Seawater and seaweed baths, known as thalassotherapy, are famous for their therapeutic benefits, and have long been popular in Ireland. Greek and Roman records from the first century BC mention herbal medicines and cosmetic preparations made with seaweed. Modern preparations include soaps, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, shower gels and even packets of powdered seaweed that … [Read more...] about Sláinte! New Wave Greens: Ireland’s Sea Weeds
Hollywood’s New Golden Boy
He could have been a bartender, instead Dylan McDermott is one of Hollywood's hottest leading men. Coming off the unprecedented hat-trick of being TV's Best Actor (according to the Emmys and the Golden Globes), becoming one of TV's "Ten Sexiest Men" (according to People Magazine), and, most importantly, becoming one of the Top 100 Irish Americans (according to this magazine), … [Read more...] about Hollywood’s New Golden Boy
Roots: The Connolly Family
The Connolly family are an ancient sept of Ireland's western province of Connacht. The Gaelic form of the name is O'Conghaile. The original sept dispersed and in time three separate families developed based in Cork, Meath and Monaghan. However, the name is mainly found in Monaghan and in its native Connaught where it is sometimes spelled Connelly. There is also an unrelated … [Read more...] about Roots: The Connolly Family
The British Army in Ireland 30 Years On
On the 30th anniversary of the 1969 deployment of British troops in Northern Ireland, Brian Dooley looks back on the response both in Ireland and in Irish America.About 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 14, 1969, British soldiers of the Prince of Wales Own Regiment swung into Derry's William Street and began stretching barbed wire across the road, so ending the Battle of the Bogside. … [Read more...] about The British Army in Ireland 30 Years On
Stairway to Heaven
When I was a little girl visiting Ireland for the first time, my grandparents' farm in County Mayo was right in the shadow of Croagh Patrick -- in fact, you could see the mountain from the kitchen window. Though just 2,510 feet, it loomed in the fog and mist like Ireland's own Everest. I remember being told that Croagh Patrick, called the "reek" by locals, was a holy mountain … [Read more...] about Stairway to Heaven