Filed under writing a family history

The Sad Tale of Eliza Fitzpatrick

The Sad Tale of Eliza Fitzpatrick

Her story is one, initially, of normal native Irish family life, then blighted by the Famine, the workhouse, and being sent to Australia, where her marriage, children, and oversall loss apparently sent her into a downward spiral and a tragic death. Continue reading

What we are reading at the moment:

What we are reading at the moment:

She used a blue biro pen and had numbered the pages on small, plain, lined notepaper…I was pleased to see, sometimes, the smudged ring of a teacup or saucer imprinted on the page. I ould see her in the kichen getting a cup of tea as she wrote to me on a Sunday night. Continue reading

Halloween Oíche Shamhna Recipes

Halloween Oíche Shamhna Recipes

In Ireland at Halloween, it is just as easy to buy Barm Brack from a bakery or even the supermarket. But here is a lovely traditional recipe that is easy to make with simple ingredients to bring the taste of Halloween here. Some bakeries would put a ring for marriage or a pea for poverty. Continue reading

Would You Like to Write for Us?

Would You Like to Write for Us?

We have subscribers in 117 countries and on every continent. Our authors have been Irish-born and Irish resident; Irish-born and Australian resident or resident in other countries; Australian-born of Irish descent; or simply interested and involved in the Australian-Irish connection.   Continue reading

From Tipperary to Outback Australia

From Tipperary to Outback Australia

Today, a hundred and eighty years later I stand near his grave in the hot, dry semi-desert land of the Australian ‘outback.’  Emigrating to Australia in the 1860s and becoming one of the burgeoning numbers of the Irish diaspora, John, better known as Jack, was part of a heroic effort to develop this new and challenging land, so different in every way from the green fields of Tipperary. Continue reading