History

The commentator Walter Winchell paid tribute to the patriotism and courage of Irish Americans during his St. Patrick’s Day broadcast of 1945 observing: “You can’t strike the American Flag without expecting to get hit back by some Irishman.” Perhaps Winchell was thinking of the uncertain days when an ill prepared America was thrust into a World War by the sneak attack by the … [Read more...] about Edward “Butch” O’Hare

The Christmas Season is a time of paradoxes. As the days get darker and colder, our spirits grow brighter and warmer as we anticipate the divine contradiction of the King of Kings born in a stable, It is also a time when we proclaim good will toward our fellow man. It is therefore appropriate at this time to write about a man whose life embodied both paradox and good will to … [Read more...] about Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, the “Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican”

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, for the first time in over four years, the guns fell silent across the trenches that scarred the face of Europe during the First World War.  America had been latecomers to the conflict, but at a tremendous cost had tipped the scales in what had been a murderous stalemate.     No division had sacrificed more than the … [Read more...] about “Wild Bill” Donovan, “The Last Hero”

Since the time of the Bards, the Irish have been proud of, and justly famous for, their command of   language. Not only have they produced more than   their fair share of writers (Swift, Joyce, Yeats) but   they have also contributed more than their fair   share of words to the English language (galore,   caddie, slogan, spunk and fittingly enough gab).   In one case though, … [Read more...] about The Irish Have a Word For It

In the years following the missionary work of St.Patrick to Ireland, mainland Europe continued to slip further and further into the gloom of the Dark Ages. Only Ireland, which had transferred its ancient traditional love and appreciation of learning to the new faith and its classical traditions, was the flickering flame of civilization kept alive. Here it could have remained, … [Read more...] about St. Columcille of Iona