Posted by Corey | 2 Comments

#109 About Those Northern Ireland Travel Warnings

Episode Guide – Podcast #109 News on Those Northern Ireland Travel Warnings

After the U.S. and Australia adjusted their travel information to Northern Ireland, we chatted with Heidi McAlpin, Belfast resident and editor of Belfast in Your Pocket.

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Show Notes:

00:00
Intro: The Devil’s Bit by

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Maureen O’Hara’s Birthday Interview with RTE

Earlier this month, film legend Maureen O’Hara celebrated her 90th birthday. Especially for the occassion, Irish television featured an interview with her and have posted it on their website.

Watch the interview at www.rte.ie/news/2010/0816/nationwide_av.html

You are also welcome to send her your belated birthday wishes via the Irish Fireside Birthday Greeting.

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Posted by Corey | 1 Comment

Where Are All the Irish?

I recently penned a Letter to the Editor to select Irish newspapers. Since there’s no guarantee they’ll post it, I thought I’d post it here as well. Have a read…

Dear Editor,

Last weekend I attended Irish Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was surprised and disappointed by the almost nonexistent representation of Irish regional tourism at the 30th anniversary of the largest festival of Irish culture in North America.

Aside from Tourism Ireland, only County Clare was present to promote the Republic. In contrast, Northern Ireland sent representatives from Belfast, Newry and Mourne, Down, Banbridge and the Causeway Coast and Glens.

Gone are the days when

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Posted by Corey | 0 Comments

The Story of Barack Obama’s Irish Roots

While much attention has been placed on President Barack Obama’s African ancestry, he also claims family ties to Ireland. Through the lineage of his mother Ann Dunham, Obama’s family history can be traced back to 18th Century Ireland and the Kearney family of County Offaly, then Kings County.

One part of the family had relocated to Dublin and prospered in the wig industry. Meanwhile, the family members in Offaly had been successful enough to purchase property rights in Moneygall and Shinrone around 1800.

By the time wigs fell out of fashion, the Dublin Kearney’s had already taken on other established professions. The most notable Kearney of

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U.S. Presidents with Irish Roots

My visit this summer to Barack Obama’s ancestral town of Moneygall in County Offaly got me thinking about other presidents with ties to the Emerald Isle. With just bit of basic research, I spotted Irish ancestry among half the U.S. Presidents, and I’m sure that with a bit more digging, one could make a few more connections as well.

This collection of U.S. Presidents claim ties to

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