Ireland’s second National Famine Commemoration day will take place this Sunday, 16 May, with a wide range of events marking the day. The main event in Ireland will be a formal State ceremony at the National Famine Memorial in Murrisk, Co. Mayo. The event will include the National flag and military honors, and wreath-laying ceremonies.… Continue reading Ireland marks National Famine Commemoration Day on Sunday
Tag: history
First Irish history of Missouri available on audio download
Following my post mentioning the first history ever written on the Irish of Vermont, I received a note from Mike O’Laughlin, an accomplished Irish-American genealogist and historian, who informed me he’s the author of the first book on the Irish of Missouri. Missouri Irish began life as a hardcover but is now available as an… Continue reading First Irish history of Missouri available on audio download
Government to help Irish in Barbados?
Will the Irish government come to the assistance of the so-called “Red Legs”, the descendents of Irish (as well as English and Scottish) people transported 400 years ago to Barbados to act as slaves? As many as 50,000 Irish people were transported to Barbados as slaves and indentured servants during Cromwell’s time; the community that… Continue reading Government to help Irish in Barbados?
First history of Irish in Vermont published
The first-ever book on the history of the Irish in Vermont has been published, authored by historian Vincent E. Feeney. “Finnigans, Slaters and Stonepeggers: A History of the Irish in Vermont,” examines the Irish experience in the state from the 1760s through the twentieth century. Feeney says the Irish stayed in their ethnic ghetto for… Continue reading First history of Irish in Vermont published
Emigration pageant for Derry City of Culture bid?
An interesting emigration-themed idea proposed for Derry’s bid to become the UK City of Culture in 2013: From Shore to Shore: A specially-commissioned pageant focussing on arriving planters and departing emigrants, to be performed (May-June) on some of the north-west’s most picturesque beaches from Hervey’s Downhill to Red Hugh’s Rathmullan. This would feature the stories… Continue reading Emigration pageant for Derry City of Culture bid?
Surfing film highlights Irish role in origins of sport
The role of Irish-American George Freeth in establishing the modern sport of surf-boarding is explored in a film now playing in movie theatres. Waveriders tells the story of Freeth, who had a Hawaiian mother and an Irish father. He brought the sport of surfing from Hawaii, where it had nearly been eliminated by missionaries, to… Continue reading Surfing film highlights Irish role in origins of sport