How blessed I was this summer to visit Ireland with my husband. We joined 22 other Americans on a Catholic pilgrimage, visiting towering cathedrals and the crumbling ruins of monasteries and castles. One of my favorite stops was the coastal village of Cobh, famed as the last stop of the ill-fated Titanic on her maiden voyage. … Read moreFather Browne’s Saving Grace

In this third installment of our pilgrimage through Ireland, we head north to the remote village of Knock in central Ireland, past fields where sheep peacefully graze in lush green pastures.  The Gaelic word for Knock is Noc which means hill. It was here on August 21, 1879 that a small group of poor Irish … Read moreThe Mystery of Our Lady of Knock

November is a stark time of year here on our small farm in Maine. Trees are stripped bare by blustery winds. Maple leaves, once bright and golden, cover the ground, and now are made brown and slimy by cold rains. Garlic and tulip bulbs lie buried under the hard soil, planted with hope of new … Read moreWhispers from the Grave

Hundreds of miles off the coast of Ireland, I felt our Delta jet rumble and drop rapidly in altitude as we approached Dublin Airport. It was a golden sunrise over the patchwork of pastures bordering the Irish Sea. Thoughts of Irish ancestors flooded my mind. More than a hundred years had passed since the Griffins, … Read more“If You ever Go Across the Sea to Ireland…”

An old woman ambled down a dirt road from her cottage on Christmas Cove along the coast of Maine. Hilda Hamlin was her name and she had a secret. It was a secret kept in her pocket. Now on her way back from the post office, she fumbled in her pocket for little treasures brought … Read moreThe Real Miss Rumphius