Mary Walsh’s life in Australia as a wife, mother and nurse. Continue reading
Filed under entertainment …
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
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
Another Irish Film Festival 2025 Review: Never Stop the Action
Kathleen, an eighteen-year-old, navigates life after her mother’s death and returning to her childhood home in a coastal Irish town. Given a second chance, she struggles with her volatile nature and connections while pursuing dreams of a beauty salon. Strong performances highlight her quest for love and recognition amidst psychological challenges. Continue reading
More Irish Film Festival 2025 Reviews: Dead Man’s Money, Chasing the Light, Mrs Robinson
Dead Man’s Money, a film by Paul Kennedy, explores familial tension and betrayal as Young Henry fears his wealthy uncle’s courtship with the Widow Tweed. This noir adaptation evokes Shakespearean themes, skillfully blending dark humor and character complexities. The 82-minute film offers a gripping tale of moral ambiguity and human frailty. Continue reading
Irish Film Festival 2025 Reviews: Kathleen is Here, A Want in Her, Bring Them Down, Fran the Man, Housewife of the Year, Froggie, Fidil Ghorm, The Spin, and David Keenan:Focla ar Chanbhás
Kathleen, an eighteen-year-old, navigates life after her mother’s death and returning to her childhood home in a coastal Irish town. Given a second chance, she struggles with her volatile nature and connections while pursuing dreams of a beauty salon. Strong performances highlight her quest for love and recognition amidst psychological challenges. Continue reading
September: What we are reading, hearing, attending, watching…
Like Heaney, I too was catapulted back to the powerful impact of reading Wilde’s De Profundis, also penned in Reading Gaol, on me aged 20. Continue reading
Samhain Stories in Flickers of Memory
Swinging on the front gate with my brother for mother to arrive home with the fruit we only saw once a year: coconuts and pomegranates. My brothers attacking the coconuts with a hammer and chisel. Me, the youngest, given the first taste of the milky juice. Continue reading
MONTO: a search for the definite article
The wicked history of ‘Monto’ spreads itself accommodatingly from the 1860s up to the 1950s. ‘Monto’ was, at one time, so it is claimed, to be the largest redlight district in Europe. It is estimated that there were at times up to 1,600 prostitutes working there. Continue reading
The Miracle of Old’s Cool
Good stories can be hard to find these days, so it is good to hear that Irishman Fergal Butler’s lost, found, and restored boat Old’s Cool is set to be relaunched. Continue reading
Tinteán 