The Irish language is noteworthy in using religious terms for greetings: Dia duit ‘God with you’ is responded to by Dia is Muire Duit ‘God and Mary with you.’ The latter response is not as prevalent nowadays)….It is not clear what playboy means in the drama and it is not clear that playboy was used regularly in the English of the west of Ireland at that time. Why then did Synge use this word for his protagonist? Continue reading
While there a fella walked in and prepared for bed. However, he first removed the biggest knife I ever saw and laid it beneath the mattress. We started walking the streets looking in windows but not seeing. We were pretty low but pretended not, to shield one another. Continue reading
‘The Journey to Galway’ is a suitable beginning for a collection of stories about betrayal, deception, disappointment, and secrets. Many of these secrets are made possible because of distance. Continue reading
Here is a brief snapshot of Kitty Parker’s rebel ancestry: Michael Dwyer’s sister Sarah married Hugh Vesty Byrne, Dwyer’s Lieutenant. They had fourteen children. In 1825 a daughter Catherine Byrne married John Keirghan also a currency lad, or child of the convict Patrick Keirghan transported on Marquis Cornwallis, 1796, who married convict Catherine Kitts in Sydney. John Leary, convict on transport Prince Regent 1824, married convict Catherine Jones in Sydney 1825 Continue reading
This was the start of a 14 year war, which divided the Irish community. Enormous efforts to resolve the matter by many parties occurred at a high legal cost. Continue reading
In Old Norse, there are two words for Viking: víkingr refers to a person, while víking is an activity. Neither word is inherently negative nor associated with violence. Continue reading
I liked him because he wouldn’t back from anyone or thing. No. He’d rush headlong into whatever he perceived an adversary and flail away like a mad thresher. Continue reading
His wife is reported in 1926 as being a ‘Delph shop-keeper’ on her ‘own account.’ This matches my mother’s story of the family having a shop. Continue reading
The flag is one of the last surviving artifacts linked to the dramatic prison break in Western Australia that unfolded 150 years ago, from April 17 to 19, 1876. During the operation, six Fenian prisoners escaped from a British penal colony and made their way aboard the US whaling ship Catalpa. Continue reading
We have subscribers in 117 countries and on every continent. Our authors have been Irish-born and Irish resident; Irish-born and Australian resident or resident in other countries; Australian-born of Irish descent; or simply interested and involved in the Australian-Irish connection. Continue reading
