In recent months the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Sunday editions) have regularly included articles on Minnesota history. I generally prefer reading about historic events than about present-day politics or other catastrophes. I've enjoyed the Trib's series immensely.

Today's 'Minnesota History' article reports on members of the Ireland family of  County Kilkenny. John Ireland became the state's first Catholic archbishop about the same time Minnesota became a state. A street connecting the Cathedral of St Paul and the Capitol carries John Ireland's name.   A lesser-known fact is that John's sisters, Ellen and Eliza Ireland, and his cousin Ellen Howard became nuns. They, too, shaped the Catholic Church in Minnesota. Y