Pádraic Ó Conaire was an Irish writer who wrote extensively in the Irish Language and wrote 26 books, 473 stories, 237 essays and 6 plays. His acclaimed novel Deoraíocht has been described by Angela Bourke as ‘the earliest example of modernist fiction in Irish’. Orphaned by the age of eleven, he spent a period living […]
For the first time in 30 years the number of people in extreme poverty globally, is rising. Extreme poverty, as defined by the World Bank, entails surviving on less than $1.90 a day. The consequences of the global shutdown on global poverty are causing problems that will result in many deaths. We should be […]
On October 5th, 1968 a Civil Rights march took place in Derry protesting gerrymandering and discrimination against the minority Catholic population. The march, organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) and the Derry Housing Action Committee, had been banned by the authorities in Stormont but it was decided to go ahead in defiance. At the […]
Today I thought that I’d draw your attention to a particularly repulsive ad that graces a bus stop in Vancouver. The ad features a picture of a cute baby, smiling, looking with joy out at commuters. Underneath it, the ad says: “The most loving gift you can give your first child is not to have another.” […]
September 21 passed without special notice, as usual, this year. Perhaps, in future, that day might be remembered as Zdenek Hanzlik Day. Or, to make it easier on our clumsy tongues, we could call it Sid’s Day — that being the name by which the 60-year-old, originally from the Czech Republic, was always known in […]
If the life of Donald J Trump were a movie we would now be in the tumultuous third act. The news that Trump has tested positive for the Coronavirus has shaken up the presidential race in another unexpected direction. If this were a movie it would be the perfect third act plot twist. “The Hero’s […]
Ten IRA and INLA hunger-strikers die between 5 May and 12 August; all but one of the men were in their twenties, the youngest, Thomas McElwee, being 23 years of age. The hunger strike had started on March 1st 1981 after years of the prisoners being on the blanket (blanket protest) and the failure of […]
This week marks the start of the Government’s Stay and Spend scheme introduced to help the hospitality sector by encouraging people to spend on food, drink and accommodation over the autumn, winter and spring months. While that is a laudable aim, the scheme excludes by design a wide range of people including those on disability benefit, […]
“Clontarf was too important to be left to the historians, so passed into the legend-maker’s hand.” Gwyn Jones, “A History of the Vikings” Written around 1280, “Njál’s Saga” is an Icelandic tale of vengeance and blood feuds among various groups of Vikings. It also includes a section on the Battle of Clontarf in Ireland and […]
A controversial genetic study published in 2003 suggested that one in every 200 men alive today is a descendant of Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan. In central Asia, this figure rises to one in 12 — or about 16 million men. Impossible today? Not so fast. There were 20th century superspreaders, to borrow from the jargon of Covid-19 […]
The Whiteboys (na Buachaillí Bána) were a secret Irish agrarian organisation which defended tenant farmer land rights for subsistence farming. They sought to address rack-rents, tithe collection, excessive dues, evictions and other oppressive acts. As a result they targeted landlords and tithe collectors. Their operations were chiefly in the counties of Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and […]
John Devoy was an Irish nationalist leader and exile. He was the owner and editor of the Gaelic American, a New York weekly newspaper, 1903-1928. He dedicated over 60 years of his life to the cause of Irish independence. He is one of the few people to have played a role in the rebellion […]