A Centenary for The Bad Boy of Welsh Literature

A Centenary for The Bad Boy of Welsh Literature

Thomas’s best-loved work is his play for voices, Under Milk Wood. A late work, it perhaps belongs in the category described by George Orwell as ‘a good bad book’ with its mixture of vulgarity and sentimentality. The prayer of Revered Eli Jenkins is an example of how the most famous of Anglo-Welsh poets inspires both love and embarrassment in Wales. Continue reading

Home Rule for Ireland

Home Rule for Ireland

A Feature by FRAN BADER marking the centenary of the Third Home Rule Bill  A centenary ago on 18 September 1914, the Third Home Rule Bill for Ireland went on the statute books in Westminster, with its implementation simultaneously postponed for a year or for the duration of WW1. At the time there was no … Continue reading

Poetry by Michael Boyle

Poetry by Michael Boyle

Sanctuary My mother called it Grand Central Station. Our kitchen the main platform and when we were tall enough we could glance out the half door. When clangorous clouds clashed we dived under tables. Plugged ears when pigs squealed on death row. But always ate salty bacon well into spring. We learned that slow churning … Continue reading

Let’s Get Quizzical

Nature of Event: Let’s Get Quizzical  is a quiz show with canapés at PJ O’Brien’s Irish Pub. The MC is a master of quizzes and craic: Brian Gillespie. The questions will be broad-ranging, but it may be a tad advantageous to be Irish, or to know your way around matters sporting (the man is a … Continue reading