He had a granddaughter called Rosella who had several children, one of whom was a son called Jesse Presley. In 1913, Jesse Presley married a lady named Minnie Mae. They had a son in 1916 called Vernon Elvis Presley. Continue reading
Filed under Irish Studies …
A Blacksmith from Limerick in New York
Peter Clarke was indeed a blacksmith of Limerick. His father, Joseph, left Limerick and his business at Brunswick Lane and settled in New York in 1869. Continue reading
A Brief History of the Irish in Australia
With the passage of time Irish Catholics eventually did become part of the fabric of Australian society. With the coming of each generation, they moved along and some of them, up the social scale. But their ascent was neither rapid nor easy. Continue reading
British Espionage after The Rising
The Intelligence authorities found it difficult to accept that parents whose eldest adult child had been executed for his role in the Easter Rising, and who moreover had two more sons Volunteers (initially sentenced to death but commuted to 10-year sentences), were not actively involved in the Rising. Continue reading
Bilingual Haiku
Crainn Jacaranda,/buamaí gorma áille…
Jacaranda trees,lovely explosions of blue. Continue reading
An Irish Teacher in Papua New Guinea
Early one morning on my way to Rabaul with my family we did not see even one woman. However, we overtook many men on foot and on bicycles, all moving in the same direction with their bodies naked from the waist up. Each wore a bright red lap-lap or long piece of cloth knotted at the hip to form a skirt. Continue reading
Feisty Irish Women and Irish National Foresters
Susan has had international recognition with her interview on The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio1…The Irish National Foresters were a Friendly Society that commenced in Ireland and then started in Melbourne in 1886 … Continue reading
Community Gatherings in Ireland Old and New part one
. To this day, we have a saying in Irish ‘Bhí togha gacha bí agus rogha gacha dí le fail ann’, The finest of every food and the choice(st) of every drink was to be had there. This is believed to originally date from bards of one to two thousand years ago. As a chieftain or king, one’s reputation had to be maintained, or enhanced and these ‘songs of praise’, so to speak, were pivotal in this regard. Continue reading
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Based on truth and story: the Irish ballad tradition and its relevance to today.
The other songs cut straight to the chase of the reality of war. Mrs McGrath and Johnny, I hardly knew you. They give a heartbreaking perspective on the horror and futility of war and although tinged with humour they give a firsthand account of the injuries and lifelong disabilities inflicted. Continue reading
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Tóibín being Tóibín.
Book Review by Frank O’Shea A GUEST AT THE FEAST. By Colm Tóibín. Picador 2022. 305 pp. $34.99 Colm Tóibín is the current Laureate for Irish Fiction, succeeding Sebastian Barry. As part of that role, he will be expected to deliver a number of public lectures; it is not clear whether this book is part … Continue reading
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