Her story was long consigned to legend and fantasy. An Irish pirate queen who commanded a fleet of ships from Spain to Scotland… in the 1500s?! Not likely. But in the 1990s, historian Anne Chambers found a trove of documents in a dusty old chest at Westport House, and the tales of Grace O’Malley were proven to be marvelously, fantastically, true. Join Katie on location at Westport House in Ireland for a swashbuckling tale like …
St. Brigid tended an eternal flame in Kildare, Ireland, while caring for people, animals, and the earth. And though she lived 1500 years ago, her story is seeing a huge resurgence in the 21st century. Come on location with Katie to the Solas Bhride Centre in Kildare to meet Brigidine nun, Sister Rita Minehan. We promise a balm for your weary soul! Here’s a great tutorial video on how to create your own Saint …
In the moment when Mary Pattison locked eyes with dashing American solider John Irwin across the ballroom at the St. Patrick’s Day Ball in 1784, her destiny was set. Married by the end of the gala and on a ship to the brand new nation of the USA two weeks later, she would set up the first “Rope Walk,” rope manufacturer in the small frontier town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her foresight, skill and ambition would …
Rose Emily Ridge was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1973. After spending her childhood in Australia and New Zealand, she fled an abusive husband for California in 1907. Arriving in America, she promptly changed her name, her age, her nationality and her marital status and launched her new life as Lola Ridge, radical poet, anarchist organizer, and editor of the influential avant-garde magazine Broom. At her popular Greenwich Village salons she welcomed the country’s most …
