The sad thing, of course, is that this story will never, truly, be debunked.
What value, in other words, do we get from RTE? In my own case, and I sorely doubt I am alone, the answer is none.
This has not been an opportunity for a “national conversation”. It has been an opportunity for one group of people to do what they always want to do: Tell everyone else to sit down and shut up and listen to what they have to say and accept it as gospel truth.
Margaret Hickey reveiws Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment
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 […]
Before the Vikings
A profound and moving memoir
A phenomenon which I encounter more and more often, these days, is the case of the secret Gript reader. The secret Gript reader comes to you via Whatsapp, or a twitter direct message, or sometimes, an encounter at a social event. They always say the same thing, more or less, and it goes something like […]
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 […]
I’ve been around C.S. Lewis quite a lot this past year. I received a review copy of Harry Lee Pope’s second installment in his Lewis trilogy, The Making of C.S. Lewis: From Atheist to Apologist (1918-1945). It is beautifully written, accessible, and contains many fantastic photos. I also had the rare opportunity to break some news about […]
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 […]
By this time, 1.5 years into the worst starvation Ireland had experienced in the 19th century, the death and destruction of famine was gaining international headlines. Accounts were so horrific that many thought they were exaggerated, alas, it was not the case. Several went themselves to establish the truth only to find it worse than […]