CLE Irish

Every sound, the groan of iron, the whistle of steam, rose and settled in his chest.His name was Michael Sammon, and the year was 1915. He had just returned from Colorado, where he had taken his wife, Anne, hoping clean air might ease the illness closing her lungs.

launching on May 25, 2026, bringing the total number of direct flights from Ireland to the U.S. to 24.

The story begins in Ballysallagh, a townland within the village of Doolin on Ireland’s rugged Atlantic coast in County Clare, a place the family remembers as breathtakingly beautiful, with rolling green fields, stone walls, and music in the air. Patrick Joseph Byrnes was born there in 1902, the second of 14 children and the oldest son.

“It was at these gatherings that I was first exposed to the joy of the music and humor of storytellers and knew that I wanted to be part of that as much as possible,” he said.

Irishtown Bend Reclaimed: Restoring a Lost Cleveland Irish NeighborhoodPart 2 of the series on the legacy and future of Irishtown Bend. To Read Part...