On November 23, 2023, Dublin bordered on the brink of anarchy. The riots fuelled by far-right propagandists and lit by criminal opportunists, racists and anarchists engulfed Dublin for a few scary hours. Scary, not by virtue of scale or duration, but because something like this, was happening in Ireland. Three […]
Columnists
In part one of two-part article, Eugene Daly shares the many superstitions and stories connected with the cat in Irish folklore. A traditional Irish greeting on entering a house was; ‘God save all here, except the cat’, on account of its association with the devil. Despite this, it was believed to […]
We live our lives around the solstice, be it the longest day or the shortest day. The recent Christmas celebrations marked not only the Incarnation but also the relief that the long hours of darkness had passed, and we could look forward to increasing daylight. Our planet’s path around the […]
As we approach the bi-centenary of the Irish National School system, in 1831, Michael Crowley looks at its evolution and says it’s time to start a conversation about the role of primary education in the new Ireland in order to create a more inclusive and innovative force in Irish society […]
I have never been one to get into Christmas too early. I try to resist all jingle bells, decorations, or carols until after my birthday in mid-December. Besides, in our family we have to celebrate Thanksgiving before we even entertain the thought of tinsel. This year’s Thanksgiving was special as […]
I have seen massive changes to the variety of shops in Bantry over the course of my lifetime. We used to have a fish shop, a veg shop, several bakeries, several independent supermarkets and independent corner shops, as well as a fabulous cookware shop, a sweet shop, several bookshops, many more […]