Ireland: 192 A.D. A time of strife and treachery. Ireland 2020: Somewhat similar but now we have the Covid-19 virus as well. Just for information, I’ve set up a new cover for the digital version of FIONN: Defence of Rath Bladhma which you can see above. The paperback version (currently only at Amazon – here)… Read more »
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
Had a timely ‘blast from the past’ today when I received a reminder of a book cover from October 2014 (for FIONN: Traitor of Dun Baoiscne). It was timely given that Amazon have somehow managed to revert to printing my paperbacks with the older covers instead of the more recent versions (which have been in… Read more »
Presenter Andy Linton interviews myself and fellow Irish writer and musician Pat Higgins at ‘Capital Irish’. You can find the interview below: I start talking at about five minutes in and keep on talking (mostly about the Fenian Cycle, the influence it’s had on my own writing, a little bit about the proposed Liath, Celtic… Read more »
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 »
THE IRISH TARDIS Spotted in the Wicklow hills about three years ago. Naturally, it didn’t work. Bloody Eirecom! (%!!$#!)!
Given the roaring success of ‘Normal People’, we’ve jumped on the sexy Irish band-wagon with the attached cover shot for our new range of exciting romantic and erotic novels under the brand “Love on The Aran Islands”. Titles include: First Touch at Killronan (Cill Rónáin) Fast Times at the Dark Fort Fierce Goings On at Dún… Read more »
Given recent events following the murder of George Floyd, it’s probably worth recalling a story from 2017 when an American cop hilariously tried to counter the popularity of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement through the use of his own (cough) Irish heritage. The cop in question was attempting to translate the words ‘Blue Lives Matter’… Read more »
Tara Brady and Donald Clarke from the Irish Times have put their heads together to develop a list of what they see as the ‘best Irish films’ (ever!). What’s most interesting however are the insights on ‘why’ they chose the films they chose. Their choice of ‘best’ Irish film ever will probably raise a few… Read more »
APRIL NEWSLETTER CANCELLED Due to barbaric workloads I’ve had to cancel April’s newsletter. I’m sure the internet can just cope perfectly well by itself while I recover but if anyone finds my temporal lobe, could you please return it to Irish Imbas at the usual address. I’ll respond to all emails, etc. when I get… Read more »
The original stories from the Fenian Cycle (the stories of Fionn mac Cumhaill and the warrior band mistakenly called Na Fianna) are believed to have first originated in Leinster (that’s on the eastern side of Ireland if you’re unfamiliar with it) which is why so many of the Fionn mac Cumhaill stories take place in… Read more »
A very dense and philosophical article in the Irish Times today considers the revitalization of the Irish language from a number of different angles. Unfortunately, although the article raises some valid and interesting points, it sadly becomes bogged down in its own internal arguments. Trying to pull the intellectual wheat from the chaff is something… Read more »
If you get a chance over the Christmas period, you might want to wallow in your “Irishnessness” with the animated satire of Flann O’Brien’s 1941 novel ‘An Béal Bocht’ (The Poor Mouth) which premiered last year at the Galway Film Fleadh. Flann O’Brien’s original tale was actually a fond piss-take of Irish autobiographies like Peig… Read more »
One of the things I love about Ireland is how the thin film of that present we inhabit is so often perforated by the reality of previous millennia. Many people believe that time travels in a linear fashion from past to present to future but of course that conceptual model doesn’t work in reality. The… Read more »
It’s Te Wiki O Te Reo (Maori Language Week) here in New Zealand, a week when the general population are encouraged to speak Te Reo (meaning, literally, “the language”), attend classes or special events in Te Reo. As someone who works in the conservation and revival of Irish culture, I watch Te Wiki O Te… Read more »
Back in 2007, when I published my first collection of short stories, I called it “Leannán Sidhe – The Irish Muse”. I chose that title, not only because it was the title of the first story in that collection but because I believed (at the time) that it was a relevant Irish mythological concept to use.… Read more »
Anyone who’s anyway capable with Irish (the language), or familiar with my work, is probably aware that ‘Liath’ is the Irish word for ‘Grey’ (although it can also mean a grey-haired person). ). Like most Irish adjectives, the word is pretty flexible: Sioc liath is a ‘hoar frost’ for example. Bainne liath is a kind… Read more »
Did you know that Irish fairies are always sexy and like to wear revealing, gossamer outfits? Did you know that Banshees are actually a form of vampire? Did you know that Ireland swarms with werewolves? Did you know that Ireland is awash with proverbs of great wisdom that no Irish person has ever heard… Read more »
