Floored with the Rings

I don’t know how many readers have been following that LOTR spin-off (‘The Rings of Power’) but from an Irish perspective, I can tell you that a lot of people are angry at the creators’ appropriation of Irish accents for their Hobbit/Hapfoot (or whatever they’re called) characters. Misrepresentation of someone else’s culture has a longer-term detrimental impact on… Read more »

Oisin Rides to the Land of Youth

This beautiful painting is entitled “Oisin Rides to the Land of Youth”. Painted in 1936 by American artist Newell Convers Wyeth. it represents a more Anglophile view of Irish mythology that many non-Irish creators continue to produce today. You can’t fault Convers Wyeth however. A talented illustrator and painter, he produced a huge body of… Read more »

A Weekender

I’m taking a whole selfish three days for writing this weekend. I’m hoping to finish one chapter of Liath Luachra: The Metal Men and make a serious dent in another. As usual, I draft out various rough images to get the mood/atmosphere clear in my head. Wish me luck.

Irish Reflections and ‘Dragons’ over Montreal

I’ve always had a lot of time for Irish film stalwart, Gabriel Byrne, but his latest movie ‘Death of a Ladies Man’ really seems to be his most interesting to date. An Irish-Canadian co- production, the movie concerns an Irish actor struggles with a crisis of conscience once he finds out that he doesn’t have… Read more »

I currently have a new series in development based around the adventures of an Irish sportswoman living in the west of Ireland. Set just a few years in the future, I’ll probably be using a lot of Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) content for inspiration. Attached is one of the better ads for Irish women’s football… Read more »

SAMHLÚ

An ingenious 2020 Irish production by Meangadh Fíbín (for TG4 – the Irish langauge content creator and broadcaster) just recently picked up the ‘Most Original and Innovative’ award at the Prix Circom Awards ceremony. ‘Samhlú’ (which means ‘fancy’ or ‘imagination’) was a cultural showcase celebrating artistic endeavour and creativity in Ireland thorugh that very challenging… Read more »

Some Sage Advice on Druids

Sage advcie on druids

It’s interesting when you use different languages for what’s supposed to be the same thing or the same word defining the ‘thing’. The problem, of course, is that langauge is culturally-based and, often, a word cannot be directly translated or even explained without a good understanding of the culture in question. In English, the word… Read more »

Dark Dawn Project Update

Attached are some conceptual images we used during the development of the Dark Dawn project. Here’s a bit of the draft media release: The latest product from IRISH IMBAS is ‘Caomhaoir Fuilsmeartha/ Dark Dawn’. An experimental narrative project, told in both Irish and English, it relates the story of a dying warrior’s attempts to protect… Read more »

PEAKY BLINDERS’ IRISH SCRIPT LINKS

In terms of plot patterns, ‘Peaky Blinders’ is probably one of the best shows on television at the moment and I’ve had a lot of respect for the writer Stephen Knight ever since seeing his startlingly innovative series ‘Taboo’ with Tom Hardy. This interesting interesting post from the Irish Times shows some of the links… Read more »

FIONN: Stranger At Mullan Ban: Whats Happening?

Fionn mac Cumhaill Series

Wondering what’s going on with FIONN 4 (Fionn: Stranger at Mullán Bán)? Although I completed seven chapters of this book last year, the potential television series for Liath Luachra: The Grey One meant I had to transfer all my time to finishing the next Liath Luachra book instead. As a result, this has remained languishing… Read more »

Harp

A gorgeous shot from the Irish Times. Harp-maker Kevin Harrington handing over a new harp to Muireann Ni Mhuirthile (10), on National Harp Day, at the Featherbeds in the Dublin/Wicklow mountains. Photograph Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times Found at: Image of the Day

The Long Way Home

Tá cumha i ndiaidh an bhaile ag titim isteach orm inniu. It’s an interesting dilemma with respect to homesickness when you’re living on the wrong side of the planet. In the past, I could always live away with the knowledge that I could jump on a plane and be back in Cork within 2-3 days.… Read more »