"History says, don't hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme." – Seamus Heaney from The Cure At Troy. For a brief time in August, hope and history rhymed in Northern Ireland. The IRA made a significant move towards putting their weapons beyond use and the hope of a … [Read more...] about The First Word: No Rhyme What Reason?
Issues
Sinn Féin Under Pressure
Sinn Féin has come in for scathing criticism in the past weeks, with many blaming the party for the deadlock in the peace renegotiations, after the Stormont Assembly was suspended at the beginning of August by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland John Reid to allow a six-week break during which the parties could return to the drawing board. A Unionist rejection of … [Read more...] about Sinn Féin Under Pressure
New Inquiry into Omagh Bombing
A new inquiry into the Omagh bomb disaster three years after it took the lives of 29 men, women and children has been announced by the RUC. However, the RUC itself is denying allegations that it knew of the bomb two days before it was detonated by the Real IRA in August 1998. And an investigation is said to be underway into the allegations by the police Ombudsman in Northern … [Read more...] about New Inquiry into Omagh Bombing
To Haiti and Back
Frank McCourt's life-altering trip to Haiti with Concern Worldwide. "Beyond the powers of description" are not the words you would expect to come out of a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, especially when the words are in regards to poverty and they are coming from the mouth of Angela's Ashes author, Frank McCourt. The man who moved millions with his memoir of an … [Read more...] about To Haiti and Back
Wilde’s Life Under Glass
The beautiful Morgan Library in New York puts the Irish master of wit and self-proclaimed ‘lord of language’ under a glass box this September. “Oscar Wilde: A Life in Six Acts” will display articles of Wilde’s spectacular life. The Morgan gathered photographs, annotated school books, manuscripts, love letters, and personal items from its own collection as well as the British … [Read more...] about Wilde’s Life Under Glass