"There is no greater sorrow on earth than the loss of one's native land." – Euripides, 431 B.C. Cathleen* 30, is a Christian woman from Nigeria. One day last year, before she came to Ireland, she and her sister Nora were shopping in the local market. A row broke out at a nearby stall which soon developed into a scuffle. Knives were pulled and suddenly people were … [Read more...] about One Woman’s Story
Grampa’s Story
My grandfather, Denis A. Lyons, was my best friend and playmate. He used to spend many hours with me trying to support and mold my forming personality. As is the tradition among the Irish, he used stories to illustrate whichever point he was trying to make. He told me many, many stories but only one has remained with me in its entirety all these many years later. It must have … [Read more...] about Grampa’s Story
Chapter & Hearse
"For twelve long years I've suffered this damned cat.../ though more than once I've threatened violence/ the brick and burlap in the river recompense/ for mounds of furballs littering the house." – "Grimalkin" "Grimalkin," Tom Lynch informs me, "is dead." I couldn't help it, I had to know. The cat lasted almost eight years after the poem was written. "I had told … [Read more...] about Chapter & Hearse
To Hell or Barbados
The ethnic cleansing of Ireland: Emmett O'Connell reviews Sean O'Callaghan's book on the Irish whom Cromwell sent into slavery. "These Irish, anciently called Anthropophagi (maneaters), have a tradition among them, that when the devil showed our Savior all the kingdoms of the earth and their glory he would not show him Ireland, but reserved it for himself...They are the … [Read more...] about To Hell or Barbados
Roots: Duffy, Duhig, Dowey and Doohey
The surname Duffy, the anglicized form of O'Dubhthaigh, is a personal name derived from the Gaelic word dubh, meaning black or swarthy. While the name is widespread throughout Ireland in different forms, the original homeland of the Duffy clan was Monaghan. Duffy appears most often in the 18th century list of clergy compiled for that county in accordance with the Penal … [Read more...] about Roots: Duffy, Duhig, Dowey and Doohey