The following is an extract from the foreword to Richard Fitzgerald’s stunning book of photographs taken in Ireland over the past 45 years. For more than forty years I have travelled the length and breadth of the land recording the beauty of Ireland and its people. I love the ever-changing light and the shadows creeping across the fern-covered hills; the shafts of … [Read more...] about Dark Ireland: Images of a Lost World
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Book Reviews
Skin by E.M. Reapy Elizabeth Reapy’s Natalie is one of those characters who stays with you long after you’ve finished the book she occupies. If “occupies” is even the right word, given Natalie’s preoccupation with not taking up too much space in the world. Fixated on her body and her tendency to binge at times of stress, she takes the reader on a journey – both literal … [Read more...] about Book Reviews
“Forty Shades of Green” at 60
The iconic song about Ireland, written by country music legend Johnny Cash in 1969, is still popular today. When Cash visited Ireland in 1959, he was already a successful country musician, his hits including “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I Walk the Line.” He came to Ireland, though, as a tourist. He later explained his inspiration for writing the song as, “I was in a car … [Read more...] about “Forty Shades of Green” at 60
Woodstock: The Irish Contribution
On the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival, Christine Kinealy remembers the legendary guitarist from Northern Ireland who gave a celebrated performance. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Ten Years After, Joan Baez, Santana, Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and – Henry McCullough. They … [Read more...] about Woodstock: The Irish Contribution
Sláinte! The Great October Fair
The Ballinasloe October Fair is one of the oldest fairs in Ireland. While now predominantly associated with horses, in its heyday it served as a market for the sale of cattle and sheep by the farmers of the west to their counterparts in the east of Ireland. An Irish adage advises: Go East for a woman; go West for a horse. When I was a girl I had a … [Read more...] about Sláinte! The Great October Fair