Most of the stories date from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and many deal with miserable school experiences. You won’t be surprised to read of Bob Geldof tormenting the priests at Blackrock College by asking inconvenient religious questions, or Edna O’Brien recounting how she sinned by the hour Continue reading
Filed under religion …
Vale Nell McCafferty — ‘free at last’ (1944-2024)
They were recorded buying condoms in a Belfast chemist shop. These fearless women gave hope and courage to ordinary women who were only coming into awareness about how their reproductive rights had become the property of male dominated establishments, not just in Ireland. Continue reading
A road to nowhere: faith-based political parties
A concise history of the politics of religion-based parties in Australia. Continue reading
Land Ownership in Ireland Part 1
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
The Woman Who Lives Beside Ballymacpeake Mass Rock
by Michael Boyle The Woman Who Live Beside Ballymacpeake Mass Rock There are no half measureswith her. Even in gettinga cupán tae in yer hand.But the full spreadof fancy sandwichesand sweet cake at the table.Oh herself and the girlswill never pour ye outan ordinary a wee Black Bush.You’ll get a fill of the glassand then … Continue reading
New Irish Australian Research: Irish Women in the Antipodes
What struck me particularly about these stories was the spirit and fight of women in the face of discrimination and adversity. Continue reading
Would You Like to Write for Us?
We have subscribers in 117 countries and on every continent. Our authors have been Irish-born and Irish resident; Irish-born and Australian resident or resident in other countries; Australian-born of Irish descent; or simply interested and involved in the Australian-Irish connection. Continue reading
Ireland in the 1980s and Today
According to the United Nations Human Development Index, Irish people enjoy the second-highest quality of life worldwide, and the country is ranked 12th in the 2024 Social Progress Index. 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
Community Gatherings in Ireland: part two
The very earliest communal gathering and feasting for which we have solid evidence are known as fulachta fia. These were the locations where an animal, probably a deer or boar, was cooked following a hunt. The sharing of food is a social act that creates and maintains bonds and obligations within a group or community, which seems to have been the entire function of these feasts. Continue reading