWomen rarely have their faces on currency. Except, of course, for the recently departed Queen Elizabeth II who was on the currency of Great Britain and her colonies for over 70 years and, until recently, showed no sign of retiring or expiring. In 1928, Ireland, too, cast a woman on the … [Read more...] about The Lady From Chicago & The Pound Note
Constance Smith: A Hollywood Tragedy
“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.” Maybe she had too many gifts: she was a great beauty with a quick intellect; she could act, sing and, with little effort, was “discovered” and groomed for Hollywood stardom. In the early 1950s, she was a newcomer at 20th Century Fox, deemed so promising, she landed a plum showcase – a presenter at the 1952 Oscar … [Read more...] about Constance Smith: A Hollywood Tragedy