One of the pleasures of teaching English in secondary schools is the great choice of texts. The Leaving Cert choice is particularly eclectic and varies every two-year cycle. Those beginning their senior cycle this year could find themselves studying novels that explore the modern world we live in, like how […]
History & Politics
In the last few weeks we have seen the devastating advance of the Taliban resulting in the collapse of a USA-backed Afghan government. They had been in power for twenty years. The speed of the military penetration was akin to the Nazi blitz of France in World War Two, in […]
One of the more positive aspects to emerge out of this global pandemic has been a greater appreciation and discovery of one’s locality, county and even country. Previously hidden beauty spots are now being explored and utilised and there has been a phenomenal switch to this lifestyle in the last […]
There was a tiny little townland in County Clare called Ballykilty. In the middle of the 18th century when the landed aristocracy was in the ascendency, a man, who had never set foot in Ireland, bought extensive lands in the area. He duly renamed his lands in that townland as […]
The history of Israel is long, complicated and far too complex to cover it in a single article (even in a book some would say). The spotlight was on the region once again when the Israeli military killed 230 civilian Palestinians in a series of air attacks. Israel suffered 20 […]
Each month I am grateful to have an opportunity to ‘write’ an article about history for the West Cork People. This week, my sister Linda Doyle ‘made’ history by becoming the first female Provost (President) of Trinity in its 429-year history. It was certainly the proudest day for our family, […]