At the cemetery, Canada geese nibbled grass as my nephew played ‘Danny Boy’ on his saxophone Continue reading
Filed under Short Story …
Scéalta Gaeilge/Béarla – Irish short stories with translations
One of the strengths of each story is the level of simple dialogue, such as would be a normal and natural conversation between family members for example. One could see this as a very useful tool for language learners, seeing language in the context of ordinary conversations. Continue reading
The Wild Atlantic
It started calm enough, but God it turned, and suddenly we were being tossed here and there and everywhere. Ger said he never saw anything like it, but we bent the oars and headed in. Continue reading
Aonach an Daingin The Dingle Fair
Then the jobber proceeded to examine the heifers and shaking his head he offered £16 and Dad emphatically said no. Continue reading
Going to London 1960
While there a fella walked in and prepared for bed. However, he first removed the biggest knife I ever saw and laid it beneath the mattress. We started walking the streets looking in windows but not seeing. We were pretty low but pretended not, to shield one another. Continue reading
What we are reading, watching, at the moment
‘The Journey to Galway’ is a suitable beginning for a collection of stories about betrayal, deception, disappointment, and secrets. Many of these secrets are made possible because of distance. Continue reading
My Kerry Blue (English and Irish versions)
I liked him because he wouldn’t back from anyone or thing. No. He’d rush headlong into whatever he perceived an adversary and flail away like a mad thresher. 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
Holiday Reading: A Christmas alphabet; This is Our Town; The Best Friend; Conemara Faoi Nollaig
Always in a hurry, the fishmonger would stay in the middle of the street and shout out that he was there. Women rushed out of their houses with their aprons on. Clutching their purses, they queued for the fish wrapped in newspaper. Continue reading
Once Upon a Time in Edenderry
I watched her through the process as her fingers moved so fast as to blur. Constantly she consulted the intricate pattern from a book by her side. Continue reading
