She brought ashore a language / and a pocketful of scraps: / a seagull nested in her mind / and she found shelter in a doorless house / that would let her neither in nor out / though she escaped in a dream / and saw before her a tribe / who reminded her of the dead Continue reading
Filed under Irish language …
What’s on March/April and beyond
Irish in Australia: Irish-themed Movies, Tours, and Festivals Continue reading
Gaelscoil Mhelbourne: interview with Lonán Fiach Ó Lorgnáin
Cumann Gaeilge na hAstráile has done incredible work over several decades in providing Irish language education to predominantly adult students and we would love to build on this through offering it through to school-aged students. Continue reading
Filíocht/Poetry Seán Ó Ríordáin, Art Ó Suilleabháin, Michael Boyle.
‘iomán’ focal ar ‘bhreac’ a mhaireann i nGaeilge Chorr na Móna amháin.
A word for ‘fish’ only used in Corr na Móna.
‘sham’ scoláire lae ó Thuaim a chuaigh abhaile gach tráthnóna.
‘sham’ a day-boy from Tuam who went home each evening. Continue reading
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
What’s on February/March and beyond
Irish in Australia: Irish-themed Movies, Tours, and Festivals Continue reading
What’s on January/February/March 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
What we are reading, hearing, attending, watching
Beads of rain streak the window beyond which there is a violet tint in the sky as dusk begins to fall. Dim telegraph poles slip by. Then the chequerboard of yellow and black at the edge of a small town, and bubbled letters caught in the floodlights of an AstroTurf pitch. 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
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