What is most striking to me about the pre-Rising Irish middle-class is its freewheeling bohemian character: romantic advanced nationalism provided many fora (meetings, dance-floors, remote country language camps, amateur and professional theatrical stages, communist communes) for debating and living secularism, feminism, suffragism, even vegetarianism and lesbianism. Continue reading
A Film Review by Frances Devlin-Glass Sing Street, Screenplay Written and Directed by John Carney (2016), an independent film. This film is pure wish-fulfilment fantasy: a cheesy romance/comedy with a bit of grit in the backstories, but best of all a teen film which celebrates music and the communities it forms. Moreover, it has a … Continue reading
Founded in 1864, Synge Street CBS has for most of its history been one of Dublin’s best known boys schools. It boasts many famous ex-pupils. Continue reading
Nature of Event: Dr Mannix: ‘Clifton Hill, where I committed my original sin’. A centenary commemoration of Archbishop Daniel Mannix’s first speech against conscription. On a wet and stormy night, 16 September 1916, during World War I, a fortnight after Prime Minister William Hughes announced the first conscription referendum, Archbishop Daniel Mannix delayed his expected arrival at another function to go … Continue reading
TV Programme Alert ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp.) TV last night featured an interview by Gay Byrne with Edna O’Brien. It’s riveting watching, as they clearly like and trust one another. She speaks from the heart about a compliant childhood troubled by fear of the nuns and of her parents, and of her own attempt to get … Continue reading
Nature of Event: Book launch of Hannah Kent’s second novel, The Good People, about three women brought together by troubling events in Ireland in 1825. Hannah is the author of Burial Rites. There will also be an interview of the author by Elke Power. When: Tues 27th Sept 6.30pm Where: Readings, Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn Cost: … Continue reading
Brian Gillespie’s new play, Convicted on a Comma: The Trial of Roger Casement generated a deal of interestand many new patrons for Bloomsday. Among them were a couple who identified themselves as relatives. When a second couple did the same, it was assumed that parties were talking about the original family members, so it … Continue reading
A profile of an Irish-born artist whose artistic practice began painting Sinn Fein symbols on Christmas cards and painting by hand, plaster statues of saints. Continue reading
A Traveller’s Tale by Historian, Dianne Hall April 2016 was a great time to be visiting Dublin, not only was the weather good, but the energy and enthusiasm in commemorating the events of the 1916 Rising was infectious. While I was not in town for the official events at Easter, I was standing outside the … Continue reading
One puts the book down, numb beyond weeping, for it goes well beyond the romance of being a soldier-poet ‘in the tradition of Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon’…. Continue reading
Tinteán 