The top ten weird stories about Irish people you’ve never heard of

Dear Folks, I have just come across this posting and your interesting comments. I wrote Foster's Irish Oddities and Foster's Even Odder Irish Oddities and can vouch for the truth of the oddities in these books! It is incorrect to say that the Patrick O'Connell story is false. Google Book 'Wilkes paddy conell' and you should find the primary source. Nathaniel Philbrick also mentions him in his account of the same expedition. James F O'Connell from Monastereven, Co. Kildare is a competely different character. I hope this clears up the issue. Kind regards from Ireland, Allen Foster

General Ulysees Grant was sitting at his desk when "Fightin' Tom Sweeney" came in to tell him they had won. Grant looked at Sweeney and said "I can hardly believe we won, Tom, you have all your parts left!"

Georgy Boy not half as tiresome for me correcting you.Still I'll defend your right to be stupid about immigrants.

GeorgeDillon; Malone got his information “Foster’s Irish Oddities”, as stated at the end of the article. Where Foster got *his* information, I don't know.

Gets a bit tiresome having to correct Irish Central. It would be a full time job to do it comprehensively. In this case, the reference to O'Connell above is bunk. The actual story refers to Dubliner James O'Connell, and he was on Poh'npei, thousands of miles from Fiji. And he didn't live 40 years on the island, I think he was just a few years on Poh'npei. Would Malone care to tell us the source of the reference to O'Connell?

Got to love the IRISH.