Mary Walsh’s life in Australia as a wife, mother and nurse. Continue reading
Filed under diaspora …
A Family that Thrived
The story of an Earl Grey Scheme arrival, Margaret Walsh, and her brother, and subsequent generations in Purrumbete South. Continue reading
Holiday Reading: A Christmas alphabet; This is Our Town; The Best Friend; Conemara Faoi Nollaig
Always in a hurry, the fishmonger would stay in the middle of the street and shout out that he was there. Women rushed out of their houses with their aprons on. Clutching their purses, they queued for the fish wrapped in newspaper. Continue reading
What’s on December/January and beyond
The Irish Famine Orphan Girls Commemoration will take place on November 23, 2025, in Melbourne to honor the arrival of orphan girls in 1850. Events include a film screening of Na Trí Céilithe with a discussion panel. Other cultural activities include a series of music sessions and the Canberra Irish Language Summer School in January 2026. Continue reading
Meeting of the Waters: Echuca and beyond
Catherine is a direct descendant of Arthur Guinness who started the stout, (she and Wayne got special treatment at the brewery), and a grand-daughter of Harry Guinness who was a leader alongside Roger Casement and Edmund Morel in opposing Belgian slavery in the Congo. (In 2017 Catherine wrote a stunning book, Rubber Justice, about him.) Continue reading
Leaving Drummock Moss
During the night, my brother Brian’s dog never stopped yapping. Early next morning my mother called out and she always used the Irish language pronunciation of my name.
‘Meehawl, your fry is on the table, and you’ll need it. You have a long day ahead of you.’ Continue reading
Once Upon a Time in Edenderry
I watched her through the process as her fingers moved so fast as to blur. Constantly she consulted the intricate pattern from a book by her side. Continue reading
Filíocht/Poetry: David M Reid, Rose Malone, Réaltán Ní Leannáin, Colin Ryan, Hugh Curran
Winter is coming by David M Reid Acrylics on canvas A Homeless Ghost by David M Reid 28 October 2025 In ’68 I left my troubled Belfast homeland.Friends, with only a hint of friendly malice,slyly suggested,‘You’re not emigrating.You’re deserting.’ In that divided city,one must pick a side.But I feltneither Irish nor British,neither Protestant … Continue reading
What we are reading, hearing, attending, watching
Her final words are to the homeless and to those who become so because home is not safe: ‘To anyone trapped in a place that does not feel like home, and anyone who has ever been asked the question ‘why don’t you just leave?’ This book is for you. Continue reading
What’s on November/December and beyond
The Irish Famine Orphan Girls Commemoration will take place on November 23, 2025, in Melbourne to honor the arrival of orphan girls in 1850. Events include a film screening of Na Trí Céilithe with a discussion panel. Other cultural activities include a series of music sessions and the Canberra Irish Language Summer School in January 2026. Continue reading
Tinteán 