The Irish have made their mark on Manhattan for centuries, building the skyscrapers, policing the streets and eventually running city hall. That’s why when you visit the Big Apple you won’t be short of fascinating historical sites of enduring importance to the Irish.

SLIDESHOW / IRISH SIDE OF ELLIS ISLAND / CLICK HERE The outside world is a scary place. Especially when outside is New York

Dan Milner has been plying the Irish and folk music scene of New York City for decades, and acquired a well-earned reputation for his store of knowledge about countless folk songs and the times that created them. He comes from that folk singing tradition where delivery and articulation are critical to imparting the most colorful details contained in a song or the nuance that drives it home as a great ballad of the people. Through committed interpreters and vocalists like Milner, the songs of the people that depict our history are like buried treasure to be reclaimed over and over again with an audience that appreciates that folk song tradition.

Talking Sense On Licenses

NEW York Eliot Spitzer has landed himself in extra hot water over the driver's license issue, but it is still important that Irish undocumented understand what has occurred.

By December of 2008 all undocumented will be able to obtain a license. That will allow them to get auto insurance, and they will be able to use the document as an ID everywhere except at an airport or a federal building.

Success is a good word to define the O'Toole family, as translating the word "tuathal" into English literally means prosperous. The origin of the O'Toole name comes from a tenth-century king of Leinster, and the O'Tooles grew to be one of the dominant groups in the county. Initially, they settled in Kildare, but later fled to Wicklow to avoid the Normans.