County Galway
Home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, County Galway also features and ancient city with ties to Spain that doubles as a modern-day thriving university town. ℘℘℘ To Hell or to Connaught, roared Cromwell’s troops. At the time, it was the direst of punishments, but if you were banished to this Irish province today and ended up in County Galway, you would...
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Salt Spring Island:
The Land of Fairies
British Columbia’s oldest working farm, founded by Irishman Henry Ruckle in 1872, has turned into something of a fairy land. ℘℘℘ Between a visionary immigrant farmer and an unknown planter of “fairy doors,” Salt Spring Island has liberal lashings of Irish magic, and that’s not counting a coastline that would put you in mind of Ireland’s rugged west. Henry Ruckle, who left Ireland...
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The Celtic Heart
of North America
For nine days in October, Cape Breton Island is home to a unique celebration of music and culture, with the finest of storytellers, musicians, and dancers from around the globe taking part in the festivities. John Kernaghan was there, awash in nostalgia. ℘℘℘ The estrangement ran for more than 45 years, but when a vagrant Irish heart landed on the shores of Cape Breton, love was restored....
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Valentia Island’s Buried Treasure
Buried treasure on a remote Irish island, the descendants of a 13th-century Knight and a 19th century American entrepreneur – and the birth of the modern communications industry. It’s not the plot of some barely-believable potboiler, but the real-life back story behind a bid to have the small island of Valentia – off the coast of south west Ireland – recognized formally as one of the...
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My Mother the Imposter:
A Roots Mystery
A search through Dermot McEvoy’s family history revealed an eye-opening secret. Here’s what he discovered, plus a guide to researching your own Irish ancestors. (This article has been updated since its original publication to reflect the most recent re-location of the General Registry Office.) Mary Josephine Kavanagh was born in Dublin on March 18, 1907. She was my mother, or so I thought,...
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