The longer the book went on, the more convinced I was that I had not read it before, but then I found on the bottom of page 189 a note in my pencilled handwriting. Continue reading
Filed under Irish Studies …
Middleton’s Irish connection
The name Middleton seemed appropriate for this midpoint between Goolwa and Port Elliot, but I was unable to pinpoint where in Ireland the original Middleton was, presumably a place between two towns or village Continue reading
Two Books to Make us Think
What it really meant to be poor and how to survive it. And a book about a priest who fathered a child with nun. Continue reading
John Corbett’s Reminiscence of Edmund Curtis
I read Modern History and Political Science in Dublin University from 1936 to 1940, talking my degree in absentia in January 1940. The most memorable lectures which I attended were those given by Curtis; he was always interesting and amusing, never the dry historian. Continue reading
On Rereading The Country Girls
I decided to read classics I had not read, and to reread some that I had. I was interested to see if books I had loved on a first reading when I was young, remained beloved. Continue reading
The Irish Travellers
Is this increased interest resonant of the current Australian focus on Indigenous recognition? Or is it a reflection of more attention to the topic of Irish Travellers in the Irish education curriculum? Continue reading
Irish history and its popular versions
But as books must and will be produced to meet the demand, it is now both timely and fair to ask what kind of ‘Irish history’ are we going to have? As a race, we have an extraordinary habit of make-believe. Continue reading
A Really Embarrassing Moment at St. Pat’s
My students were full of energy, fun-loving and were certainly not vindictive or in any way mean, but they loved playing pranks… Continue reading
The Dictionary and Lost Irish Words
Is there bias in dictionary compiling? Ultimately, yes. Continue reading
Tribute to Sinéad O’Connor
So much has been said, in media all over the world, interviews, music played and replayed, so many tributes. For me? the shattering realization, she’s gone. Continue reading
Tinteán 