To outsiders, the village of Ballinalee, in County Longford, might seem like no great shakes, just a bump in the road, a blink-and-you-miss-it spot that you’re through before you even notice. Were they to consult a map of the county, the seemingly inconsequential dot called Ballinalee might be ignored in favour…

The GPO, Mount Street Bridge, The South Dublin Union -- these are names that resonate when it comes to Easter 1916 as the battlegrounds for what became Padraig Pearse’s ‘glorious failure.’ However, for some quirk of history, the success that took place in the sleepy town of Ashbourne, County Meath, during the Rising has…

When the actor Arthur Shields strode towards the Abbey Theatre on Easter Monday, 1916, it was with one intent -- not to rehearse or act in a play, but to collect his rifle and take part in the greater drama that was about to shake the streets of Dublin.

Pictured, Arthur Shields

Once…

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. – Dylan Thomas

As a child, "The Great Escape" was one film that never failed to entertain me. Aside from a stellar cast that included Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough (above), Charles Bronson, James Garner and a host of others, the story was compelling and also happened to be true.

It’s…

You may not think the words in the headline above belong in the same sentence nor that they have any particular Irish resonance, but history throws up some intriguing links sometimes. This one caught my eye a while back, but I think now is a fitting time to share…