History

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

As we enter this July 4th weekend, there will be many programs rightly celebrating the accomplishments of the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers. As Americans have a lot to take pride in. Our revolution was one of the few in history not to be followed by a military dictatorship. The government that it gave rise to, while not perfect, is one of the few that realizes … [Read more...] about “Let the Shamrock be Entwined with the Laurels of the Revolution”

The recent HBO Mini-Series The Pacific has brought a long overdue recognition to the sacrifices and hardships endured by the U.S. Marines in the Second World War. These battles were fought on isolated islands that one would struggle to locate on a map: Guadalcanal, Roi-Namur, Saipan-Tinian, Peleliu, Okinawa. Combat was often at point blank range; not only did the men involved … [Read more...] about Lt. Col. Joseph Jeremiah McCarthy, “A hero at every campaign and everything he did”

While the rest of Europe plunged into darkness with the fall of the Roman Empire, the light of learning and western civilization was kept flickering in Ireland, preserved in the monasteries established by the followers of St. Patrick.   However, it would only be a matter of time before the “light” attracted the unwanted attention of  those more interested in plunder than … [Read more...] about Brian Boru, the only true Ard Ri of Ireland

Few moments in American history are more mythologized or more debated than those of the Seventh Cavalry at the Little Big Horn.  Myth has the power to preserve the names of people who would otherwise be forgotten, but often at the price of losing the true person.  One example of this is Irish American Captain Myles Keogh. Keogh was born on March 25,1840 in Leighlinbridge, … [Read more...] about Myles Keogh, A True Hero Hidden in Myth