With the passage of time Irish Catholics eventually did become part of the fabric of Australian society. With the coming of each generation, they moved along and some of them, up the social scale. But their ascent was neither rapid nor easy. Continue reading
Filed under Irish history …
British Espionage after The Rising
The Intelligence authorities found it difficult to accept that parents whose eldest adult child had been executed for his role in the Easter Rising, and who moreover had two more sons Volunteers (initially sentenced to death but commuted to 10-year sentences), were not actively involved in the Rising. Continue reading
The McCarthy who kept the Normans out of Munster
Kevin McCarthy has made his surname known in America. Here is one of his ancestors. Continue reading
Professor J. Otway-Ruthven (1909-1989)
A ‘Brief Life’ of Professor J. Otway-Ruthven. Continue reading
Feisty Irish Women and Irish National Foresters
Susan has had international recognition with her interview on The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio1…The Irish National Foresters were a Friendly Society that commenced in Ireland and then started in Melbourne in 1886 … Continue reading
Community Gatherings in Ireland Old and New part one
. To this day, we have a saying in Irish ‘Bhí togha gacha bí agus rogha gacha dí le fail ann’, The finest of every food and the choice(st) of every drink was to be had there. This is believed to originally date from bards of one to two thousand years ago. As a chieftain or king, one’s reputation had to be maintained, or enhanced and these ‘songs of praise’, so to speak, were pivotal in this regard. Continue reading
Based on truth and story: the Irish ballad tradition and its relevance to today.
The other songs cut straight to the chase of the reality of war. Mrs McGrath and Johnny, I hardly knew you. They give a heartbreaking perspective on the horror and futility of war and although tinged with humour they give a firsthand account of the injuries and lifelong disabilities inflicted. Continue reading
Tóibín being Tóibín.
Book Review by Frank O’Shea A GUEST AT THE FEAST. By Colm Tóibín. Picador 2022. 305 pp. $34.99 Colm Tóibín is the current Laureate for Irish Fiction, succeeding Sebastian Barry. As part of that role, he will be expected to deliver a number of public lectures; it is not clear whether this book is part … Continue reading
Skelligs as it Was
Book review by Frank O’Shea HAVEN. By Emma Donoghue. Picador 2022. 257 pp. $32.99 Some years ago, Tintean carried an article by Mike O’Shea about a day trip to Ballinskelligs by a group of 19 from Killarney, https://tintean.org.au/2017/10/06/a-day-on-skellig-rock/. The article told that up to ten boats, each with a dozen people, visited the island every … Continue reading
From the Papers
Snippets from the news: Fada officially protected; All Irelands, Brian Cowen… Continue reading