Irish contributions to American history received a special recognition this week. The 150th anniversary of connecting the First Transcontinental Railroad was commemorated in a two-day celebration in Utah May 9 and 10 at Promontory Point, the state landmark where the Golden Spike connecting the track’s east and west branches was struck on May 10, 1869.Read more..
At the request of many prominent politicians, including senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsay Graham, Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan has intervened to postpone the deportation of former Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) member Malachy McAllister. McAllister, 59, was jailed for seven years for attacks on Royal Ulster Constabulary officers during the 1981 hunger strikes. He didRead more..
The Irish American Partnership announced a special grant of $10,000 to Ahalin National School in County Limerick during its annual New York Business Leaders Breakfast on April 10, 2019, in honor of Limerick native Michael J. Dowling, who is president and CEO of Northwell Health, the largest integrated health care system in New York State.Read more..
The Ireland Funds 44th annual New York Gala raised over $2.3 million for Irish charities and causes. Actress Saoirse Ronan, Verizon’s Ronan Dunne, and Bridgewater Associates’ Eileen K. Murray were honored at the 2019 gala, which was held at Chelsea Pier New York on May 2. “Tonight’s gala is such a testament to the unwaveringRead more..
A group of workers on the docks serenaded the passengers with “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” and “Come Back to Erin.” The sirens of other ships in the harbor wailed while the 314 Irish brides waved, held up their 140 babies, and sang “Auld Lang Syne” through floods of tears as the Henry Gibbins, aRead more..
An old-time bar in Brooklyn, Farrell’s has served as a community center since the 1930s, and is the last marker of what was once a thriving Irish neighborhood. ℘℘℘ Farrell’s Bar, on the corner of 16th Street and 9th Avenue in Brooklyn, has been in the same location in Windsor Terrace since 1933. It wasRead more..
All Hallows High School, a Catholic boys’ high school in the South Bronx, has a colorful history, from the sons of Irish immigrants who it was opened for to the minority students it now serves. Principal Seán Sullivan has made sure over the years that it is still one of the top Catholic high schoolsRead more..
Two words from one Irishman who trumpeted the world’s superpower. ℘℘℘ “Manifest destiny…” These words, placed together, command one’s attention. They sound important, almost biblical. But they didn’t come from an Old Testament patriarch or New Testament prophet. Rather, they came from the pithy pen of a 19th-century Irishman named John O’Sullivan. His ancestors wereRead more..
John Gilmary Shea preserved much of the existing knowledge of the beginnings of American Catholicism. ℘℘℘ Considering the Irish-American influence on U.S. Catholicism, it makes sense that someone of Irish descent – John Gilmary Shea – undertook to preserve much of the existing knowledge of the beginnings of American Catholicism. A prolific writer and doggedRead more..
Recently-published books of Irish and Irish-American interest. ℘℘℘ FICTION A Keeper By: Graham Norton As a friend commented recently, is there anything Graham Norton can’t do? He’s already got the perfect chat show, the reasonably decent wine varieties, and even added best-selling novelist to his array of talents two years ago with Holding. And now,Read more..