Blog

March 23, 2025

Turmoil Revists The American Irish Historical Society

Irish Stew Statement As proud supporters of the American Irish Historical Society (AIHS), we feel compelled to express our deep dissatisfaction with the recent decision to remove Dr. Elizabeth Stack from her position as Executive Director. Dr. Stac…

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March 4, 2025

The Last Irish Wave

Larry Kirwan's Rockin the Bronx charts the last big wave of Irish emigration to America. Part of this migration fetched up in the Bronx's Bainbridge neighborhood in the early 80s. The denizens of Kirwan's novel are undocumented, undereducated, and u…

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Dec. 31, 2024

2024: Out With A Bang

Yesterday was one of those podcast recognition moments. We struck gold at the Irish Pod Awards in The Society and Culture category and made the podium again with a bronze for the Best Hosting Duo/Trio category. Some months back, we were surprised to…

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Nov. 22, 2024

Review: Hotel Lux by Maurice Casey

The histories of the less exalted in the right hands can make for fascinating reading. While much ink has been spilled writing of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, and Hitler, less is known about how those figures affected the lives of the many who followed o…

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Nov. 12, 2024

Who Owns Irish Identity?

There are now millions of podcasts scattered around the internet. To be brutally honest, most are not worth listening to. That is not the case with Transatlantic, which features two former guests we happened to have hosted twice on Irish Stew. We'd…

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Aug. 19, 2024

OTD: Jerome Connor - Sculptor (1874-1943)

Sculptor Jerome Connor (1874 - 1943) was born in Coumduff near Anascaul in Kerry on February 23, 1874. At age 14, he emigrated with his family to Holyoke in Massachusetts. Jerome’s father, Patrick, appears to have worked as a stonecutter, and …

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July 9, 2024

Vivienne Sayers O'Callaghan - Chapter and Verse

At Irish Stew, our podcast episodes are lengthy. We make no apology for that; we don't think we can come to grips with a person's life in 15 minutes. In truth, it is ridiculous to believe that we could do so in an hour, which is roughly the duration…

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June 24, 2024

John Thomand O'Brien - Latin American Revolutionary (1786 - 1861)

John Thomand O'Brien was born in Baltinglass, Wicklow, on the 24th of June 1786. He emigrated to Brazil in 1811 where he attempted to set up several businesses in Brazil and then Argentina. O'Brien's efforts in the commercial domain proved unsuccess…

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June 21, 2024

Charles Hale - Chapter and Verse

At Irish Stew, our podcast episodes are lengthy. We make no apology for that; we don't think we can come to grips with a person's life in 15 minutes. In truth, it is ridiculous to believe that we could do so in an hour, which is roughly the duration…

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June 14, 2024

Rory Gallagher - Master of the Rock Guitar (1948 - 1995)

Rory Gallagher, a rock guitarist, was born in Ballyshannon, Donegal, on the 2nd of March, 1948.  He is frequently cited as the greatest rock guitarist you've never heard of, a testament to his unwillingness to compromise on the types of music h…

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