Some dainty morsels from Irish Literature… Continue reading
Tagged with Irish history …
Impressive New Irish Documentaries
Three New Documentary films at the Irish Film Festival, including two love songs to Dublin. Continue reading
The Failure of the Socialist Dream in the Free State
Dermot Bolger’s novel deals with the decline of the landed Anglo-Irish class, the rise and fall of Soviet-style Socialism in Ireland after the establishment of the Free State Continue reading
At Swim-Two-Birds: mad Sweeny and the artist
I cannot remember exactly how I discovered the book in my teens. What I can remember is the experience of reading it for the first time, of getting lost in its marvellous, frenzied chaos and laughing aloud. It holds a unique appeal for me as an artist because, like a spiral staircase, it tricks you into thinking that you are simultaneously working towards a destination and moving away from it. 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
What’s On
Celtic Studies Conference, Sydney September 25-27, 2023 The Tenth Australian Conference of Celtic Studies will be hosted by the Celtic Language Teaching and Research, School of Art, Communications and English, The University of Sydney in person and online. Online sessions will take place in the early evening Sydney time, to facilitate internationalparticipation, and will be … 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
Should We Forget and Vote for Them?
Two new books about the IRA bombing campaigns of the 70s and 80s. Continue reading