Irish America

Irish America

By Edna O'Brien Fall 2024

Country Girl: A Memoir by Edna O’Brien

By Edna O'Brien

Fall 2024

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In this excerpt from her memoir, Edna O'Brien returns to Ireland to build a house in which she hopes to avail of the "peace of that passeth understanding," only to find that even the best-laid plans can go awry. It was to Donegal, in the most northwestern tip of Ireland, that in the 1990s I headed, in order to build a house. The very place names so rough and musical, the … [Read more...] about Country Girl: A Memoir by Edna O’Brien

Book Notes: Enright Honors McGahern

By Tom Deignan

Fall 2024

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Next year will mark six decades since celebrated Irish novelist and short story writer John McGahern was censored and banned in his own country. Now, another celebrated writer – Anne Enright, Ireland’s first-ever “laureate” for fiction – is commemorating McGahern’s life and career with fond memories as well as new revelations. Back in 1965, McGahern wrote The Dark, which … [Read more...] about Book Notes: Enright Honors McGahern

Roots: O’Mahoney, McMahon and Vaughan

By James G. Ryan

Fall 2024

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The families of McMahon and O’Mahoney are related only by the common derivation of their names from the Irish name Mahon (in Gaelic Mathuna) which was a personal name, meaning a bear. The O’Mahoney or Mahony name is derived from Mathuna, a grandson of Brian Boru. The family were the Eoganacht, the regal dynasty of Munster and were one of the most prominent of West Munster. … [Read more...] about Roots: O’Mahoney, McMahon and Vaughan

The Kindness of Strangers: Remembering the Tragedy of the Brig St. John in 1849

By Christine Kinealy
IA Newsletter, October 12, 2024

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On 6 October 1849, emigrants on board the Brig St. John, caught their first sighting of American land as their vessel approached the coast of Cape Cod. The vessel was carrying as many as 140 passengers from counties Clare and Galway, Their destination was Boston where they would disembark the following day. The voyage had been uneventful and, to celebrate their safe arrival, … [Read more...] about The Kindness of Strangers: Remembering the Tragedy of the Brig St. John in 1849

Tim Walz of the Tomhaggard Doyles

By Megan Smolenyak

Fall 2024

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How A Solitary Tombstone in Wisconsin Solved the Mystery of His Irish Origins As a professional genealogist of half-Irish heritage, I’ve long embraced the opportunity to underscore the ties between Ireland and the United States, and one of the most obvious ways to do this is to trace the roots of high profile Americans to their place of origin in Ireland. This is trickier than … [Read more...] about Tim Walz of the Tomhaggard Doyles