Tír
na mBláth
Irish Seisiún Newsletter
Thanks to our past editors - Mary Gallacher
and Bill Padden
Editor Tommy Mac 
............
....Today's date and new proverb
Sunday's Seisiún
for September 14, 2025
‘Tá dúil ár n-anama sa cheol againn.’
Music is our soul’s desire.
.......Thanks again to
Bob Murphy, Pat Quinn, Randy Powell, Art Jacoby, and Kevin Westley
for supplying photos and info about our sessiuns.
Hello from south Florida!
Another fun-tastic seisiún at Tim Finnegans Irish Pub in Delray Beach, Florida. In attendance were: Art, Hector, and Jeff on fiddles, Ben on mandolin and banjo, Rosemarie on flute and whistle, and Randy (myself) on bouzouki.
Some of the tunes played included: Mooncoin and The Monaghan; Ryan's Slip Jig, Drops of Brandy, and The Foxhunt; Christmas Eve, Killavil, and Boys of Ballisodare; The Green Fields of Woodford and Hole in the Hedge; Devaney's Goat, Galway Ramblers, and London Lasses; Charlie Harris Polka Set; Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O song with Congress Reel; Whiskey 'Fore Breakfast and Aunt Jane with a Nightcap On; Old Bush, Drunken Landlady, and Duke of Leinster; Eileen Og song; Banish Misfortune, Cliffs of Moher, and Blarney Pilgrim; Chief O'Neill's, George Rowley's, and Humours of Tullycrine; O'Carolan's Concerto; Lucy Farr's, Stack of Barley; Some Say the Devil is Dead, Rye Straw; Lisdoonvarna and Swallow-tail Jig; Lark in the Morning and Conaughtman's Rambles.
It was sunny throughout the day today, a wonderful occurrence. The temperature was slightly cooler and a nice breeze was wafting from the north. I take it this augurs fall weather is in the making for all you folk up north. It's sure to get cool to colder soon enough north of the Mason Dixon line so you'd best be giving a thought to transferring yourself to Florida and the subtropics before it's just too darn late.
Best, Randy
EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA
READ ALL ABOUT IT
THIS JUST IN FROM BOB MURPHY
Tom,
Seamus and I were away at a music event last week. I caught him and Bill Paine playing "Yankee Firefighter" during a lull in the activities.
Bill wrote this reel in honor of the firefighters lost on that infamous day. It gets played quite a bit up in North Florida.
That day was in our thoughts, so they gave it a go.
Bob Murphy
click below to play
...........
.
Click any of the above logos to go to that site
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"That’s
How I Spell Ireland"
Saturdays at 7 to 8 PM EST.
You can listen on 88.7FM or WRHU.org.
For a request please text me on 917 699-4768.Kevin and Joan Westley
Note: Show will be preempted whenever the NY Islanders have a Saturday game
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Old Ireland
Ireland Travel
FAVOURITE PLACES IN IRELAND
Benbulbin, County Sligo.
Behold Benbulbin, a feast for the eyes and the imagination!
This dramatic landmark isn't just a geological wonder—it's steeped in Irish lore.
Legend tells that star-crossed lovers Diarmuid and Gráinne found their eternal rest here.
Get an idea of the scale of this amazing place with this drone video, or have a listen to this short violin tune played on Benbulbin.
Travel Quiz
Can you identify this site and it's location in Ireland?
Answer in next week's Newsletter
Last weeks Travel Quiz answer
Dunguaire Castle,
County Galway
Irish Language
Submitted by our own Anita
Dia dhaoibh go leir,
Keeping up with recent news:
Ta Taylor Swift agus
Travis Kelce geallta le cheile
(Thaw TS agus TK galtha le kay-la)
TS and TK are engaged! (in case you didn't know!)
And here is another seanfhocal (proverb)
Na rudai nach feidir a cheilt - tart, tochas agus gra
(na rudee nach fay-jir a cheltch - tart, tuchas agus graw)
The things that cannot be concealed - a thirst, an itch and love
Ta me i ngra leat
(Thaw may ee nraw lat)
I love you
Geallta-
engaged
Gra-
love
Posadh-
wedding
Slan go foill,
Anita
Have you ever wondered what something would sound like when spoken with an Irish accent?
I'm sure you've come across that problem before in your ancestry research.
With a website like Abair, now you can hear anything you want in an Irish accent!
Free Irish Classes
The classes are over zoom and are held at 12:00 eastern time the 1 st Sunday of every month.
It is basic conversational Irish and open to learners of all ages, especially beginners.
All are invited.
Hope to see you there!
slan go foill. Le dea ghui,
Anita
click here to register
..
Irish comfort foods to whip up when you need a homestyle treat
These Irish comfort foods will fill your belly and brighten your day!
IrishCentral Staff @IrishCentral Jun 30, 2025
Irish comfort food warms the belly and soul! Getty Images
Sometimes, when life's kicking your butt, there's only one thing to do - start whipping up some comforting Irish recipes!
Whether you're in the mood for a wee snack or a big proper feed, you must look no further than this selection of Irish comfort food recipes.
Hearty and healthy, these Irish comfort foods will warm your belly and brighten your day.
Here are some of the IrishCentral team's favorite Irish comfort food recipes - everything from starters to mains, all the way to dessert!
What's your favorite Irish comfort food recipe?
Starters Perfect as a snack or an appetizer, whet your whistle with these Irish starter recipes:
Guinness French onion soup recipe
Corned beef and cabbage spring roll
Irish potato and cheese soup recipe
4 (Getty Images)
Main course Got company? These Irish mains are the perfect way to keep your crew well-fed.
Irish Guinness beef stew recipe
4 Shepherd's pie.
Sides The perfect complement to any meal.
Irish stovetop potatoes with Kerrygold cheese and butter recipe
Roast parsnip and carrot recipe
4 Irish stovetop potatoes with Kerrygold cheese and butter.
Dessert What's comfort food without a sweet Irish treat?!
Celtic apple crumble with Irish whiskey cream sauce recipe
Bailey's chocolate cheesecake pots recipe
Irish strawberry sundae recipe
Drinks Tasty tipples to wash down your comfort food.
Bailey's Irish Cream and Irish Whiskey cocktail
Guinness' classic black velvet cocktail
* Originally published in March 2020, last updated in June 2025.
Enjoy
If you have a cherished family Irish recipie share it with us.
And if there's a story that goes with it.....even
better! mail click here
Fireny@aol.com
filíocht pronounced FILL-ee-uhkht meaning Poetry
Anything Can Happen
by Seamus Heaney
Anything can happen. You know how Jupiter
Will mostly wait for clouds to gather head
Before he hurls the lightning? Well, just now
He galloped his thunder cart and his horses
Across a clear blue sky. It shook the earth
And the clogged underearth, the River Styx,
The winding streams, the Atlantic shore itself.
Anything can happen, the tallest towers
Be overturned, those in high places daunted,
Those overlooked regarded. Stropped-beak Fortune
Swoops, making the air gasp, tearing the crest off one,
Setting it down bleeding on the next.
Ground gives. The heaven’s weight
Lifts up off Atlas like a kettle-lid.
Capstones shift, nothing resettles right.
Telluric ash and fire-spores boil away.
Seamus Heaney’s right—anything can happen. In this poem, Heaney translates Horace’s ode I. 34. Horace wrote about of how belief in God coming to him per purum, out of a clear blue sky. He wasn’t ready for it and then, boom! he heard thunder. Horace discovered that his lazy unbelief might warrant a second and third look, especially if Jupiter, the god of thunder and lightning, was going to announce himself so inconveniently.
As I sat a dozen years ago watching over and again airplanes flying into buildings per purum, out of a clear blue sky, one main thought occurred. I wondered then what art would come of this unexpected tragedy hurling at us from the sky, shattering our security.
And a few years later, Seamus Heaney offered an answer. He took Horace’s Ode I. 34, added a verse, and left it for us. It gave me a kind of key.
Stories and Tales
"seanchaí"
(pronounced "shan-a-key")
comes from the Irish words "sean" meaning old and "caí" meaning to tell.
Céad Míle Fáilte -
and welcome to your Letter from Ireland for this week.
Céad Míle Fáilte and welcome to your Letter from Ireland for this week, though I'm writing to you from Chicago today! We arrived in New York last Thursday morning aboard the Queen Mary 2 after an extraordinary transatlantic crossing, and now find ourselves in the Windy City, looking forward to meeting many of our local Green Room members over the coming days.
As I settle in with a cup of "morning joe" (when in America!), I'm still thinking back on the remarkable journey we've just completed and the surprising echoes of Ireland we discovered along the way. So, I hope you'll join me with whatever you fancy as we explore a fascinating tale of how Irish accents and people travelled the same route as the Queen Mary centuries ago.
Already a Green Room Member? You can comment on this letter in the Green Room forum here.
A Voyage on the world's last transatlantic liner
The Queen Mary 2 is the world's last remaining transatlantic liner and we decided to take her along the slow route to the USA as part of our annual break. There were many things that made this journey particularly special, but it was the surprise of finding that the captain of this great ship was Thomas Connery from the Hook Peninsula in County Waterford.
Each morning, Captain Connery delivered our navigation updates over the ship's intercom, with his distinctive Waterford accent cutting through the salt air. As we sailed along Ireland's south coast, passing close to his home waters off Waterford, I couldn't help but reflect on the thousands who had made this exact same journey before us, though under very different circumstances and with much less comfort.
You see, Captain Connery's ancestors, along with countless other Irish fishermen, have travelled this same route for centuries. From the 1600s onwards, fishing boats laden with fishermen from Counties Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, and Tipperary set sail for the rich fishing grounds off Newfoundland. At first, these were seasonal migrations, but as time passed, many chose to stay and settle in the area. They built homes around St. John's and around what became known as the "Irish Loop". They brought with them not just their fishing expertise, but their language, customs, and that same unmistakable County Waterford accent that Captain Connery carries to this day.
What I heard in Newfoundland took me right back to Ireland
When we visited Newfoundland back in 2017, and travelled along the Irish Loop, we were astounded to hear locals speaking with what could only be described as a County Waterford accent - not a diluted version, but the genuine article, preserved for more than three centuries.
It was as if we had stepped back in time.
The cadence, the particular way certain words were shaped, the musical rise and fall of conversation were all virtually identical to what we had just heard from Captain Connery aboard the Queen Mary 2. These Newfoundland voices carried an authentic sound of Ireland from the late 1600s and 1700s, passed down through generations like precious family heirlooms.
However, the Irish influence in Newfoundland runs far deeper than accent and speech patterns. Today, you don't have to look far to encounter surnames that immediately give away their southeastern Irish origins: Murphy, Walsh, Ryan, Power, Comerford, along with dozens of others. Each name represents a family story, a decision made centuries ago to leave the familiar fields and harbours of Ireland for the promise of new opportunities across the Atlantic.
These weren't the desperate famine emigrants of the 1840s, but earlier waves of Irish settlers who came as skilled fishermen and traders. They brought with them a different Ireland - one of fishing traditions, a largely Catholic faith, and strong community bonds that would prove essential for survival in their new home.
A Living History on the Ocean between us
Standing on the deck of the Queen Mary 2 last week, and listening to Captain Connery's morning announcements approaching those the same fishing grounds his ancestors had worked, I was struck by the continuous thread of Irish presence on these waters. From wooden fishing boats to modern luxury liners, from seasonal workers to ship's captains, the Irish have been writing their story on the Atlantic for more than four centuries.
The ocean that separates Ireland from north America has also served as a bridge, carrying not just people but culture, language, and identity across its vast expanse. In the preserved accents of Newfoundland's Irish communities, we can still hear the voices of those who made that journey centuries ago.
It's a reminder that our history isn't confined to the island of Ireland - but echoes in unexpected places, carried by the descendants of those who had the courage to follow the fishing boats to new shores, and keep the old ways alive in a new world.
That's it for this week's letter. As we prepare to meet with our Green Room members, we're reminded that the Irish story continues to unfold in communities worldwide.
How about you? Have you encountered unexpected Irish connections (or accents) in your travels? email me at Fireny@aol.com (Tommy Mac) with your comments and stories.
Slán for now,
Mike.
From crowbars to coffin ships:
Cavan's journey through the Great Hunger
IrishCentral contributor, Patrick Gannon, explores the harrowing story of famine, eviction, and emigration from County Cavan to the far corners of the world.
Patrick "Paddy" Gannon Contributor @IrishCentral Aug 14, 2025
Most photos added by Tommy Mac....
The Great Hunger memorial on the quays of the Liffey, in Dublin. Getty
On a cold November day in 1848, a landlord's crowbar brigade leveled the homes of 700 tenants in Tonagh, Co. Cavan - a brutal moment in Ireland's darkest chapter. This is the story of that devastation, and of those like Fanny Young, who escaped its grasp to begin new lives across the seas.
"The Crowbar brigade, employed on the occasion to extinguish the hearts and demolish the homes of honest, industrious men, worked away with a will at their awful calling until evening."
- Dr. Nulty, Tonagh Co. Cavan, 1848
On July 29, 1850, the passenger ship "Tippoo Saib" arrived in Sidney Harbor, carrying 349 passengers. Among them was 17-year-old Frances "Fanny" Young, of Mount Nugent, County Cavan. Here, she would begin a new life, alone and far from home. What were the circumstances by which Ms. Young of Cavan would find herself here, at this time, and at such a young age?
The roots of Cavan and Leitrim What we now refer to as County Cavan along with County Leitrim, was part of the Kingdom of Bréifne as far back as the 8th century - with small parts of adjacent counties added over time. In the 9th century the Ó Ruairc (O'Rourke) clan assumed the throne of Bréifne while also intermittently ruling all of Connacht. By the 12th century O'Rourkes ran afoul of another powerful family in the region, the Ua Raghallaigh (O'Reilly) clan.
Following the bloody Battle of Mag Slecht, in 1256, The Kingdom of Bréifne was split into East and West territories, with the O'Reillys ruling East Bréifne (Cavan) and the O'Rourkes ruling West Bréifne (Leitrim). In 1579, East Bréifne or Cavan was shired and subjected to the Ulster Planation wherein large numbers of Scottish and English settlers were brought in and given rights to confiscated land within the county. West Bréifne (Leitrim) was also targeted for plantation, but those plans did not come to fruition. Leitrim (O'Rourke Bréifne) would remain part of the Province of Connacht while Cavan (O'Reilly Bréifne) remained in Ulster. The two counties still hold large populations of O'Reillys and O'Rourkes respectively and to this day.
In concert with the Ulster Plantation, infrastructure was improved, towns were expanded or constructed entirely to further British commerce. Newly built roads connected urban centers within the county and others throughout the island. Flax, at the time, was of great economic importance - flax being the material used to weave linen, a fabric of great value. Flax growers were often individual families with meagre land holdings. Once harvested, it was typically the women and girls of the household who carried out the remaining stages of linen production (retting, scutching, hackling, spinning and weaving) all within their own modest cottages. The final product would generally then be shipped by coach or cart to Belfast for sale.
Flax production filled the cyclical lulls in potato farming, which helped those in pockets of Cavan maintain a slightly better standard of living than other areas. One would expect this to alleviate the impact of the Great Hunger (1845-1852) within the county, but by the late 1700s, mechanized linen production in Belfast using flax grown closer to the city began to supplant this cottage industry.
Combined with a downturn in the Irish economy around 1815, by the 1830s, the people of Cavan, most specifically the cottiers, were just as vulnerable to crop failure and resulting hardships as the rest of the island.
Cottier class
At the onset of the famine, 3 million people or more fell into the cottier class, out of Ireland's total population of about 8.5 million. In 1812, a British Member of Parliament described the lives of cottiers this way:
"The cotter hires a cabin, the worst in the county, with a small patch of potato land, at a rent of 30 shillings per annum…At the same time, he works for his landlord at the small wage of 5d per day: but it comes to settle, he receives nothing, as the food of his few sheep is set off against what he charges per labour. In this manner the poor cotter must toil without end, while his family eats of the produce of the small spot of land he has hired."
The foregoing description contemplated normal circumstances, not life during a temporary scarcity, much less a multi-year crop failure.
Blight arrives
Tradition holds that the blight first appeared within County Cavan at Blacklion in the autumn of 1845. Based on the 1841 census, Cavan's population was 243,158 just prior to the famine.
Most of the poverty-stricken within that population were to be served by three newly created Poor Law Unions (Bailieborough, Cavan and Cootehill), whose workhouses were functional by 1842 (though some portions of the county fell with unions with workhouses physically located in an adjacent county). A fourth, Bawnboy Union with a workhouse at Corrasmongan, Co. Cavan opened November 24, 1853, when the Great Hunger was essentially concluded.
Due to timing, Bawnboy Workhouse played no role during the famine; however, it remains one of few largely intact workhouses, which with the appropriate permission, can be visited, giving one a sense of their industrial size and cold, institutional atmosphere that paupers experienced.
Workhouses were not designed to be comfortable, but to be an unpleasant last resort, capable of sustaining life and nothing more. All had been designed by an architect named George Wilkerson of Oxfordshire, England, just 25 years old at the time of his appointment to the project. They were intended to handle localized, temporary cases of poverty, estimated at 1% of each union's population, not county or island-wide destitution like that of the Great Hunger.
When the blight first appeared at Blacklion, Co. Cavan in the autumn of 1845, few could foretell the horrors it would help to lay bare, particularly via the flawed design and overall inadequacy of the poor law system, and the ineptitude and ambivalence of those in control of policies and regulations around agricultural, economics and land. Nonetheless, and despite opposition from British policy makers at the time, workhouses were put into extended emergency use and pushed beyond their limits as hunger and disease took hold.
Despite the blight appearing in 1845, no deaths were directly attributed to it. Generally, this was because the crop failure that year was partial; cottiers and small farmers might still have some food stores, household items that could be pawned and perhaps a small number of livestock - sheep, pigs, donkeys that might be converted to food or sold.
Conditions worsen
By 1846, the story in Cavan was alarmingly different. In April of that year, The Dublin Evening Post reported on Cootehill, Co, Cavan: "The potatoes are run out with many families and there is no means of procuring meal." "Fever is raging to an alarming extent: it commences with the poor but has extended its ravages to persons in more comfortable circumstances."
News like this was already being globally publicized. As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald in July of 1846: "In Cavan, the poor are unemployed and starving. Inflammation of the stomach and diarrhea are frequent and attributable to the use of bad potatoes. Insufficiency of food is the cause of this present disease, and fever will break out to frightful extent, in the event of scarcity of food."
By January 1847, the Northern Whig reported that
in Cavan, "little or no labour [being] done [on] the small farms, the 
Workhouses
are full ."
To the British parliamentary Scarcity Commission on April 4, 847, Henry J. Kilber, esq of Drumken reported "no neighborhood had suffered more from failure of potato crop; distress is already great and the prospects of the future are alarming".
He went on to plead for Indian corn for the Cavan Union as did Rev. J Martin of Killeshandra. By April 14, 1847, that same Rev. J. Martin reported "The poor in a wretched state and daily their situation becoming worse," after which he requested approval of new line of road be built to provide employment within his union.
Overcrowding at the workhouses was a major issue, especially considering the contagions already present.
On Jan 23, 1849, Captain Duckworth and Mr. Ellis, Vice Guardian of Cavan Union reported that the workhouse, designed for no more than 1,200 inmates, contained 3,004 and was providing outdoor relief daily to 267 others.
At Oldcastle Workhouse, the following day, there were 1,054 paupers in a facility designed for 600, with an astounding 6,570 given daily outdoor relief. By January 25, 1849, despite a capacity of 800, 2,600 paupers resided at Cootehill Workhouse, with an additional 1,800 receiving daily outdoor relief.
But raw statistics alone, whether they be deaths, workhouse admittances or the like, do not begin the paint a full picture of the situation on the ground during the famine era. Stories of evictions and emigration, on the other hand, do more to round out the picture. Such was the case in the small townland Tonagh, which along with neighboring Mount Nugent and the islands in nearby Lough Sheelin were part of County Cavan yet within the boundaries of Oldcastle Poor Law Union, the workhouse for which was in Oldcastle, County Meath.
The Tonagh eviction
It was within the Townland of Tonagh, where one of the most egregious evictions of the Great Hunger took place on November 3rd, 1848; an event known to the worldwide press as 'The Lough Sheelin Eviction'. Landlords O'Connor and Malone, like many others, used the chaotic atmosphere of the famine to rid their property of tenantry. Often this was part of an effort increase their income by transforming their landholdings into more profitable and low maintenance grazing pasture. The two engaged a Land Agent, by the name of Guinness to evict Tonagh's 700 tenants in a single day. A local doctor and newly ordained priest, who would later be the Bishop of Meath, witnessed the heartbreaking scene and recorded the grisly details. Dr. Nulty put it this way:
"The Crowbar brigade, employed on the
occasion to extinguish the hearts and demolish the homes of honest, industrious
men, worked away with a will at their awful calling until evening. At length,
an incident occurred that varied the monotony of the grim, ghastly ruin which
they were spreading all around. They stopped suddenly, and recoiled panic-stricken
with terror from two dwellings which they were directed to destroy with the
rest. They had just learned that a frightful typhus fever held those houses
in its grasp, and had already brought pestilence and death to their inmates.""They
therefore supplicated the agent to spare these houses a little longer; but the
agent was inexorable, and insisted that the houses should come down. The ingenuity
with which he extricated himself from the difficulties of the situation was
characteristic alike, of the heartlessness of the man and of the cruel necessities
of the work in which he was engaged. He ordered a large winnowing-sheet to be
secured over the beds in which the fever victims lay - fortunately they happened
to be perfectly delirious at the time - and then directed the houses to be unroofed
cautiously and slowly, because he said that he very much disliked the bother
and discomfort of a coroner's inquest."
Dr. Nulty administered "the last Sacrament of the Church to four of these fever victims next day; and save the above-mentioned winnowing-sheet, there was not then a roof nearer to me than the canopy of heaven. The horrid scenes I then witnessed; I must remember all my life long. The wailing of women - the screams, the terror, the consternation of children - the speechless agony of honest industrious men- wrung tears of grief from all who saw them. I saw officers and men of a large police force, who were obliged to attend on the occasion, cry like children at beholding the cruel sufferings of the very people whom they would be obliged to butcher had they offered the least resistance.
"The heavy rains that usually attend the autumnal equinoxes descended in cold copious torrents throughout the night, and at once revealed to those houseless sufferers, the awful realities of their condition. I visited them the next morning, and rode from place to place administering to them all the comfort and consolation I could. The appearance of men, women and children, as they emerged from the ruins of their former homes - saturated with rain, blackened and besmeared with soot, shivering in every member from cold and misery - presented positively the most appalling spectacle I have ever looked at."
"The landed proprietors in a circle all around - and for many miles in every direction - warned their tenantry, with threats of their direct vengeance, against the humanity of extending to any of them the hospitality of a single night's shelter. Many of these poor people were unable to emigrate with their families; while, at home, the hand of every man was thus raised against them. They were driven from the land on which Providence had placed them; and, in the state of society surrounding them, every other walk of life was rigidly closed against them. What was the result? After battling in vain with privation and pestilence, they at last graduated from the workhouse to the tomb; and in little more than three years, nearly a fourth of them lay quietly in their graves."
A death sentence
This first-hand account describes the horror of one large-scale eviction, but sadly, similar events took place around the island during and well after the Great Hunger. As Nulty points, out eviction in either the short or long term would likely mean death. Those evicted could try to survive without proper shelter only to succumb to hunger or disease in a hastily constructed scalpeen or in a roadside ditch. Or they might gain entrance to the workhouse, receiving sustenance, but dying just the same from the maladies running rampant through those facilities.
Emigration for the evicted or those in the workhouse, unless sponsored by the landlord, was virtually impossible. For if they had the means, paupers would likely have emigrated before being evicted and facing the workhouse. There were some exceptions, notably through the controversial Earl Grey Scheme.
In 1850, many workhouses in Cavan and elsewhere were still at or above capacity and there was much debate on how to address this.
Earl Grey Scheme
It was Earl Grey who infamously tried to alleviate these two problems at once. In the Australian Colony, due to prisoner "transportation" among other factors there was an extreme gender imbalance. For every female in the colony there were 8 males. In Earl Grey's scheme, orphaned girls of "pure manner", aged 14-18 and currently housed in designated workhouses were offered free transportation to Australia which due to a labor shortage, promised employment. In his callous and simplistic view, this would help alleviate the overcrowding issue while addressing Australia's gender imbalance. Before the scheme came to an abrupt halt, over 4,000 young woman from Ireland felt compelled to sign on. Records indicate that at least 100 young woman from Cavan and at 22 specifically from the Oldcastle Union elected to make the arduous trip.
It is here that we return to the story of Cavan teenager Fanny Young. Ms. Young was raised in Mount Nugent, but her most recent residence was actually the Oldcastle Workhouse. Doubtless, she knew the story of the Lough Sheelin eviction, and while in the workhouse she likely crossed paths with some of those evictees. Her parents, William and Elizabeth Young both died during the Great Hunger, so Young had little hope leaving the workhouse without sponsored emigration.
She signed onto the Earl Grey Scheme, travelling aboard the "Tipoo Saib", with 297 other famine orphans. Though the passengers were unaware, due to the bad press the scheme received, this was the last ship to transport Irish orphans to Australia.
New life
Ms. Young had indeed survived the Great Hunger, but upon disembarking the ship that July day, she faced the unenviable task of rebuilding her own life. Through Australian records we can see that Young went on to marry a miner named William Melbourne on the 14th of October 1856. Melbourne was a native of England, and the pair would have 10 children between 1856 and 1871. Melbourne outlived Young, who died October 9, 1890, while he survived another ten years. Given the number of children that the couple shared, it is highly likely that there are many descendants of the Melborne/Young family in Australia today; each of them owing their very lives to a brave 17-year-old famine orphan, who yearned to escape the workhouse during the Great Hunger.
Another positive story from famine times is that of Cornelius O'Reilly. On May 5th, 1851, this probable descendant of East Bréifne's Ua Raghallaigh (O'Reilly) clan, arrived in New York aboard the "coffin ship" Malabar. Born in Drumroragh, Crosserlough, Co. Cavan in 1836, Cornelius O'Reilly used his cousin as a reference when he opened an account at Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank (EISB). The son of John O'Reilly and Mary Leddy, the younger O'Reilly, was a mason when he arrived in the US. A survivor of the famine, he settled on East 29th Street in Manhattan and picked up additional skills over the years. A mason, then a bricklayer, he described his occupation as a builder by the time he closed his account in 1861. When he left the bank that day, O'Reilly had almost $500 in his pocket, roughly $18,000 in today's currency. The streets may not have been paved with gold, but it seems this branch of Clan O'Reilly was doing okay for itself.
Bleak nation picture
While there are countless success stories, of
those who survived at home or emigrated for greater opportunity, the overall
story in 
Ireland
was far bleaker. Prior to the Great Hunger, Ireland's population was about 8.5
million people. Through hunger and disease, it is estimated that 1 million Irish
people died from 1845-1852. In the same timeframe, another 2 million emigrated,
largely to America, England, Canada and Australia. Ireland's population had
dropped an astounding 3 million people or 37.5%. By the closing days of the
famine County Cavan's population had dropped from 243,158 to just 174,064 a
decrease of 28%. And while we don't have specifics for each poor law union at
the close of the famine, we can imagine that the unions in the county generally
followed the countrywide pattern. We do have union records from 1881 which showed
a continuation of that pattern:
Bailieborogh Union: Population of 41,414 in 1831 and just 19,876 in 1881 - a decrease of 52%
Cavan Union: Population of 83,604 in 1831 and just 48,789 in 1881 - a decrease of 42%.
Cootehill Union: Population of 63,472 in 1831 and just 30,334 in 1881 - a decrease of 52%
Oldcastle Union: Population of 44,221 in 1831 and just 20,182 in 1881 - a decrease of 54%
We know that Cavan's unions overall were hit hard during and in the immediate aftermath of the Great Hunger. But 180 years since the Gardener's Chronicle first announced the appearance of "the potato murrain" in Dublin, the impact of the famine is still obvious in Cavan, Ireland and around the world. The Great Hunger sparked long-term movement patterns of the Irish populace, away from rural areas to major cities like Dublin or Belfast, but also to all parts of the world holding any promise of opportunity. Over the many decades, emigration would ebb and flow, fluctuating along with Ireland's industrial, economic and political landscape. Sometimes a trickle, more often a steady stream and occasionally a raging torrent, emigration has remained a concern since the 1840s. The total population within the republic reached its low point in 1961 at 4.25 million. And with Irish communities thriving in places like North America, England and Australia, Ireland's major export had, for a time, become her people. Since that low, the population within the republic has continued a slow and steady climb, reaching 5.15 million as of the 2022 census. Adding roughly 1.9 million to account for those in the six counties, yields an island-wide total of 7.1 million which is still 1.4 million shy of the 1841 figure.
Cavan's population continued a similar slide, until 1971's all-time low of just 52,618 people (roughly 1/5th of the pre-famine population) and has been slowly increasing since. Despite that growth, the 2022 census puts Cavan's population at 81,704, 55% higher than 1971 but still only 1/3rd of the pre-famine figure. The Great Hunger left an indelible mark on County Cavan, The Republic and island of Ireland; an indelible one visible from anywhere in the world.
Sources:
1 The History of Bréifne O'Reilly, J.J. O'Reilly, 1976
2 ibid
3 The Annals of The Four Masters
4 The History of Bréifne O'Reilly, J.J. O'Reilly, 1976
5 The Potato Was Not the Problem: A Study of The Link Between the Workhouses in Ireland and The Great Famine of 1845-50, Dymphna Mayne Headen, 2018 6
6 M.P. Edward Wakefield, 1812 7
7 Dublin Evening Post, April 18, 1846
8 Sydney Morning Herald, July 25, 1846
9 The Northern Whig, January 19, 1847
10 Henry J. Kilber, esq of Drumken Weekly Report of the Scarcity Commission, week ending April 4, 1846, via Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, www.dippam.ac.uk
11 Rev. Messrs Winning and Duff, Kingscourt, Weekly Report of the Scarcity Commission, week ending April 14, 1846, via Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, www.dippam.ac.uk
12 Ibid
13 Mr. Dean, Temporary Inspector, Oldcastle Union, Papers Related to Relief of Distress and State of The Unions in Ireland
14 Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, 1849, www.dippam.ac.uk
15 Pastoral to the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese of Meath, Rev. Nulty, 1848 (reprinted in Dublin Evening Post, March 15, 1871)
16 Irish Famine Memorial, Sydney, Australia; www.irishfaminememorial.org
17 Irish Famine Memorial, Sydney, Australia; www.irishfaminememorial.org
18 Irish Famine Memorial, Sydney, Australia; www.irishfaminememorial.org
19 Earl Grey's Famine Orphans, Trevor McLaughlin, www.earlgreysfamineorphans.wordpress.com
20 Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank Depositor Database; www.scholarspace.library.gwu.edu
21 Townlands in Poor Law Unions, George b. Handran, CG, 1997.
This article was submitted to the IrishCentral contributors network by a member of the global Irish community. To become an IrishCentral contributor click here.
Whatever your age
You're never too old nor too young
To enjoy Irish music
Look at the age of the dancers and also look at the age of some of the young musicians
Gotta love it!
And, this is one of our session players regular tunes.....
Pride and Prejudice and Three Irish Surnames
One of the most popular "period" novels of all time is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Her colourful characters, searching for a perfect match, have charmed readers for generations. In this letter, we will be introduced to the Irish surnames of her best-known heroes and heroines.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth, 1995
Let me ask you a question: Have you ever considered the difference between the male and female of our species? I guess that the main differences, beyond the obvious, range across a wide variety of subtleties. Take myself and Carina, for example.
We were both exposed to the prose of Jane Austen in school, through novels like “Pride and Prejudice“. In my case, the book was scanned rapidly for cliff-notes, while Carina has joyfully revisited the book and subsequent TV productions many times over.
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and Four Irish Surnames.
Jane Austen published her books to great acclaim within the England of the early 1800s. Women among the landed gentry lived a restricted life that revolved around the right connections, and the correct marriage. Jane Austen managed to both expose and satirise this world with her simple plotlines and complex characters, brought to life by descriptive prose, and sparkling dialogue.
With Pride and Prejudice, we are served up the main plot ambition within the first sentence:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
And so we are introduced to the Bennet family, and a whole host of characters. This first sentence then unwinds into a book of manners, ambition, class, the Pride of Mr. Darcy, and the Prejudice of Elizabeth Bennet.
So, do let me know if you are a fan of the writings of Jane Austen? How about the adaptations of her work? Let’s see if there is any substance in my earlier theory!
From the England of Jane Austen to Ireland.
I’m often asked “is my surname Irish or English?” – or “is my surname Irish or Scottish?” By the time Jane Austen was publishing her novels of English society, Ireland had recently joined the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”, and the penal laws against Catholics were coming to an end.
Most Irish Gaelic names had assumed an anglicised version at this stage – many of which were “pegged” to a similar sounding English name. For example, O’Clerigh was not only anglicised to “Clery” – but also to “Clarke”. MacGabhann was being anglicised as both “McGowan” and “Smith”. Through the 1700s, there were real and tangible benefits to having an English-sounding name.
Right – let’s get specific and take four of the surnames featured in Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, as an example:
The Author herself: Jane Austen.
While Jane Austen herself was born, and lived, in Hampshire in the U.K. – the surname Austen/Austin appeared in Ireland for the first time about the 14th century. It is spread widely and thinly across the island – and so is hard to tie to a particular origin. Do you have any Austens in your family tree? You can see the distribution of the Austin surname in Ireland by clicking here.
The Heroine of the book: Ms. Elizabeth Bennet.
Bennett is an example of a surname that arrived to Ireland in two waves. First, there are the Bennetts who arrived in County Kilkenny in the early 1300s. As a result, the surname is quite prevalent in that area. Just a few weeks back, we visited Bennettsbridge near the town of Kilkenny – a lovely village on the River Nore.
A branch of this family headed north and became known as the MacBennetts around Counties Down, Monaghan, and Tyrone. Do you have any Bennetts in your family tree? You can see a distribution of the Bennett surname in Ireland by clicking here.
Suitor Number One: The Prideful Mr. Darcy.
The Darcy surname is quite widespread in Ireland. In the eastern half of the country – they are often the D’Arcys who arrived with the rest of the Normans from the 1100s.
However, to the west, we find them as one of the “Tribes of Galway” – where Darcy is often the anglicisation for a native Irish Gaelic name. Do you have any Darcys in your family tree? You can see a distribution of the Darcy surname in Ireland by clicking here.
Suitor Number Two: The Creepy Mr. Collins.
OK – Jane does not use the word “creepy” when describing this cleric, however she does let us know that he is:
“not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society.”
I must admit, I would have preferred a stronger character tied to our own family name!
Collins is the classic example of a name that has been “borrowed” from English, and reattached to an old Irish Gaelic name. It is one of the most numerous surnames in Ireland – found primarily in Cork and Limerick – and was used to translate the old Irish name “O Coilean”, which means a “young whelp of a dog”. Do you have any Collins’s in your family tree? You can see a distribution of the Collins surname in Ireland by clicking here.
So, you can see from these examples that when I get asked “is my surname Irish or English?”, the answer is often “it depends”! We Irish aren’t as “pure” as the we might let on – we took on many ideas, names, and spellings, down through the years and millennia – creating a real melting pot, but somehow managing to keep a strong sense of identity and heritage.
How about you? Do you wonder if certain surnames in your family tree are Irish or English?
Jane Austen died in 1817 at the young age of 41. She never visited Ireland – but her family does actually have a strong link to the island. Two of her young nieces ended up near the village of Gweedore in County Donegal, where their descendants became both Irish speakers and social reformers. I wonder if they married well? I guess that’s a story for another time.
That’s it for today – as always, do feel free to share any questions or stories of your own.
We’ll chat again next week!
Slán,
Mike and Carina.
Tommy Mac here.
For years I have been asking my readers to submit
some of their own memories on various subjects.
But, I have only had a handful of replies over all those years.
Come on now!
I'm sure many of you have recipies, memories of your own,
or stories handed down that would be of interest.
Please.....
Send in some of your actual memories of family stories to share with everyone.
If you don't want your name to appear the let me know.
Send them to me, Tommy Mac at Fireny@aol.com
News of Interest,,,,,
Remembering the Irish and Irish Americans
lost during the 9/11 attacks
2,977 people were killed during the tragic attacks in the US on September 11, 2001; may they all rest in peace.
Brian Rohan @IrishCentral Sep 11, 2025
It's estimated that around one-sixth of the people who died on 9/11 had an Irish connection... Getty
The dreadful news was soon apparent. The firefighters of the FDNY, while helping to evacuate some 25,000 people from The World Trade Center, lost 343 of their brothers. The police also lost so many.
Americans were the target, and of course, other nationals also perished. The Irish government named more than a dozen of its natives among the dead in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
Based on family names and individual stories, there are many hundreds of American dead with Irish heritage, including Americans who through parents or grandparents had become Irish citizens.
The now-defunct website IrishTribute.com, which was set up in reaction to the September 11 attacks, estimated that perhaps one-sixth of the dead were in some way “Irish.”
"September 11, 2001, may well go down as the bloodiest day in the history of the Irish people," the website claimed. "An estimated 1,000 people who were of Irish descent or of Irish birth were lost in the violent events on that day."
On that warm and sunny Tuesday morning, Tommy Foley was closing out the overnight shift at Rescue 3 in The Bronx.
Tommy Foley. (FirefighterThomasJFoley.com)
At age 32, Foley was already a 10-year veteran of the FDNY. It was the job he dreamt of since childhood when he would visit the Harlem firehouse of a family friend, Firefighter Bob Conroy.
"Tommy Boy? that's what I call him, ever since he's a little kid," Conroy said, still using the present tense. "I can still see Tommy Boy running around the firehouse in Harlem, running around and getting filthy dirty. It's all he ever wanted to do."
At 8:52 a.m., the call came in. Emergency in Lower Manhattan. An airplane or a helicopter or maybe even bombs, tearing through what New Yorkers call the Twin Towers.
Instead of ending his shift, Tommy reached for his boots. Across the city, the scene was repeated. The first airliner hit just as scores of firefighters were either coming off duty or arriving to work, thus maximizing the number rushing downtown.
Mike Cawley wasn't even on duty that day with his regular outfit the “Elmhurst Eagles” of Ladder 136, but instinctively he raced to the Towers with another unit, Rescue 4.
Michael Joseph Cawley. (911AlwaysRemember.Wordpress.com)
A 32-year-old bachelor like Foley, Cawley had been what firemen call a “buff” ever since he was a kid, happily covering shifts for firefighters who had families, and racing toward smoke and flame even when he was off-duty.
On September 11, when he could have stayed away, Cawley, of course, could be no place else.
Meanwhile, AnnMarie McHugh had been at her desk inside Tower Two since early that morning. When not working for the EuroBrokers firm, the 35-year-old native of Tuam, County Galway, was busy planning her wedding, just a month away.
Over in Tower One, Mike Armstrong had even less time left before his “big day.” The 34-year-old son of immigrants from County Longford worked for the Cantor Fitzgerald brokerage firm alongside the Lynch brothers, Farrell (39) and Sean (36), whose uncle represents the Sligo-Leitrim constituency in the Irish Senate.
Armstrong, a Manhattan native who was so outgoing and gregarious that his many friends long ago nicknamed him “Posse,” was getting married to longtime girlfriend Cathy Nolan on October 6th.
At Logan Airport, the McCourts waited on standby. Ruth Clifford McCourt, a 44-year-old businesswoman who left her native County Cork as a teenager, was taking four-year-old Juliana on a vacation to Los Angeles. Mother and daughter found seats aboard United Airlines Flight 175.
Ruth Clifford McCourt and her daughter Juliana.
Shortly after takeoff, of course, Flight 175 was yanked from its flight path by hijackers. As Ruth McCourt's plane hurtled towards Lower Manhattan, it's likely she never knew that her own brother, Ron, was attending a business meeting in the very same skyscraper where she and her daughter would meet their fiery end.
Ron Clifford would escape the Trade Center without serious injury, only to learn later that one of the two planes that brought the Towers down contained his sister Ruth and niece Juliana.
Panic spread like brushfire across the country, and Navy Commander Robert Dolan was among those called to quell the flames. The 40-year-old husband, father, and Little League coach often addressed his military colleagues with speeches that quoted everything from Shakespeare to Monty Python; he was equally adept at commanding naval fleets that resemble floating steel cities.
Commander Robert E. Dolan
On the morning of September 11, Dolan was in his office on the first floor of the Pentagon's D Ring, among a group hearing reports on that morning's attacks in Lower Manhattan. At 9:43 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 exploded through Dolan's window.
"Bob Dolan was the best and brightest this country had to offer to the altar of freedom," Lisa Dolan would later write about her husband of nearly 19 years. "We pray his rest is peaceful, although ours cannot be."
The final plane to be hijacked that morning was United Airlines Flight 93. Because its passengers learned by cell phone that the morning's previous hijackings were suicide runs, they obviously deduced there was nothing to lose from being brave.
As Flight 93 rumbled through rural Pennsylvania, passenger Thomas Burnett spoke to his wife in California. "I know we're all going to die," said Burnett, a 38-year-old father of three. "There's three of us who are going to do something about it."
Burnett was one of the so-called 'lucky' ones who was able to get a call out before tragedy struck. With so few survivors pulled from the ruins, and hospitals across New York relatively empty because the dead so outnumbered the physically wounded, there were so many who never got the chance to say goodbye, never got the chance to say "I love you."
Martin Coughlan also got to make that final phone call. Shortly after 9 am, the 53-year-old carpenter from Cappawhite, County Tipperary, managed to call home from his job site on the 96th floor of Tower One.
"There's been a bomb in the building," Coughlin told his wife, "but I'm OK, and tell the four girls I'll be home for dinner." Many days later, Coughlan's remains were found.
106 stories from safety, Eamon McEneaney also called his wife. The 46-year-old vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald was a heralded survivor of the 1993 World Trade Center attack when he calmly covered the mouths of co-workers with wet towels and led human chains down the stairs.
Eamon McEneaney
On September 11, the father-of-four left a message at his wife's office: a plane had hit the building, he was on the way out, and he loved her. McEneaney never made it out.
Unlike McEneaney, John O'Neill managed to escape. The 50-year-old former FBI man had been named the Trade Center's Director of Security just two weeks before. He made it from the 34th floor to the street, from where he called his son to report that he was safe.
John O'Neill
However, O'Neill re-entered one of the Towers, ultimately making the ultimate sacrifice in the name of evacuating others.
In Spring Lake, New Jersey, the McAlarys leaped for joy when their son and brother Bryan phoned to say he had escaped unharmed from his Trade Center office.
They were soon horrified to learn that Bryan's older brother James, a 42-year-old broker, was in the Trade Center that day for a sales meeting. "Jimmy Mac," as he was known to all, never came home.
James McAlary, Jr
The McAlarys were but one of many sets of brothers at the scene that day.
At the base of the Towers, Michael Moran of Rescue 3 spoke by cell phone with his big brother John, a 43-year-old Battalion Chief. They were brothers by blood and “brothers” by profession, among the fraternity of the FDNY.
John Moran
"I told him to be careful," the younger Moran would recall weeks later at a memorial service for John. "I didn't see him there that day, but now I see him all the time."
Maureen Haskell, a Fire Department widow, sent three of her four boys, Kenny, Timmy, and Tommy, to the FDNY.
Timmy, 34, was on the 60th floor of Tower One when the floor dropped beneath him. Nearly two weeks after the attacks, Maureen listened as Kenny gave a eulogy, Timmy's remains lay in a casket, and Tommy was still in Lower Manhattan, one of the thousands lost in the mountain of steel and smoke.
Timothy Haskell
"We need to pray for Tommy's safe return . . . I'm sure he's fine,"
Kenny told those who gathered to bury Timmy in Seaford, Long Island. "Tommy's probably sitting comfortably down there in a large void, wondering, 'what's taking us so long?'"
Kenny Haskell vowed to retrieve his brother, as did Danny Foley, who seven years ago had followed his above-mentioned elder brother Tommy into the FDNY.
Danny worked around the clock with rescue crews searching for the brother that he idolized, and nearly two weeks after the attack he addressed mourners at St. Anthony's in Nanuet, New York: "It took 10 days, but a promise I made to my family was kept, when I brought Tommy home."
Danny recalled the nights spent talking across bunk beds to his older brother, discussing what he called their common interests: football, fishing, becoming a firefighter, and girls.
In later years, he recalled jokingly about his big brother's pin-up pose in a firefighter's calendar, a charity fundraiser that led to modeling jobs and appearances among “eligible bachelors” in People and also the Top 100 Irish Americans list published by Irish America magazine.
"I knew someday I wanted to be just like my big brother," Danny recalled. "He's always been a hero to me, and now he's a hero to people around the world."
Bob Conroy, the family friend who earlier recalled the young Tommy Foley running around a Harlem firehouse and would later become the Foley brothers' FDNY mentor, echoed the sentiments of so many families and friends when he said, "I only wish I could see him one more time – just one more time to tell him how much I love him."
Foley was not the only September 11 victim to have previously appeared in the pages of Irish America magazine.
Of the more than 70 employees lost from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, two were former honorees among the Irish America Wall Street 50: Chairman & CEO Joe Berry, and Executive Vice President Joseph Lenihan.
Another victim from the same firm, Chris Duffy, was the son of Wall Street 50 honoree John Duffy. Berry, Lenihan, and the two Duffys were among those who attended Irish America's Wall Street 50 reception on July 11, an event that was held annually at Windows on the World restaurant.
At the top of Tower One, the breathtaking view from Windows on the World was the ideal setting to toast the many achievements of the Irish and their descendants in the U.S.
As of September 11, that skyline view has been lost forever, but of course, the accomplishments of people like Berry, Lenihan, and the Duffys remain.
The accomplishments of others were never recorded and may never be known.
The unborn second child of Damian Meehan will never know daddy first-hand, how he grew up playing Gaelic Football with five brothers in Good Shepherd Parish, Upper Manhattan.
Damian Meehan
How among the Donegal Meehans of Upper Manhattan, Damian was the first to enter a “safe” profession, becoming a financial foot-soldier on Wall Street, instead of a fireman or a cop.
How on September 11, 2001, the 33-year-old reported to his desk at Carr Futures in Tower One and then disappeared; vanished forever.
In Northern Ireland, they will never know of the woodwork yet to be crafted by 21-year-old Brian Monaghan, who had emigrated to the Meehans' neighborhood in Upper Manhattan.
Brian Patrick Monaghan, Jr
Joint ceremonies at Good Shepherd Church, Inwood, and St. Patrick's Church, Belfast, recalled the hurdles young Monaghan and his family had overcome to date and all the promise the young carpenter had left to give.
In Dublin, they memorialized Richard Fitzsimons, who traveled to the Irish capital from Lynbrook, Long Island just weeks before to dance at his niece's wedding.
Richard Fitzsimons
In New Jersey, they play “The Minstrel Boy” just a little bit quieter now in memory of three fallen “Irishmen” of sorts from the Port Authority Pipe Band: Steve Huczko, Liam Callahan, and Richard Rodriguez.
The sacrifice is staggering, the waste of life too much to bear.
In Woodside, Queens, and Breezy Point, Brooklyn, families of cops, firemen, and brokers with Irish names are forever wounded.
There are Brooklynites like Captain Timmy Stackpole, who just weeks before had laughed while being named “Irishman of the Year” at the Coney Island Irish Fest, and there are Bronxites like Ann McGovern, who bragged of a recent hole-in-one on the golf course.
Captain Timothy Stackpole
A vice president at the Aon Corporation of Tower Two who had recently become a grandma for the fifth time, McGovern had many accomplishments and perhaps even more loved ones who gathered to mourn at St. Brigid's of Westbury, Long Island.
Ann McGovern
From the altar, Ann's husband Larry McGovern summed up perhaps the most important lesson learned by untold thousands since the attacks of September 11: "Don't be afraid to tell people you love them, when it could be the last words spoken," he said near a poster-sized photo of Ann with her youngest grandchild, Liam.
Cocking his head to the church roof, McGovern said in a cracked voice:
"I love you."
*Originally published September 10, 2011, updated in 2023.
Taoiseach says "no question"
Trump would be welcomed if he comes to Ireland for Irish Open
President Donald Trump would be welcomed to Ireland as it underpins the "critical" Irish-US relationship, the Taoiseach said.
Kerry O'Shea @kerry_oshea Sep 11, 2025
March 12, 2025: US President Donald Trump and Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin at The White House for St. Patrick's Day engagements. RollingNews.ie
Taoiseach Micheál Martin says there is "no question" that US President Donald Trump would be welcome to visit Ireland when the Irish Open is hosted at the Trump Organization's golf links in Doonbeg, Co Clare, next year.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the day it was confirmed that the 2026 Irish Open will be staged in Doonbeg, the Taoiseach highlighted the "critically important relationship" between Ireland and the US.
“Economically, it supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country," he told reporters in Dublin. "Culturally, in terms of the long cultural engagement for artists and our writers. Family to family, in terms of our diaspora and relationships.
“And in that context, there's no question that President Trump would be welcome to Ireland in terms of the underpinning of that US-Ireland relationship."
The Taoiseach noted that Ireland's relationship with the US - as well as its relationships with the UK and EU - "are critical sets of relationships that underpin Irish society and our economy."
He acknowledged that "there will be differences of opinion in terms of issues and conflicts," adding that that's "natural when we live in a democracy."
He added: "We’ll facilitate protests, but in my view, we should continue to support that relationship because it puts bread on the table of a lot of Irish people."
Earlier this year, the Taoiseach extended an "open invitation" for the US President to visit while he was in Washington, DC, for St. Patrick's Day engagements.
Trump visited Doonbeg twice during his first term as President, and most recently visited in a personal capacity in 2023.
Announcing its 2026 global tournament schedule, DP World Tour confirmed on Wednesday that next year's Amgen Irish Open will be played at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg from September 10-13.
The Irish Open was last staged in Co Clare when it was hosted in Lahinch in 2019. That event "generated significant economic, social, and media impact," Clare County Council said, adding that more than 100,000 visitors flocked to the region.
Trump International Golf Links and Hotel, Doonbeg. (Ireland's Content Pool)
Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump and Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization, said in a statement Wednesday: "This tournament is one of the most celebrated events in golf, and bringing it to Trump Ireland is a true testament to the standard of excellence that's upheld at this property.
"The course is absolutely remarkable, and we are honored to welcome the DP World Tour, its players, and fans from across the globe to experience the beauty and challenge of our championship links."
Joe Russell, General Manager of Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, added: "Trump Ireland is honoured to host the Amgen Irish Open for the first time in the resort's history. This moment reflects the vision of the local community, who first championed the development of this resort, and the unwavering support of the Trump Family and The Trump Organization, whose commitment to both the golf course and hotel has been vital to our success.
"Trump Ireland's rugged Atlantic setting and challenging design will offer a true test of skill and resilience for the world's finest golfers."
Clare County Council also welcomed the announcement on Wednesday, with Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Gordon Daly, predicting that The Irish Open "will provide a welcome boost to the local economy, support job creation and enhance Clare’s reputation on the international stage."
Ireland won’t take part in Eurovision if Israel participates,
RTE announces RTE have announced that Ireland will not be taking part in the 2026 Eurovision Song contest if Israel is allowed enter.
Colum Motherway @ Extra.ie Sep 11, 2025
Ireland will boycott the 2026 Eurovision if Israel are involved.Ireland will boycott the 2026 Eurovision if Israel are involved. Eurovision / Instagram
In a statement released on Thursday, the broadcaster said that "it is RTE’s position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Ireland’s participation will be made once the EBU’s decision is made".
RTE said that at the General Assembly of the EBU in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns about the participation of Israel in the contest.
The EBU is an alliance of public service media organizations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Council of Europe.
The broadcaster added: "RTE feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. "RTE is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages."
The decision comes as both Spain and Slovenia have threatened to withdraw from the contest on the basis of Israel’s participation.
The death toll in Gaza has now reached over 64,400 as the Israeli Defence Forces are in the midst of a largescale attack on Gaza city despite international condemnation and calls for a ceasefire.
Israel’s participation in Eurovision has been a controversial issue over the last two contests, with large protests held in the host cities of Basel this year and Malmö in 2024.
The 70th anniversary edition of the contest is due to take place in Vienna, Austria next May.
Ireland has participated in Eurovision since 1965 and has won the contest seven times.
RTE added that it wishes to thank the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated after the July meeting and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December.
Meanwhile, Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urstaun said: "I don’t think we can normalize Israel’s participation in international events as if nothing is happening.
"In Eurovision’s case, it is not an individual artist who participates but someone who participates on behalf of that country’s citizens."
He also said in an interview that Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration is a "genocidal government" and that what is taking place right now in Gaza is a genocide.
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
A Little Humor 
An Englishman, Scotsman, and yer man Shamus were boasting about how famous their uncles are.
"My uncle is a bishop," said the Englishman, "and when he walks down the street, everybody says, 'Your Lordship.'"
"My uncle is a cardinal," said the Scotsman, "and when he walks down the street everybody says, 'Your Eminence.'"
"Dat's nothing," says Shamus.
"My uncle weighs twenty-nine stone (406 lbs), and when he walks down the street
everybody says, 'God Almighty!'"
Times when you might be excused for using foul language
Funny Headlines
Does anyone edit these????
"Funny Statue Photos"
Church Bloopers
From my wife Donna
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(Land of Flowers)
Tír na mBláth is one of hundreds of branches
throughout the world of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) pronounced "kol-tus
kyol-tori air-in", the largest group involved in the preservation of
Irish music, dance and song.
Our board and membership is made up of Irish, Irish descendants, and all those who support, celebrate and take pride in the preservation of Irish culture.
We also aim to promote good will and citizenship.
Interested in belonging to Tír na mBláth? Feel free to download our membership form
Facebook page is at Tír na mBláth
Our meetings and several events are held at Tim Finnegan's Irish Pub in Delray Beach Florida.
Well, that's it for this week.
Slán abhaile
Pronunciation: slawn a-wol-ya
Meaning: Safe Home
Sláinte,
Tom Guldner (Tommy Mac)
Slán agus beannacht, (Good-bye and blessings)
Fireny@aol.com
Number of visitors to this website since Sept 2022
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