Irish America Magazine

13/12/2024

The demand for the removal of restrictions on Irish free trade throughout the colonies was satisfied on this day in 1779. The Irish Volunteers, who had been armed and marched under the slogan of ‘free trade or else’ were granted their demands by the British government.

08/12/2024

James Hoban, the Kilkenny-born architect who designed the U.S. White House, died on this day in 1831. Read Tom Deignan's article on him here:

The House That Hoban Built By Tom Deignan, ContributorJune / July 2008June 1, 2008 by 7 Comments James Hoban, Architect of the White House. In 1785, a newspaper in Philadelphia carried this advertisement: “ Architect James Hoban Any gentleman who wishes to build in an elegant style, may hear of a ...

07/12/2024

On December 5, 521, St. Columcille was born in Gartan, Co. Donegal. Columcille, who would also become known as Columba, Colum, Columbus, and Columkill, was born to a royal family but given in fosterage to a priest at a young age. Read Rosemary Roger's article on the Saint here: https://buff.ly/41cjGXL

06/12/2024

The day after the British set a deadline, the treaty was signed. This officially marked the end of the Irish War for Independence. Collins, who did not support the agreement, remarked “I have signed by own death warrant.” One year later, however, the Irish Free State would come into being. Photo: The signed treaty.

05/12/2024

Today in 1921, the British government gave the Irish a deadline to accept or reject the Anglo-Irish treaty, which would establish Ireland as a Free State but a dominion under the British Crown. Photo: A draft of the treaty.

04/12/2024

On this day in 1971, a bomb was set off in McGurks Bar in Belfast. 15 people perished in the attack, which was carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force. Photo: © The Irish Times

02/12/2024

On this day in 1999, the Good Friday Agreement came into effect. Read Kelly Candaele's reflection on the historic agreement, over 20 years later. Read here:

Good Friday Agreement 25 Years Later Queens University, Belfast Conference By Kelly CandaeleIA Newsletter April 29, 2023April 26, 2023 by 1 Comment Participants of the Belfast Conference wave to the crowds assembled outside of Queens University.Senator George Mitchell turned out to be the star of th...

01/12/2024

Need a Sunday read? Check out our interview with actress Roma Downey here:

What Are You Like? Roma Downey By Patricia Harty, Editor-in-ChiefSeptember 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment Actress Roma Downey on fancy sheets, missing her mother, and being exhilarated over The Bible. Roma Downey, actress, author and producer, is enjoying a runaway hit with The Bible: Epic Mini-Series,...

30/11/2024

On this day in 1667, Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland. Swift made a successful career as a satirist, essayist, poet, and clergyman. His most famous works include “Gulliver’s Travels,” “Drapier’s Letters,” “The Battle of the Books,” and “A Modest Proposal,” which satirical poked fun at the English approach to the Irish, claiming that impoverished Irishmen could alleviate their troubles by selling their children for food.

29/11/2024

Looking for an article to cozy up with in your post-Thanksgiving slump? Read Ellie Shukert's article, "Irish War Brides: A Little Irish Romance" here: https://buff.ly/3V4A4FS (Photo from Ellie Shukert's book, 'Brides of World War II'.

By March 1945, U.S. naval officer T.J. Keane had disclosed that 25 percent of the men under his command had married women from Northern Ireland.

28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving from the staff at Irish America.
(Photo: Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash)

27/11/2024

On this day in 1953, Irish American playwright Eugene O’Neill died at the age of 65. Read C.F. Canning's article on the legendary playwright here:

Eugene O'Neill was one of those Irish-Americans who never set foot on Irish soil. And yet a good measure of his identity as an artist was defined by his Irishness -- something he freely admitted.

26/11/2024

Following JFK's assassination, journalist Dorothy Kilgallen investigated the circumstances of his death. Then, she was found dead in her New York home - under mysterious circumstances. Read about the inquisitive journalist here:

Wild Irish Women: The Reporter Who Wouldn’t Go Away By Rosemary Rogers, ContributorJune / July 2017May 24, 2017 by 13 Comments Dorothy Kilgallen, c. 1952. Kilgallen was investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy when she was found dead at her home in New York. The city recently re-opened t...

25/11/2024

Three days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, his body is laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. An estimated 800,000 people lined the streets for the funeral procession, as it made its way to St. Matthew’s Cathedral.

24/11/2024

Peadar Kearney, the lyricist responsible for the Irish national anthem “A Soldier’s Song,” died on this day in 1942. Kearney joined the Gaelic League in 1901 and the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1903.

23/11/2024

This day in 1963 marked the first day of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency. On November 22, just two hours after the assassination in Dallas of President John F. Kennedy, former Vice President Johnson took the oath of office. Witnesses to the swearing-in included his wife and new first lady, Claudia Johnson, and the widowed Jacqueline Kennedy, whose clothes were still stained with her husband’s blood. They then flew to Washington, accompanying Kennedy’s coffin. Upon arriving in Washington, Johnson said, “I will do my best. That is all I can do.”

22/11/2024

Today, in 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Read about JFK's poignant last words in Ireland here:

I’ll Be Back In the Springtime – JFK in Ireland By Sean Reidy, ContributorApril / May 2013March 20, 2013 by 1 Comment Sean Reidy, CEO of the JFK Trust, looks back on President Kennedy’s visit to New Ross in 1963, and forward to celebrations on the 50th anniversary of that visit. “I’ll be b...

21/11/2024

The lesser-known Irish Bloody Sunday took place during the Irish War of Independence on this day in 1920. On the morning of November 21, Michael Collins’s men killed 14 British intelligence officers. Later that afternoon during a GAA match at Croke Park in Dublin, British forces opened fire on Irish civilians watching the match. Read about the historic era here:

After the Rising By Tom Deignan, ContributorFebruary / March 2017February 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment The Sinn Fein members elected in the December 1918 election at the first Dail Eireann meeting, called by Sinn Fein on January 21, 1919. Shown are (from l to r): 1st row: L. Ginell, Michael Collins (l...