John Phillip Holland was born on February 24, 1841 in small coastal town of Liscannor. His mother was a native Irish speaker and young John himself would not learn English until he attended school. Hollandâs father was a coastal patrolman for the British Coastguard Service and instilled in the young Holland a love of the sea. With aspirations to go to sea, young Holland walked … [Read more...] about John Phillip Holland, Father of the Modern Submarine
Thomas Ashe
In his poem 1916, Y.B. Yates wrote describing the Easter Rebellion "All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born" to describe that watershed moment in Irish history. Yates, and most of us, attribute that pivotal moment to MacDonagh, MacBride, Connolly and Pearse. Yates, however, could not anticipate, and many of us do not remember the change that would be brought … [Read more...] about Thomas Ashe
John William Finn, Medal of Honor
With the passing of years and in a growing climate of "political correctness", the shock and horror of Pearl Harbor, the day "which will live in infamy", appears to be forgotten. Movies like "Letters from Iwo Jima" depict the forces of Imperial Japan as sympathetic victims forgetting that on December 7th, 1941 the Japanese Navy without a declaration of war launched a deadly … [Read more...] about John William Finn, Medal of Honor
CuimhnĂgĂ ar Luimneach
In the city of Limerick, near King Johnâs Castle, stands an unusual monument. Mounted on a pedestal is a block of stone as nondescript and humble as its original origins as a mounting block used by people to get on their horse. Yet, this single simple stone represents one of the most honorable moments in Irish history and one of the most shameful and deceitful in English: the … [Read more...] about CuimhnĂgĂ ar Luimneach
Michael Corcoran
When we think of courage, our mind naturally drifts to people who brought their lives in harms way for the sake of others. Less often do we think of courage in the moral sense, to do what is right irrespective of the personal consequences. Both forms or courage are rare, and even rarer is the person who embodies both of them. Such a person was Michael Corcoran. Corcoran was … [Read more...] about Michael Corcoran