While many Irish place names in Australia remain unchanged, especially those of populated areas and permanent geographical features, the names of homesteads are more likely to change. A homestead in Australia is usually a house and pastoral property. Some placename websites separate the homestead from the land, and some call a homestead a ‘station’. Continue reading
We heard you read local poets
McNiece, Larkin, Rodgers. Told us of
Hewitt’s ox and goat metaphor
for Northern Ireland. Continue reading
My father’s father’s father
survived the potato blight of ’47.
lived all his life
on the Crow’s Nest farm
where he heard an eerie
caw, caw, cawing
late in the night. Continue reading
Daddy said: ‘Give her a bag of porridge going’. Continue reading
The main course was a labour of love, requiring a new (double) cherry seeder and a great deal of patience and finding space in the fridge, overstuffed for the season. To me, it looked festive with its glossy cherries and a crisp watermelon. Continue reading
Ryan Kelly reflects on the need to know our history and share our stories, including a need for this history to be spoken about and taught in schools. Continue reading
This now slightly derogatory generic name for an Australian female was first applied to Irish women who appeared in Australian courts. Continue reading
Bilingual poems afford us the opportunity to appreciate both languages. What is most appreciated is the effort taken by these poets to make the English translations poems in their own right. This means that even if you do not read Irish, you can appreciate the themes, thoughts and imagery in this collection. Continue reading
The result of decades of land sub-division, as a result of the Act of 1704, and a rapidly increasing population, along with the suppression of the woollen and linen cottage industries which had once flourished, had resulted in the great majority of tenants, especially along the West coast, being left with tiny subsistence landholdings. Continue reading
What struck me particularly about these stories was the spirit and fight of women in the face of discrimination and adversity. Continue reading
Tinteán 