“War brings circumstances with it that changes our normal concepts of morality. It’s a tough, dirty business, caused in the first instance by the filth of corruption.” – Dessie O’Hare Dessie ‘The Border Fox’ O’Hare was, for a time, the most wanted man in Ireland. Bestowed on O’Hare by the […]
Columnists
According to Edna O’Brien countries are mothers or fathers and “engender the emotional bristle secretly reserved for either sire”. Ireland has always been a woman, a beautiful maiden, a womb, a cow, a Rosaleen, a bride, a harlot and the gaunt Hag of Beara. For James Joyce, in ‘A Portrait […]
During Easter, I had the good fortune to spend some time in Sofia, which one can access directly from Dublin. It lays claim to being the site of one of the oldest settlements in Europe, dating back 7000 years, but the city of Sofia claims the more modest date of […]
I do so love this time of the year. Whether it’s hailing or basking in sunshine, each day is full of little signs that the best is yet to come: The fat buds on the trees, the hedgerows lined with the promise of bluebells and foxgloves, the blackthorn sporting its […]
‘In like a lion, out like a lamb’ – the proverb usually associated with March, has been reversed this year. The dry spell that dominated the second month of the year hung on for the early days of March before the wind and rain swirled back into our lives and […]
Recently, I had a customer looking for a particular organic Portuguese Extra Virgin olive oil. He wanted it in particular because of its flavour, but not for cooking – he wanted it for oil pulling. He said you can really tell the quality of the oil you use when you […]
