I had longed with all of my heart to be one of the girls taking the Leaving Certificate, exchanging ideas with the nuns, listening, considering, and being part of Paradise Lost or Paradise Regained. But that was not to be. Continue reading
Filed under History …
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
An expensive ground-breaking book on post-1945 Irish Migration to Australia
In reviewing this important book about Irish who have migrated to Australia since 1945, I have two messages. Firstly, Patricia O’Connor and Fidelma McCorry have broken new ground with a solid and stimulating book. Continue reading
The Shanahans and the Kearns: Tipperary to Australia Part 1
No, it was not the gold discovery that brought me out. In Corrigeen, Barony of Kilmarney, where I lived, seventeen houses were burnt in one day by way of eviction. I at once made up my mind to be under Parker, our landlord, no longer, and I came out here. 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
The Making of Irish Diasporas
The sheer distance between Ireland and Australia and the cost of the 12,000 mile passage for example meant that Australia was spared the ‘hundreds and thousands of refugees…ragged, starving and diseased, that were cast up on the shores of Great Britain and North America.’ Continue reading
My Passion for Cricket
But strangely enough despite all my extensive sports background, I got totally absorbed and immersered listening to cricket games on the BBC radio. Continue reading
Spinning Yarns and Little-Known Facts
What is unique about this publication, I believe, is how Colin brings little- known facts to us about all kinds of topics, but mostly about minorities, peoples and languages. Continue reading
The Brothers O’Shea: becoming stardust
We are struck by the extent of the brothers’ influence on both their adopted countries. They made a difference. They added to the community and to the culture. Continue reading
Tinteán 