Thomas D'Arcy McGee - Canada's Celtic Martyr

Turning to the index of the latest edition of the Penguin History of Canada you will not find an entry with his name. Were you to float his name at a cocktail party you are likely to do a bit better with some hazy responses having to do with ‘Fenianism’, ‘Confederation’, ‘alcohol’ and...

Tuesday, 19 May 2009 | 271 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

The Blitz of Belfast

Outside of London, the people of Belfast suffered the largest cumulative loss of civilian life during a single night during the Second World War, and Germany’s infamous Blitzkreig. The city of Belfast was perhaps the least-defended British city during the Battle of Britain, a situation...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 405 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Allied Irish Banks open for business in Toronto

Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c., (AIB) has established a corporate lending branch in Toronto, having received final regulatory approvals from the Irish and Canadian authorities. As part of the AIB Corporate Banking North America business unit, the Toronto branch reflects the significant ongoing...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 273 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Wicklowman Dalton Philips key to Loblaw Future Success

As he edges towards the 40 year milestone, Loblaw Companies Limited Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Dalton Philips delights in the challenges laid out for him in this behemoth corporation of 135,000 employees, over 1,200 stores and turnover of $28 billion. A native of...

Tuesday, 09 June 2009 | 613 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Swapping Ireland for Canada

Canadian historians have traditionally regarded Fenianism solely as an external threat but David A. Wilson reveals a ‘hidden history’ of internal subversion.

Sunday, 26 April 2009 | 191 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Hurray! I've Got a Job in Guinness's

It was the year 1946 and lo and behold I’d landed a job in Guinness’s.  I’d written the Guinness messenger boy examination, passed with flying colours, and received a letter informing me to report to the Chemists Laboratory in two week‘s time.  And I was only fourteen. Well, fourteen and...

Sunday, 26 April 2009 | 170 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Memories of a Dublin Picturegoer

In 1950s/60s Dublin, we didn’t catch a movie or take in a show; we went to the pictures.  For a brief moment, “the flicks” threatened to supplant “the pictures” in local terminology, but tradition quickly regrouped and the challenger was routed.

Sunday, 26 April 2009 | 216 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more

Dublin's Theatre Royal

If you lived in Dublin between 1935 and 1962, chances are you’ll remember the Theatre Royal. For other folks, if you know it at all, it may only be as a reference in Pete St. John’s Dublin in the Rare Auld Times. Either way, the Royal’s story is worth telling.

Tuesday, 19 May 2009 | 314 hits | Print | PDF |  E-mail | Read more