In 1880, while living in Bordentown, New Jersey, Parnell becomes active in fundraising for the Land League in the United States. Her 1880 pamphlet The Hovels of Ireland explains the Irish land crisis to American audiences, and she also works for the Famine Relief Fund in New York.
By October 1880, Parnell has taken the initiative to launch a Ladies’ Land League in New York. This is an auxiliary group aimed at supporting the Irish National Land League’s work, especially after its leaders become at risk of imprisonment. The New York committee she sets up is part of a broader plan by Michael Davitt to ensure the movement can continue if male leaders are jailed. Davitt and the League’s treasurer, Patrick Egan, later persuade the Central Committee to formally establish the Ladies’ Land League in Dublin on January 31, 1881, with Anna Parnell as its first president.
The Ladies’ Land League quickly becomes the first political association of Irish women, organizing branches in Ireland, Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. They maintain a detailed “Book of Kells” register of estates, tenants, and evictions, and provide financial and material aid to evicted tenants, including erecting prefabricated huts when possible. Their work is both political and humanitarian, challenging gender norms while maintaining a public image of respectability.
Fanny Parnell’s October 1880 launch in New York is thus a key early step in mobilizing Irish American women for the Land War, laying the groundwork for the League’s transnational activism and its role in sustaining the movement during its most turbulent years.
Sullivan is the son of Michael Sullivan from Abbeydorney, County Kerry, and Catherine Kelly from Drum, County Roscommon. He attends public schools in his native Boston, attending the Dwight Grammar School and performing well academically. His parents aspire for their son to enter the priesthood as a Catholic priest. To this end he enrolls at Boston College, but his passion for sports leads him to abandon formal education for professional baseball and later boxing. He quickly gains a reputation for raw power and aggression, earning the nickname “The Boston Strong Boy” during exhibition tours.
Sullivan holds the gloved heavyweight title from 1882 to 1892, with a record of 41–1–3 and 33 knockouts.
Sullivan’s fights are widely covered by newspapers, helping to launch modern sports journalism in the United States. He is one of the highest-paid athletes of his era, earning over $75,000 for a single bout. His “I can lick any man in the house” challenge becomes a symbol of Irish American defiance and determination.
After retiring in 1892, Sullivan opens the John L. Sullivan’s Theatre in New York City. He marries Annie Bates Lord in 1883 and has one daughter, Helen. He struggles with alcohol after his defeat to James J. Corbett in 1892 but later lectures against alcoholism. He dies at the age of 59 on February 2, 1918, in Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. He is buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Roslindale, Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
Sullivan’s career transforms boxing from an underground, often illegal pastime into a national spectacle. He remains a cultural icon, celebrated in literature, film, and sports history.
Colles is born in Dublin around 1739. He emigrates to the American colonies before the American Revolutionary War, where he becomes known for his skills in engineering, surveying, and mathematics. His education and early interests equip him for projects requiring practical application of technical knowledge in a colonial context.
Colles is best remembered for his work in designing and constructing water supply systems, such as aqueducts and canals. In New York City, he proposes plans to improve the city’s water distribution, anticipating modern municipal water infrastructure.
Colles also works extensively as a surveyor and cartographer. One of his major projects is a comprehensive survey of roads, settlements, and natural features across parts of New York State, aimed at promoting economic development and providing practical maps for settlers and entrepreneurs. These maps are notable for their detail and practical utility in an era when accurate geographic information is scarce.
In addition to engineering, Colles is an innovator in education and public information. He seeks to publish a tourist map of New York State, combining cartographic detail with travel guidance. Later in life, he develops ideas for mechanical inventions, such as improvements to water-lifting devices and surveying instruments, although many of his designs remain conceptual or are implemented only on a limited scale.
Colles is remembered as a forward-thinking engineer who attempted to bring systematic planning and technological innovation to the early United States. His work in surveying and water systems helped lay the groundwork for later infrastructural developments and inspired future engineers. Despite facing financial difficulties and limited recognition during his lifetime, his contributions reflect the blend of practical engineering and visionary thinking that characterized American technical pioneers of his era.
Colles’s maps and published plans remain valuable records of early American geography and urban planning, illustrating both the challenges and ambitions of post-colonial infrastructure development.
On September 5, 1998, United States PresidentBill Clinton becomes a Freeman of Limerick, following in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy, who had received the honor in 1963. The ceremony marks the last day of Clinton’s official visit to Ireland, which had begun earlier in the month and included stops in Dublin, Adare, Limerick, and Kerry.
On September 5, thousands gather on O’Connell Street to hear Clinton speak to an estimated 40,000 people. His address references the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process, saying: “Because of what you have done in Ireland in 1998, you have made it possible for me to tell every warring, feuding hating group of people trapped in the prison of their past conflicts to look at Ireland and know there can be a better day.”
The speech is broadcast worldwide and is delivered during a period when Clinton is facing political challenges in the United States, but he is still held in high esteem in Ireland for his role in the Northern Ireland peace process.
By being granted the Freedom of the City of Limerick, Clinton joins a distinguished list of U.S. presidents honored by Irish cities, underscoring the strong ties between the United States and Ireland. The visit and ceremony are symbolic of reconciliation, mutual respect, and the shared history of Irish Americans in U.S. politics.
In short, September 5, 1998, is both a personal milestone for Clinton and a moment of national and international significance, blending political diplomacy with public celebration.
Delivered at the Irish National Convention in Chicago on August 18, 1886, John E. Redmond’s address is a defining moment in his political career and in the broader Irish nationalist movement. The convention, organized by the Irish National League of America, brings together Irish Americans to rally support for Irish self-government and to affirm their loyalty to the United States while maintaining ties to Ireland.
The key themes of Redmond’s speech include:
Irish Americans’ Commitment to Ireland: Redmond emphasizes that regardless of their economic status—soldier, businessman, or laborer—Irish Americans have never forgotten their homeland. He notes that even in prosperity, they set aside time to “tell her story” and work toward Ireland’s “redemption.”
The Principle of the Irish Movement: Redmond frames the Irish struggle as rooted in the principle of rebellion against the rule of strangers, a principle upheld for centuries by figures like Owen Roe O’Neill, Thomas Emmet, and Robert Emmet. He stresses that this is not “race hatred” but a call for justice for the future, not revenge for past wrongs.
Brotherhood of Nations: Despite the bitterness of past injustices, Redmond affirms belief in the brotherhood of nations. He argues that the Irish movement’s core is not hatred of England, but a demand for fair treatment and self-determination.
The Role of the Convention: Standing as “ambassadors sent here to represent the Irish nation at home,” Redmond calls the convention a “supreme honour” and a vital link between Ireland and its diaspora. He urges Americans to recognize the Irish people’s enduring connection to their heritage and to support their cause.
The 1886 convention is part of a wave of Irish American activism during the Home Rule movement. Redmond, then a rising figure in Irish politics, is positioning himself as a unifying voice for both Irish Americans and the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP). His speech helps solidify his reputation as a skilled orator and a moderate yet principled leader.
Lord Russell of Killowen later cites this speech as evidence that the Irish Parliamentary Party is not aligned with the more radical physical force movement, highlighting its emphasis on justice and unity over sectarianism. The address remains a key example of Redmond’s ability to balance nationalist sentiment with appeals to shared human values.
Brennan is the second of two children to Patrick Brennan of the Catholic parish of Beauparc and Catherine Brennan (née Rourke). Little is recorded of his early education, but he develops a reputation as an intelligent and articulate public speaker. At age 18, he begins working as a clerk at Murtagh Bros., a Dublin-based bakery, alongside his uncle James Rourke. Through his connections with Patrick Egan, he and his uncle join the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and become active in election campaigns and nationalist organizing.
By 1877–1878, Brennan has become the civil secretary of the Leinster IRB and honorary secretary of the Dublin Mechanics Institute. In 1879, he plays an instrumental role in establishing the Land League of Mayo, acting alongside Michael Davitt and Patrick Egan. When the Irish National Land League is formally founded in October 1879, Brennan is appointed assistant secretary, effectively helping manage the League’s operations and campaigns for tenant farmers.
Brennan is known for his eloquence at public rallies, often linking land agitation to Irish nationalist objectives and espousing radical, egalitarian ideas. During the Land League’s activities, he faces trial for encouraging non-payment of rent but is not convicted. He later takes on the duties of national secretary after Davitt’s arrest and authorizes the issuance of the “No Rent Manifesto” from Kilmainham Gaol in 1881, a pivotal document in Ireland’s land struggle.
Following internal shifts in Irish nationalist politics and limitations placed on his influence by Charles Stewart Parnell, Brennan emigrates to the United States. He works for Patrick Ford’s Irish World newspaper in New York City, critiquing aspects of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) and emphasizing non-violent republican principles. By 1883, he settles in Omaha, Nebraska, partnering with Patrick Egan in the Omaha Mortgage Company, specializing in real estate, investment, and insurance. He becomes a respected businessman and seeks to maintain connections with the Irish American nationalist community.
Brennan never marries and eventually dedicates himself to business in Omaha. He passes away on December 19, 1912, in Omaha, Nebraska, having left a lasting impact on Irish land reform efforts and the nationalist movement. He is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Omaha.
Brennan is remembered as a founder and key administrator of the Irish National Land League, a signatory of the “No Rent Manifesto,” and a prominent voice in the Irish republican movement. His advocacy helps shape the course of land reform in Ireland and fosters Irish nationalist sentiment both domestically and among the diaspora.
Sources confirm that his activism, speeches, and organizational skill were central to the Land League’s influence, and he remains a notable figure in 19th-century Irish political history.
Born at Hillside Terrace in Howth, County Dublin, on May 5, 1898, Gilmore is the second son of Philip Gilmore, an accountant originally from County Antrim, and Fanny Angus. Despite his father primarily working for Unionist landlords, and being educated at home, George and his brothers Harry and Charlie all turn toward Irish republicanism. By 1916, Gilmore has become a member of Fianna Éireann, the Republican boy scouts, and later a member of the South County Dublin battalion of the Irish Volunteers.
Gilmore fights in the Irish Republican Army in the Irish War of Independence and in the Irish Civil War on the Anti-Treaty IRA side. During the civil war he is captured and imprisoned, but manages to escape custody in August 1923, the aftermath of which causes riots as the remaining prisoners are placed in solitary confinement.
Following the end of the civil war, Gilmore serves as the secretary of future TaoiseachSeán Lemass, as well alongside Frank Aiken. During the early 1920s, he, Lemass and Aiken regularly meet with the IRA army council to represent the emerging political leadership of Irish republicanism that coalesces as Fianna Fáil in 1926. The trio regularly sits opposite IRA leaders Frank Ryan, Peadar O’Donnell, and Seán Russell.
In October 1925, Gilmore and Lemass organise the escape of nineteen IRA prisoners from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin. As part of the jailbreak, Gilmore impersonates a member of Garda Síochána. None of the nineteen escapees are subsequently recaptured, and their escape serves as a major propaganda coup. However, the following month, Gilmore is involved in a riot that takes place on Armistice Day and he is subsequently arrested and sentenced to eighteen months in prison. He resists the entire duration; first resisting the arrest and then, once imprisoned, refusing to wear a prison uniform and going on hunger strike. Early in 1928, members of the IRA attack Mountjoy Prison where he is being held and shoot the warden after a story emerges that Gilmore had previously been the victim of a vicious beating by the guards. He is released in 1929 but re-arrested and re-imprisoned almost immediately, resulting in a retaliatory beating by the guards that leaves him unconscious.
Sometime between 1929 and 1930, Gilmore is sent by the IRA to Russia to receive military training and to seek aid.
Gilmore is arrested yet again upon his return to Ireland in April 1931, charged with having resisted arrest ten months previously. In October he tries to escape with the help of his brother Charlie and almost succeeds, using a plot involving mock pistols wrapped in silver to intimidate the guards. In the aftermath of the failed escape, his treatment in Arbour Hill Prison from 1931-32 is abysmal. He once again refuses to wear prison clothing because of his political status and remains naked in a windowless cell from October 1931 until February 1932. In June 1931, of a cache of weapons are discovered near his home at Killakee in the Dublin Mountains, which results in him and his brother Charlie being placed before a military tribunal which sentences him to five years in prison and Charlie to three (in 1932 Fianna Fail comes to power and the brothers are released). Neither recognises the authority of the court, with George stating, “I do not want anybody to think I excuse myself for such a charge as having arms, I am admittedly hostile to British imperialism and international capitalism.”
Gilmore’s fortunes are dramatically altered when Fianna Fáil emerges victorious in the 1932 Irish general election. In the aftermath, Frank Aiken, former Chief of Staff of the IRA and new Minister for Defence goes to see Gilmore on March 9 and on the next day all republican prisoners are released as part of a general amnesty. Thirty thousand supporters greet the prisoners at College Green, Dublin.
Finally out of long-term imprisonment, Gilmore is eager to resume working toward a socialist Ireland. He has supported Peadar O’Donnell’s shortlived socialist republican group Saor Éire from prison, but in the aftermath of its demise, he concludes that the group has spent too much time imagining what it might do if in government, and not enough time considering what the immediate aims of the IRA should be. With his close personal ties to their leadership, Gilmore has a positive view of Fianna Fáil, and at this point in time believes their goals differ little from his own and those of the IRA. Nevertheless, He encourages the IRA to not become too closely associated with Fianna Fáil, fearing the IRA will become a subservient body. He himself has ascended to the IRA’s army council upon his release, and in March 1932 is among representatives of the Army Council that liaises with Éamon de Valera about a possible partnership between the IRA and Fianna Fáil.
On August 14, 1932, Gilmore and fellow Irish republican T. J. Ryan are beaten badly, shot and wounded by plain-clothes members the Garda Síochána (Criminal Investigation Department) in Kilrush, County Clare. This incident is blamed on the police by an official Tribunal of Inquiry report one month later.
In March 1934, Gilmore, alongside Frank Ryan and Peadar O’Donnell, refuse to continue on as members of the IRA executive as part of a deepening rift over the direction of the IRA. Left-wing members of the IRA such as Gilmore, Ryan and O’Donnell insist that the IRA needs to tie their activity to social agitation in addition to their military aims, but this is a minority viewpoint, with the majority believing the IRA should have a “strictly military” outlook. The rift ultimately spirals into Gilmore, Ryan and O’Donnell being court-martialed and expelled in April.
In the aftermath, Gilmore works with Roddy Connolly, Nora Connolly O’Brien and Peadar O’Donnell to found the Republican Congress, a left-wing socialist Irish republican group. The group breaks up in 1935 over internal differences. Gilmore, Ryan and O’Donnell believe that the Republican Congress should be a united front, an alliance of all republican groups in Ireland. Roddy Connolly and other members of the Communist Party of Ireland believe that the Congress should be a vanguard party. A conference is held by the Republican Congress in Rathmines, Dublin, in September 1934 to vote on the issue. Before the vote is taken, Gilmore gives a speech in which he accuses Fianna Fáil of using republicanism as a means to promote Irish capitalism. When the votes are taken on whether the Republican Congress should be a united front or a vanguard party, Gilmore’s united front faction wins. However, supporters of the vanguard party concept such as Roddy Connolly immediately resign from the Congress in protest and walk out on the group. It proves to be a blow that the Congress never recovers from and the group is defunct by 1936. Gilmore makes a last-ditch effort to save the Congress by traveling to the United States to seek funds from Irish American groups but is not successful.
Upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, Gilmore and O’Donnell become supporters of the International Brigades. Both men travel to Spain personally, during which they are involved in a plane crash and Gilmore’s leg is broken.
Following the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Gilmore writes an appeal pleading with the IRA to dump arms until the war in Europe is over and denounces them for flirting with fascism by seeking aid from Germany.
During the 1960s, when the republican movement once again moves to the left, Gilmore and O’Donnell are once again in demand as speakers and as writers in republican publications. In 1966, for the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, Gilmore releases a pamphlet entitled “Labour and the republican movement” in which he espouses the principles of James Connolly. Additionally, he appeals to young republicans not to repeat the mistake older republicans had made in being too rigid in their views and too short on policy.
Gilmore dies on June 29, 1985, at the age of 87, in a nursing home in Howth, County Dublin.
O’Connor’s father, Andrew O’Connor (1846–1924), of Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a stonecutter who becones a professional sculptor. As a teenager, he apprentices to his father, helping him to design monuments for cemeteries.
O’Connor is involved in a minor controversy in 1909 when he is commissioned to design a statue for Commodore John Barry, of the American Revolutionary-era navy. His first design is heatedly attacked by Irish American groups. He submits a second version, but it too is ultimately rejected, and the sculptor John J. Boyle received the commission.
Morrison grows up in a community steeped in traditional Irish culture especially music and at the age of seventeen he is employed by the Gaelic League to tutor the Connacht style of step dancing at the Gaelic League school in County Mayo.
In 1915, at the age of 21, Morrison immigrates to the United States and settles in New York City. In 1918, he wins the fiddle competition at the New York Feis. He becomes associated with other leading Irish musicians such as Michael Coleman and Paddy Killoran, who are also from County Sligo.
Morrison is one of the leading Irish music teachers in New York in the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to the fiddle, he can play the flute, tenor banjo and button accordion, and teaches hundreds of young Irish American students to play traditional music.
The Sligo style of fiddle music Morrison plays is typically highly ornamented and fast, with a fluid bowing style. Recordings of his playing are imported to Ireland in great numbers, and have an extraordinary impact. In many areas, local playing styles fall into disuse because of the popularity of the style and repertoire of Morrison and Michael Coleman. This repertoire includes predominantly reels, rather than jigs and hornpipes, and are often played by Irish musicians in the same order as on the original recordings. According to Séamus Mac Mathúna, “More than thirty years after Coleman’s death … one seldom hears ‘Bonny Kate’ without ‘Jenny’s Chickens.’ ‘Tarbolton’ is inevitably followed by ‘The Longford Collector’ and the ‘Sailor’s Bonnet.'” The great Canadian fiddler Jean Carignan was is influenced by Morrison. Morrison is well regarded by Frankie Gavin: “the approach he had to fiddle playing and the approach he had to any tune he touched just…can’t be beaten…nobody can play like that today.”
Morrison dies on November 11, 1947, and is interred, like many of his great musical contemporaries, in Saint Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx.
Cusack achieves his most famous victory on April 15, 1974, by winning the Boston Marathon, becoming the first and only Irishman to do so. His time of 2:13:39 is the third-fastest in Boston Marathon history at that point. His Boston win is a source of immense pride for the Irish community, especially in Boston. He recalls receiving $10 and $20 bills from Irish Americans in the mail with notes like “Have a beer on us, we’re proud of you!” His victory helps soothe the disappointment of local Irish fans who had seen fellow Irish runner Pat McMahon come close in previous years.
In 2024, on the 50th anniversary of his Boston win, Cusack returns to serve as the official race starter for the professional men’s division of the Boston Marathon.
Now in his 70s, Cusack remains a celebrated figure in Irish athletics and marathon history.
