Irish America

Irish America

History Archives

British Government Finally Grants
Finucane Family an Inquiry

By Brian Dooley
IA Newsletter, September 14, 2024

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Back in February 1989, George H.W. Bush had just succeeded Ronald Reagan as U.S. president. Margaret Thatcher was the British prime minister, and the conflict in Northern Ireland had another decade to run. Pat Finucane, a 39-year-old human rights lawyer living in Belfast, was shot dead in his home by members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) on 12 February of that year. … [Read more...] about

British Government Finally Grants
Finucane Family an Inquiry

St. Ailbe of Emly

By Rosemary Rogers
IA Newsletter, August 10, 2024

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Patron of Wolves | Feast Day September 12thSt. Ailbe, sometimes known by his anglicized name, St. Elvis, was a 6th-century saint born in County Tipperary. The name Ailbe is derived from the old Irish words Ail (rock) and beo (alive) since as a newborn, the saint was discovered alive under a rock where he had been hidden… by a wolf. Ailbe was the illegitimate offspring of a … [Read more...] about St. Ailbe of Emly

Saint-Gauden’s Celtic Vision

By Joe Zentner
IA Newsletter, August 3, 2024

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The most important American sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th century was born in Ireland. If there was such a thing as an American Renaissance, Augustus Saint-Gaudens embodied it in sculpture. To Saint-Gaudens, an artist is an interpreter of beauty in the world. A work of art is the artist's vision of a subject, colored by the light of imagination and expressed in … [Read more...] about Saint-Gauden’s Celtic Vision

St. Kevin of Glendalough

By Rosemary Rogers
IA Newsletter, July 27, 2024

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Patron of Ireland | 498-618 | Feast Day June 3rd Since no biography of this holy hermit was written until 600 years after his death, the facts of his long life (120 years!) are scarce. Kevin, his name anglicized from Coemgen or ‘of blessed birth’ was born of the royal line of the kingdom of Leinster. Educated by monks, Kevin, while still a boy, vowed to spend his life in … [Read more...] about St. Kevin of Glendalough

St. Dymphna: The Lily of Eire

By Rosemary Rogers
IA Newsletter July 6, 2024

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PATRON OF THE MENTALLY ILL; INVOKED AGAINST INCEST, DEPRESSION, STRESS, INSANITY, AND SLEEPWALKING.In Belgium, near the town of Geel, can be found one of Europe’s largest and most progressive hospitals for the care and cure of the emotionally disturbed. It was founded on the site of Saint Dymphna’s martyrdom and is named in her honor. Dymphna, born in the 7th century, was the … [Read more...] about St. Dymphna: The Lily of Eire