Standing at the epicentre of where the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated by the USA on August 6, 1945, is a surreal experience. Hiroshima, a modern and somewhat serene city, is less hectic and less claustrophobic than other Japanese cities, but that is to be expected given that the […]
History & Politics
Myself and my friends have this phrase we use on the occasions we meet up and start reminiscing on our youth. We tend to say, we grew up in an era with one foot in ‘old’ Ireland and another in the ‘new’. We were from a generation where childhood was more […]
After Trump won the USA presidential election, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to allow my 2025 articles become dominated by his political journey. However, he unleashes so much global negativity on a daily basis, that’s its difficult to navigate from the political chaos he is causing internally and […]
English reporter: What do you think of western civilisation Mr. Gandhi? Ghandi: I think it would be a very good idea. This famous anecdote is attributed to the great Indian independence leader, Mahatma Ghandi. Whether he actually uttered those words or not, the point is still valid. We live in […]
Change. What does it really mean? At the beginning of every year people are full of personal resolutions in an attempt to change direction in life. These changes (or at least the promise of them), are usually intended to put people on a journey of self-enhancement or improvement. Let’s have […]
I remember having a debate with a history teacher from a school in Dublin. He was dead set against conflating events from the past with the ones we are living in. I respectfully disagreed. History is not consigned to the past. For me, the past is a continuous force that shapes […]