My love for stories started with my Uncle Jack Fallon and the stories I heard as a child growing up in Co. Westmeath in the 1940s and 50s. My Uncle Jack was not a "trained" storyteller, but he had a wonderful ability to weave and tell stories about the local people and everyday…

In this, the Year of the Horse, I am becoming more and more disheartened by the news stories and social media postings of various Animal rescues of Ireland with whom I am associated. There seems to be an epidemic of sorts. Horses left to starve in fields, locked in barns without food or water, left to the elements of these…

Well, if you are wondering what “Light of the Diddicoy” reads like, here is a master storyteller to relate it to you. Mr. Malachy McCourt reads from Chapter 12 called “The Runner.” Below is the actual text, if you would like to read along:…

A war movie, particularly a war movie that is the true story of a real group of men and women, is hard to make and hard to watch. Anything short of the truth is disrespectful, but the truth is hard to define, hard to acknowledge, hard to understand.…

I am NOT advocating revolution or organization in any manner but I do have something I would like all of us to consider if you will.

Do you not find it to be a bit insulting to have the Irish alway characterized as brawling stiffs and drunkards?

Why, everywhere I travel I find novelty shops selling items show…

Review by John Bruton

Atlas of the Great Irish Famine

Edited by…

Fifty years ago today (21 January, 1964), the Irish Language Commission released a report stating that Galway should be made an Irish-speaking city.  RTÉ News spoke to some of Galway's citizens to get their opinions of the plans.  …

by Patrick Bonar

Irish folk lore is part of our heritage and the tradition of storytelling runs strongly through our veins. It would be difficult to find an Irish person who did not hear the stories of ‘Oisin in the…

We live in the age of the instantaneous. Emails, instant messaging, phone calls and video Skyping put us in almost immediate contact with our loved ones and our friends. Even if they live an ocean away, thanks to modern technology, the means of instant communication is…

By James Doherty

Waterford City, Ireland - From his perch as rector of the Irish College of St. Isidore in Rome, Waterford-born Franciscan Friar Luke Wadding welcomed a steady stream of refugees from the land of his birth - men forced to leave Ireland to pursue their vocations. He came to understand…

What an incredible evening. I am really finding myself to be quite possibly the luckiest writer on the circuit. After arriving in the city, I hung around Greenwich Village and visited the old haunts of my grandparents and great-grandparents at 463 Hudson Street, the saloon that was in my family from 1906 to the late 1970s. A bit nervous about the reading, I had a few drinks…

For those who cannot afford to go and check out Ireland's downright fascinating history and Ireland's other amazing enchantments for themselves, see how you can be astounded by 'Ireland's Queen Maeve' published by Amazon's CreateSpace or as an Amazon.com e-book without leaving your chair. It may make you want to get up and go there whether you can afford it or not. Here is a little snippet:

The ancient…

MÁIRT -- On January 20, 1771, Don Hugo O'Conor (left) was named Commandant Inspector of New Spain. O'Conor was born into a…

The Pats Football Club, Lordship. Co Louth

Sometimes I think I’m the oldest swinger in town. In spite of the rain and the cold there were 6 cyclists at Felda serious about going for a cycle this morning. 2 were past pupils and one was the wife of a past pupil. The others were also in the prime of life and had a gung ho look about them which depressed me. Then it…

My Boys will tell you, I am not the type of parent that pushes my children's fundraising sales on my family and friends. I make them do the work.

That being said, I know an amazingly talented thirteen year-old Western performer who is raising funds to be a part of  a …

Baile Fáilte, mo chara ... An chuid eile anois ... ag fás níos láidre ...

This is the wonderful news I received yesterday at midday..I sat at my desk, tears running down my face and a lump in my throat.. It has been a long, exhausting struggle... for Martin, his family and his friends and supporters.



Almost four years...spent in that hell they call Maghaberry...without charge...without trial... No Due Process...

Baile Fáilte, mo chara ... An chuid eile…