Recently, over a million spectators converged on Times Square to watch the annual ball drop bringing in the new year.As the large milling crowds were looking up, one wonders how many of them noticed a statue of a man wearing the uniform of an American soldier of a century ago, a Celtic cross at his back, watching over them. Yet the man depicted is not armed with a rifle, but … [Read more...] about Fr. Francis P. Duffy “…a very Irish, very Catholic, very American person”

In December 1862, the American Civil War which at its start  both sides believed would last only for a few weeks and be decided with one major battle was now in its twentieth month and had seen numerous battles and already tens of thousands of lives lost.  Despites its numerically superiority in manpower, its overwhelming advantage in supply, the smaller and ill-supplied … [Read more...] about Faugh a Ballagh!

He was a member of the Protestant ascendancy of Ireland, the son of a Dublin coach maker who had inherited property in Bordenstown, County Kildare.  There were persistent rumors that he may have been the illegitimate son of the godfather for whom he was named, the cousin of the Viscount Kilwarden and a prominent member of parliament.  He was a member of the established Church … [Read more...] about Wolfe Tone, “The Father of Irish Republicanism”

A famous journalist once observed that “Disinformation is most effective in a very narrow context.” He knew that when events, especially historical events, are taken out of context their meaning and significance can be completely distorted. Such is the case with the recent fascination of the media with the events concerning the NY Draft Riots of 1863. These events are the back … [Read more...] about The Other Side of the Copper: Irish Americans and the NY Draft Riots