Handel’s Messiah was the soundtrack to Christmas Day in our house. It was a bit, or more likely totally, above our heads but it gradually, over many years, soaked up the strangeness and wonder, the mysterious otherworldliness of Christmas. The smells and tastes, the treats, the novelties that the kindly Santa left for us on […]
Last year, a Traveller family parked their trailer in a layby up the road from where I live. They had a fair bit of space, and a small generator was used to give light and heat. We’d often pass by walking the dog, or going to the shops, and sometimes we’d nod and say hello to […]
Great pipers to the singers and storytellers,
FEATURED CD for Easter 2020 is the chart-topping album from Celi Dé, starting with this gorgeous piece written and performed for Palm Sunday by Trian Ó Riordan and Colm Mannion. www.celide.ie
The Italians are singing to each other across empty streets, so famous Offaly “singing pub” JJ Houghs has released a video of the ‘Irish version’ of how to show solidarity as COVID-19 locks down the country. The Banagher hostelry is as much loved for it hilarious videos and chat as it is for the unique […]