Maria left Ireland aged fourteen. According to the Irish Famine Memorial’s orphan database, she left Portumna as a Roman Catholic orphan of James and Margaret Maher (both deceased), sailing on the Thomas Arbuthnot to Sydney in 1850. Continue reading
Filed under Irish history …
In the Footsteps of Mary: a traveller’s tale of ancestry
Mary and many of her fellow passengers – convicts – on board the Earl Grey, having left Dublin five months earlier in December 1849, and disembarking on a grey May day on the other side of the world in 1850.
What we are reading, attending at the moment
Melbourne Hosts successful two-day symposium on Irish Language. Next is a review of Australian novelist and diarist Helen Garner’s How to End a Story, much appreciated by those of us who are Garner fans. ‘Priests in the Family’ provides Enright’s intriguing family connection to James Joyce, followed by an ‘Introduction to Ulysses’ where she talks about her personal experience of starting to read that famous book at the age of fourteen, ‘mainlining language, getting high on words’ Continue reading
Ireland’s Daughters: The Earl Grey Orphans Who Shaped Australia. How a Generation of Irish Girls Transformed Exile into Endurance and Survival into Legacy
Maria left Ireland aged fourteen. According to the Irish Famine Memorial’s orphan database, she left Portumna as a Roman Catholic orphan of James and Margaret Maher (both deceased), sailing on the Thomas Arbuthnot to Sydney in 1850. 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
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
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
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
Tinteán 