There are very few people in life who have not, at some point or other, made a terrible mistake. When you take a vow of marriage, you pledge solemnly, either before God, or before the whole community, represented by the State, that you will bind your life to that of your spouse for eternity. For […]
Thomas MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, to Joseph MacDonagh, a schoolmaster, and Mary Parker. He grew up in a household filled with music, poetry and learning and was instilled with a love of both English and Irish culture from a young age. A member of the Gaelic League, he was a teacher and […]
In ancient Rome, a victorious General returning to the city in triumph always had a slave walking behind him through the cheering crowds, whispering, again and again, into his ears the words “memento mori” – remember, you are a mortal. It might be a good idea to revive the practice for men in general, and […]
The news headlines this morning are breath-taking in their awfulness. A homeless man maimed for life because Dublin City Council thought his tent was unsightly and removed it with a digger while he was still inside. A teenager killed and chopped up (no word yet on whether he was alive or dead when the latter […]
Thomas Ashe trained as a teacher and worked as a school principal in Lusk, Co. Dublin. He was a poet, piper and talented singer and having being reared in the Gaeltacht in Kerry, was an avid supporter of the Irish language. This brought him to the governing body of the Gaelic League, he was also […]
William Higgins was born in Drumlish, the thirteenth and youngest child, of William and Elizabeth Higgins. Initially he was educated by his mother and that would form his early formation. The rising of 1798 was deeply impressed on the mind of the young boy. The Longford Leader’s article on the unveiling of a statue in […]
Daniel Breen – Dónall Ó Braoin – was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. He was born in Grange, Donohill parish, County Tipperary, his father died when Dan was six, leaving the family very poor. He was educated locally, before becoming a plasterer […]
With the release of “The Rise of Skywalker”, last weekend, there have now been nine “Star Wars” movies. And with the saga coming to an end, without delivering any spoilers for the latest and last film, we can now say one thing, definitively: Palpatine, Darth Sidious, Emperor of the Galaxy, was the good guy, all […]
Willie Clancy was born into a musical family in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare. His parents both sang and played concertina, and his father also played the flute. Clancy’s father had been heavily influenced by local blind piper Garret Barry. Willie started playing the whistle at age 5, and later took up the flute. He first […]
99 years ago the Government of Ireland Act passed through both houses of parliament in London. The Act divided Ireland into two territories, “Southern Ireland” and “Northern Ireland”, each intended to be self-governing. “Northern Ireland” as defined by the Act, amounting to six of the nine counties of Ulster, Down, Derry, Armagh, Antrim, Fermanagh and […]
Since 2016, the Irish political and media establishment has clung to a single, unifying, and unshakeable theory about Brexit: It was a fluke result, fuelled by the confluence of several unique factors. A poor remain campaign. Lies by Brexiteers. A surge in anti-immigrant sentiment, or when they’re not being diplomatic, “racist bigotry”. Poor turnout by […]
ON THIS DAY: 12TH DECEMBER 2001: Nuala O’Loan, Police Ombudsman for the North of Ireland presents report to relatives of the Omagh bombing victims As the Police Ombudsman for the North of Ireland, Nuala O’Loan met with and presented the relatives of the victims of the Omagh bombing with a report into her findings into […]