This post contains history related information
That headline is an often used Irish colloquialism that means, roughly translated, “because today is an important anniversary”. And what anniversary could be more important as we face the growing threat of rising Fascism across Europe once again. Apparently the … Continue reading For The Day That’s In It
the narrative arts – theatre, film and literature – are the windows through which the rest of us are enabled to experience the lives of others. If those lives are miss-represented then it creates the cultural attitudes that drive some men to behave inappropriately toward women Continue reading Saturday Sound Off – #METO and the difficulty of creating believable characters.
For decades I thought of joining a coven and training to become a witch Continue reading A Date With . . . Cathy M Donnelly
we are proud that our Turkish lifestyle has enabled (our children) to grow into socially adaptable, polite teenagers. Continue reading A Date With . . . Ceri Bladen
That’s what makes a great writer, according to Rebecca Bryn and she should know, being one of the greatest. Her work deserves much wider recognition. “For Their Country’s Good” would make a TV series to rival “Poldark” and “The Dandelion Clock”, which I had the privilege of reading pre-publication, has echoes of Michael Morpurgo’s “War Horse”. Writing that comes from the heart, with deep emotional overtones and well developed characters, will always captivate me as a reader. Ms. Bryn does that brilliantly. via It’s not what you know, it’s who you know! Continue reading It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!
My thanks to Sally Cronin for featuring Strongbow’s Wife on her blog, along with an excellent review. For anyone that’s interested, there are two ways in which the Strongbow story connects with Archbishop Becket. Both he and Henry II were close friends with the Bristol merchant Aoife’s father first turned to for help in regaining his kingdom. And, once Beckett had been murdered in Canterbury Henry felt the need to atone. His mission to Ireland, suggested by the Pope some years earlier probably seemed like a good way of doing so. via Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Author Update … Continue reading Sharing Book Reviews
I’m planning a live launch of A Purgatory of Misery next month. I created a Facebook event and have been putting up daily posts about Irish history. I was going to repeat them here but I hit on a better idea. A quiz! If you know the answers it won’t take you long. If you don’t, you will find them over on the event’s FB page. Unfortunately it’s not interactive. I’ve researched several quiz widgets but WP requires me to upgrade to the business version in order to install them. Here are your questions. You can enter your answers in … Continue reading Irish History Quiz – Part 1
The spring and summer of 1848 saw failed rebellions in England and Ireland, both led by Irish men. And the Irish tricoleur, a symbol of peace, made its first appearance. In May, 170 years ago this month, the leaders of the Irish rebellion were sentenced to transportation. Continue reading A Double Irish Rebellion
we spent three days sleeping in our hire car, living on marmalade sandwiches, before being rescued by military helicopter. Continue reading A Date With . . . Graham Watkins
The Historical Ragbag blog’s Advent Calendar of Medieval Religious Institutions today features another place with great significance in the history of Ireland and Strongbow’s presence there. His wife’s uncle, (St.) Laurence O’Toole, was Abbot at Glendalough, installed there by her father, before becoming Archbishop of Dublin. I first visited Glendalough when working on a month long assignment in Dublin in the spring of 1970. I’ve been there several times since coming to live in Ireland and it is without doubt one of the most beautiful and magical places you could ever visit. via Advent Calendar of Medieval Religious Institutions: December … Continue reading More Strongbow Connections
