We’re back in the office. A bit jetlagged, overwhelmed, and still processing what we’ve seen, but normal service should resume later this week.
Ar ais sa Oifig/ Back in the Office
Cosplaying Irish History
The site of Cú Chulainn’s supposed settlement at Dún Dealgan (which actually means ‘the Dún of Dalga’) was, in far more recent times, anglicized to Dundalk. When the town opened its first museum in 1901, therefore, it’s no surprise that they harkened back to the town’s imagined history rather than its real history – which… Read more »
No-one cares if you scream!
This is a tagline I was using recently for ‘The Great Wild’ – an unintended spin on the iconic ‘Alien’ feature film tagline (“In space, no-one one can hear you scream”). I only realised that a day or two after coming up with it. That said, at the time, I felt my tagline worked in… Read more »
A Moment on the Islet
There was one morning when the world dissolved, obliterated in a downpour that melted the distant islands, then the immediate surroundings as well. Preceded by a cluster of unusually threatening, blue-bruised clouds, the incoming deluge had given plenty of warning. As a result, the girl was comfortably settled under a solitary oak at the tip… Read more »
Raiders of the Lost Irish Crown!
I was quietly amused this week when I came across an article on Clare TD Cathal Crowe who apparently submitted a parliamentary question demanding that the Tánaiste work with the Irish Ambassador to the Holy See to ensure the (ahem) legendary crown of Brian Ború was returned. Crowe, it seems, is a supporter of one… Read more »
Cú Chulainn and Ferdia
Cú Chulainn and Ferdia in combat at Áth Fhirdia (the Ford of Ferdia). With the intial series of FIONN mac Cumhaill coming to a close next year, I’ve been giving some thought to doing a series based on the Ulster narratives. To be honest, I’ve still not decided. Developing a workable narrative for Cú Chulainn… Read more »
Liath Luachra – A New Project
On the work front, I’m fully occupied with an intense freelance project which means it’ll be a few more weeks before I can launch back into writing. That’s a delay that’s always a bit frustrating but I’ve spent the few free hours I have, relaxing with a fun project I hope to bring to frution… Read more »
Irish Headhunters
I came across an interesting story last year about a British anthropologist (Professor Alfred C Haddon) and a researcher colleague (Andrew F Dixon). Both men were academics in anthropology and ethnology at Trinity College Dublin. ‘Craniometry’, the unscientific study of human skull size and shape to determine a person’s intelligence (a disproven belief) was very… Read more »
Seven Fianna
I came across an interesting project last week by artist Zhaochen Vincent Wu (based in the States) who was working on a cross-cultural proposal merging Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’ with the Fenian stories. He explains it as follows: “This set of design is for my project “Seven Fianna”, which is an adoption to the classic… Read more »
Sometimes you Need a Second Blade
‘FIONN: The Tightening Trail‘ goes out to ‘Paid’ newsletter subscribers in the next two weeks (once the final edits are done). This – the penultimate book in the series – will be released wide, later this year (in June or July). There’s a link to it in the comments below: Much of the story in… Read more »
The Tightening Trail
Demne (Fionn) and Liath Luachra traversing The Great Wild. This is a scene from “The Tightening Trail’ – the forthcoming story from the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series which I hope to release within the next 6-8 weeks. Number five in the series, its slowly bringing the story towards its culmination in Book Six – FIONN:… Read more »
Liath Luachra talks with Feoras
This is a scene from the upcoming novel ‘FIONN: The Betrayal‘ (although that title is likely to change). Set in the settlement of Ráth Bládhma, in this scene, the woman warrior Liath Luachra, is attempting to plan a dangerous trip to the distant Tailte Méithe – The Fat Lands. To do this however, she needs… Read more »
