Monthly Archives: November 2013

Letters offer glimpse of 18th century Ireland, France

Some of the 125 previously unopened letters written by Irish residents living in the Bordeaux region of France during the Seven Years War are now on display at New York University’s Bobst Library.

The letters were discovered two years ago by NYU professor Thomas M. Truxes, and most have been opened and reproduced in a companion book, “The Bordeaux-Dublin Letters, 1757 Correspondence of an Irish Community Abroad,” Edited by L. M. Cullen, John Shovlin, and Truxes.

One of the unopened letters from 1757.

One of the unopened letters from 1757.

In a release, NYU says:

The themes are universal: There are students asking their parents for money, and fathers chastising their children for being disobedient or lazy. There are love letters, letters filled with petty gossip, and letters expressing the frustrations of Irish prisoners of war languishing in French jails.

The Bordeaux-Dublin Letters “reinforce a common humanity across time — the people we see in these letters are no different from people we know today . . . so once you get beyond the handwriting, 250 years just melts away,” remarks Truxes, clinical associate professor of Irish studies and history, who was researching overseas trade in colonial America when he made his fortuitous archival discovery.

The exhibition runs through April 1.

Thanks to J. McConnell for bringing this item to my attention, MH.

Matthews’ Reagan, O’Neill “Irishness” myth

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is drawing criticism for the greenish tint to his portrait of the political and personal relationship between President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr.

In his New York Times review of “Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked,” Rutgers University history and journalism professor David Greenberg writes:

The problems begin with the false symmetry Matthews sets up. He paints Reagan and O’Neill as mirror images: two “larger than life” “Irish-American” politicians, titans of their parties, standard-­bearers for their worldviews. … The idea of “two Irishmen” also rings false. O’Neill fit the type, but Reagan, though he sometimes cited the Celtic lineage on his father’s side, was a product of the small-town Protestant Midwest and of Southern California. Having become famous through movies and television, he had none of the hallmarks of the classic Irish-­American politician: no base in urban neighborhoods, no feel for tavern politics, little experience with legislative horse-trading. Irishness was no more part of his persona than it is of Barack Obama’s, and it’s jarring to see Reagan described repeatedly in such terms.

O'Neill and Reagan. Washington Post image

O’Neill and Reagan. Washington Post image

Howell Raines, a former executive editor of the Times, writes in his Washington Post review that “a reader might conclude that the current legislative crises are due to a shortage of Irish Americans in the capital.”

He continues:

Matthews had plenty of company in believing that Irishness was a universal legislative emollient. Indeed, from the start, Reagan aides, O’Neill aides and journalists, including David Broder and James Reston, rallied to what Broder called the “stubborn Irishmen” theory. This book conjures the mood of “The Quiet Man,” in which John Wayne and Victor McLaglen buddy up after a bar brawl.

I haven’t read the book myself, and I haven’t seen any reviews from Irish media sources. Greenberg says Matthews “has a fine appreciation of blarney.” I would suggest the word Greenberg meant to use is “malarkey.”

Great Blasket Island evacuation, 60 years ago

Kay Caball at My Kerry Ancestors — one of my favorite blogs/websites — has an interesting post about the November 1953 evacuation of the Great Blasket Island off the Kerry coast.

She writes, “As one of the last areas of Ireland in which the Irish language and culture had continued unchanged, the Great Blasket Island was a place of enormous interest to those seeking traditional Irish narratives.”

RootsWeb, part of Ancestry.com, posted this reproduction of a period news story about the event in the Kerryman newspaper. I also found this excellent 23-minute documentary.

Boston’s Irish Americans, good and bad

The old gangster and the young mayor. Two recent stories out of Boston reflect the good and bad of the city’s Irish-American community.

James “Whitey” Bulger, convicted earlier this year for his role in 11 murders, drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and other crimes, was sentenced this week. A federal judge handed the 84-year-old gangster two life sentences, plus five years.

The young punk. Bulger, 60 years ago on the eve of St. Patrick's Day. (AP Photo/Boston Police)

The young punk. Bulger, 60 years ago on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day. (AP Photo/Boston Police)

Bulger was a lifelong criminal and ruled Boston’s Irish underworld for most of the 1970s and 1980s. He fled from the city in 1994 and remained on the lam until 2011, when he was finally captured in California.

Here’s my August 15 post about living in South Boston, one of Irish-America’s landmark neighborhoods, toward the end of Bulger’s reign of terror.

The better story from Boston is the election of Martin J. Walsh as mayor. The 46-year-old is a lifelong resident of the city’s Dorchester neighborhood, another heavily Irish enclave. Both of his parents are from rural townlands of western County Galway.

Marty Walsh

Marty Walsh

Walsh’s recovery from substance abuse was part of the Boston campaign. He is among the type of people referenced in my earlier blog post about Southie.

Irish Central’s Niall O’Dowd wrote a flattering column about the mayor-elect:

“He has authenticity written all over him, the kid from Dorchester who put together an extraordinary coalition of Irish and minorities to win the election. … This is a man who survived childhood cancer, alcoholism, a minor bullet wound in a drive by shooting.”

Walsh’s recovery from substance abuse is certainly a better story than the crack and alcohol-fueled mess of Mayor Rob Ford in Toronto.

Who knows how long Ford will survive at City Hall. Walsh is scheduled to take the oath of office in Boston on Jan. 6.

Guest post: Visit to Ireland, Part 2

Our friend Tim McDonnell visited Ireland in October. This is the second half of his guest post about the visit. Part 1 is here. MH

5-Star Eating

Contrary to popularly held beliefs, the food in Ireland was excellent and dramatically exceeded our expectations. Fresh fish, lamb, the mixed grill, full Irish breakfast, brown bread and seafood chowder, fresh scones – all as good as you’ll taste anywhere in the world. But – beyond the more native dishes, there is a very global and diverse range on offer, like any good culinary hub. It was not just the high end restaurants, although we went to several – like O’Grady’s in Barna, the Lodge in Doonbeg, Market Lane in Cork City – heck, we even ate in Stormont’s royal dining hall called “The Long Gallery.” It was also family restaurants like O’Loughlin’s in Miltown Malbay (Clare), Kate McCormack’s in Westport (Mayo), Paddy’s Barn in Downpatrick (Down), and our B&B’s in Doonbeg and Cork City – and the homemade variety with family and good friends in Dublin and Crosshaven (Cork). There’s nothing like local hosts and guides – but if you don’t have family over there or any Irish friends to help personalize your trip, not to worry. Just stop in for a pint at a pub anywhere on the road and lighten up for a laugh – one of the easiest things you can do is befriend an Irishman.

The Self-Deprecating Celebrity

Guest blogger Tim McDonnell, far right. Others left to right are Tim's wife, Amber, his cousin Edelle O'Meara of Galway and jockey Davy Russell.

Guest blogger Tim McDonnell, far right. Others left to right are Tim’s wife, Amber, his cousin Edelle O’Meara of Galway and jockey Davy Russell.

My cousin from Galway, Edelle O’Meara, is dating Ireland’s best horse-racer Davy Russell – and we got to spend some time with the man himself while we were over. Horse racing is one of Ireland’s favorite past times, and everywhere we went, the Irish people knew Davy. As recognizable there perhaps as Evan Longoria might be for the average person walking in downtown Tampa. Davy generously provided tickets for Edelle, my wife and I, along with Amber’s parents, to watch him compete at the Limerick Races in Limerick City. He placed us in a suite along with the University of Limerick racing society – and came up to the suite before the races started to give the students betting advice on the 5 races that he was set to compete in. As Americans, we thought he would be explaining why he expected to win all 5 races – but he went in a much different direction with it. It sounded something like, “Ah Jeannie Mac, that horse there could fall over twice and still beat my horse to the line in this race.” And, “Ah sure, you see now, if I were a betting man – I would wager that my horse in this race will end up in that man’s yard right over there.” Belly laughs all around. Entertaining, endearing, and easy friends – like most everyone on the island, God Bless it. I think we may have even made a couple Euro betting against his advice.

New chamber to build Ireland – Florida connections

An Irish-American Chamber of Commerce Florida has been created to strengthen business and cultural ties between the Emerald Isle and the Sunshine State.

I wrote this story for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.  Here’s a video about the effort:

Centennial of Irish Volunteers noted

November is the centennial of the founding of the Irish Volunteers.

“The Volunteers were formed against a background of rising militancy in Ireland,” the Defense Forces Ireland website says. “The spur for this was the Irish Home Rule Bill of 1912 to which the Unionists were vehemently opposed.”

The Irish Academic Press has issued a refreshed edition of the 50th anniversary classic, The Irish Volunteers 1913-1915: Recollections and Documents. The publisher says the book includes “a rich compendium of original letters, reports, speeches, newspaper editorials, military and administrative instructions and members subscription lists that together create a unique historical record of the Irish Volunteer movement.”

An Post also has issued a commemorative stamp, seen below.

H6454 - AN POST IRISH VOLUNTEER STAMP_v11

The Irish postal service picks up the rest of the Volunteers’ history:

“The organisation split into two in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I. The majority formed the National Volunteers who favoured enlisting to fight in the First World War in the hope of being rewarded with Home Rule. The remaining Irish Volunteers, led by Eoin MacNeill stayed in Ireland. The Irish Volunteers were forced underground after their active part in the 1916 Rising. In the War of Independence which began in 1919, the Irish Volunteers became known as the Irish Republican Army.”

Guest post: Visit to Ireland, Part 1

I’ve written earlier of Tim McDonnell’s efforts to start a food collection to help feed the hungry in Tampa through the Salvation Army in the spirit of St. Patrick. It’s been quite an accomplishment for the former executive director of Chicago’s Irish American Heritage Center since he arrived in Tampa about two years ago.

Tim just got back from his third trip to Ireland/Northern Ireland at the beginning of October. (His mom is from Brownstown, Co Kildare; his paternal grandparents from Westport, Co. Mayo and Bruree, Co. Limerick.) Below is Part 1 of Tim’s guest post:

The Spirit of St. Patrick

Absolutely worth visiting is the St. Patrick’s Trail and all of the St. Patrick sites on the northern half of the island (where St. Patrick spent his time). The top 3 ‘must do’ sites, though, are: 1) the St. Patrick Centre exhibition and his grave in Downpatrick (he is buried alongside St. Brigid, St. Columcille, and Arthur Guinness’ grandfather – truly ‘holy ground’! – next to Down Cathedral); 2) St. Patrick’s first church at Saul – one of the more spiritually engaging sites on earth, comparable to the experience we had at St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sisteen Chapel in Vatican City (as my friend Tim Campbell says “Saul is very ‘thin’…..the distance between heaven and earth there is very slight”); 3) Croagh Patrick – we lucked out with clear skies and were able to climb Ireland’s holy mountain, where St. Patrick fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and by legend ‘drove the snakes out of Ireland.’ It will take a bit of faith and endurance to get all the way up, particularly at the top with the loose rocks and vertical climb – but it is the most spiritually rewarding thing that I have ever done, and it also blesses all climbers with the best views on the island.

The view from the summit.

The view from the summit.

 The Scoti

Also worth visiting is Ulster Scots country up in the northeast. People of this heritage informed us that they believe that Northern Ireland is a Scottish province on the island of Ireland and that calling the Ulster Scots Irish is like calling Canadians Americans. They also told us that the inhabitants of Ireland were referred to by the Romans as the “Scoti” in the 4th and 5th centuries and were known to be part of the Gaelic kingdom of Dal Riata, which spanned the west coast of Scotland and the eastern part of Ulster in what is today’s Northern Ireland. They characterized the creation of the Ulster Plantation of the 17th century, which helped lay the foundation for a few hundred years of conflict, as ‘just the Scots returning home.’ Interesting stuff and worth a bit of homework. Although the history, cultural dynamics, and politics are a bit complicated, the north is breathtakingly beautiful, and the people are as welcoming as anywhere else on the island.

Check back within the week for Tim’s thoughts on food in Ireland and a story of the country’s most famous jockey. MH