His birthplace claimed by two states, Jeremiah Curtin, son of Irish immigrants, shed glory upon the state to which he was brought as an infant — Wisconsin. Something of his indomitable nature was evident in his triumph over frontier conditions to become the first Wisconsinite to earn a degree from Harvard College and to goRead more..
The seeds of Robert F. Kennedy’s compassion lay in his understanding of the past struggles of his Irish ancestors. ℘℘℘ On March 17, 1964, Robert F. Kennedy traveled to Scranton, Pennsylvania, to address the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. His address that evening was rich in purpose but also in sentiment. It was his firstRead more..
Retired General Martin Dempsey on the lessons he learned from his Irish grandmother. ℘℘℘ Bridget Jennings was my diminutive, Irish immigrant grandmother. In 1922, as a 16-year-old, she left her parents and siblings in County Mayo and came to the United States. At 21 she married John Devenney of County Donegal, and at 41 sheRead more..
General Martin Dempsey on what he learned from the writings of W.B. Yeats. ℘℘℘ I first became interested in the poetry of William Butler Yeats in graduate school. By that time I had accumulated enough life experience to help make sense of this prolific poet who wrote of folklore, history, romance, heroism, and mysticism in the yearsRead more..
This past March I traveled through Northern Ireland as part of a group of 19 students and administrators from New York University’s Gallatin School. We had come to Northern Ireland to gain a better understanding of human rights issues. What I gained an understanding of, however, was how large the gap had become between whatRead more..
For the second straight White House election, the Democratic and Republican candidates for vice president grew up in strong Irish American and Catholic families. Eyebrow-arching in itself, the fact that these four figures share a similar heritage helps illustrate what you might call the Irish political diaspora within the U.S. from the time of theRead more..
A laudable feature of this year’s Easter Rising commemorations is the conscientious effort to recognize the role women played in the insurrection for independence. Books, articles, and documentaries present the distaff side of history, creating (if you will) the “her” story of 1916. Current attention, however, doesn’t mean that members of Cumann na mBan andRead more..
When the rebellion of 1798 failed, many of The United Irishmen, including Thomas Addis Emmet, came to the United States where their influence was enormous. ℘℘℘ You may well wonder why a historian of the United States should presume to write about the United Irishmen of 1798. There are two reasons: one personal, the otherRead more..
The shocking news leapt across the airwaves and sped along the Internet – the Irish, by national vote, had declared gay marriage equal to the straight version. Gay marriage, something virtually unknown just a few years ago, had been approved as fully lawful and valid within the borders of the Irish Republic. Had been approved,Read more..
A Window on the Past: Historian Christine Kinealy debunks the myth that Ulster was untouched by the Great Hunger. The myth of Ulster exceptionalism and affluence has roots in the Great Hunger itself. As early as 1849, Protestant loyalists were laying the foundation for a binary, two-nation view of the Famine. Objecting to a newRead more..