Ed Moloney wrote the book that became Say Nothing
Long before Patrick Radden Keefe got the idea to write Say Nothing about The Troubles, Ed Moloney had been running with and reporting on the major players in NI between 1972 and 1998. He died in mid-October.
Ireland refuses to surrender in Budapest
Just when it looked like Ireland was out of the World Cup picture again, Troy Parrot scored a goal in the 95th minute against Hungary to keep hope alive. Ireland advances to WC play offs in late March. Opponents to be determined this Thursday 11.20.25.
Diplomat moves from Baghdad to Baghdad By The Bay*
As a result of the regular rotation of diplomats by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Marianne Bolger will move from Amman, Jordan to San Francisco, California in 2026. Current Consul General Micheal Smith has been named Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and will move to Riyadh in September.
Four Irish women who aren’t wearing the poppy
It’s a UK tradition to honor veterans by wearing red paper poppies in early November.But this season, four Irish professional soccer players in England aren’t wearing poppies on their uniforms. James McClean was the first pro soccer player not to wear the poppy on his uniform 13 years ago. He explains why.
The monsignor forgotten by history
The amazing story of Monsignor Hugh OFlaherty’s work to save more than 6,000 Jews, POWs and partisans in Italy in 1943 is being told again. But for too long it’s been untold, say some.
An Irish mayor for all New Yorkers
The last native Irishman elected Mayor of New York was William O’Dwyer. After a first term from 1945 to 1949, he was reelected in a landslide only to leave office in 1951 as a criminal corruption investigation reached Gracie Mansion. He was never charged. Questions persist.
The price of a pint
The pint of Guinness. What could be more Irish than this one at Ted’s in Cashel, Co. Mayo? The maker of the best selling stout in the world is the subject of a Netflix series and plans to open a “brewery experience” in London in December. For Guinness, business has never been better. But they better not raise the price of a pint in Ireland.
The Making of a President 2025
Catherine Connolly, Independent, was expected to win the presidential election in Ireland. But not by a landslide. The Making of a President 2025.
Ireland elects a scholar as First President
The unlikely choice for Ireland’s first President was Douglas Hyde. The Leading advocate of the Irish language, he was an organizer of the Gaeic League, from which the 1916 Rising flowed. Hundreds of Oregonians heard him speak in 1906.
Next stop: SNN
The epicenter of Trump Ireland is Doonbeg, Co. Clare, the town nearest the Trump golf course and hotel along the Atlantic Ocean.
Movements need martyrs and monuments
How did Robert Emmett, leader of a failed rebellion in 1803, become such an icon of Irishness? His name. image, likeness and last words were ubiquitous in Irish America.
How could Ireland not name the new National Hospital after this woman?
Ireland’s decision NOT to name its new national hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn is controversial. She had a remarkable career as pediatrician, freedom fighter, politician and children’s hospital founder.
TVF&R Pipes and Drums. The origin story.
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Pipes and Drums has been performing for a quarter of a century and will celebrate that milestone at Clancy’s in Sherwood on September 17.
Meet the Musk/ McGregor tag team
Elon Musk is at it again. He’s aiding Conor McGregor’s last ditch effort to get on the ballot in Ireland’s election of a new President next month.
They used to call it “De Valera’s Ireland”
The complicated legacy of Eamon de Valera will be the stuff of arguments for years to come among the Irish. It was fifty years ago that he died after a reign that lasted most of the 20th century.
The Quiet Man and Banshees of Inisherin: Lots in common. One big difference.
Martin McDonagh’s Banshees of Inisherin isn’t likely to inspire the kind of reverence and commercialism inspired by John Ford’s 1952 film The Quiet Man starring Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne. Banshees tourism is not likely to become a thing. One is a Rom Com with great passion. The other is a Black Comedy with grim passion.
For Labor Day. Digging by Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney, the greatest Irish poet since W.B. Yeats, died on August 30, 2013.
This might be his greatest poem, the first poem in his first book The Death of a Naturalist (1966).
When Irish America saw itself on Ed Sullivan
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show on March 9, 1961.
Ed Sullivan - A star of the Irish Diaspora
Twenty three years. Eleven hundred episodes. Ten thousand acts. All cleared by Ed Sullivan himself.
Shining a light on Mary Robinson
Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, now 81, is still on the front lines.