Historic Elections in Ireland, UKRecent elections in Ireland and the UK have been characterized as big wins for Sinn Féin, and could result in an Irish unification vote sooner rather than later. The new British Prime Minister – the Labour Party’s Keir Starmer – will likely have a powerful new influence from Belfast to Dublin, observers say. “There's no doubt the landscape is … [Read more...] about Hibernia: In the News
Tom Deignan
Hibernia: Events
Queen’s Announces Seamus Heaney Fellows for 2024-25Fiona Benson, Jan Carson, Declan Lawn, and Adam Patterson are the Seamus Heaney Centre Fellows for 2024-25. Fiona Benson is the author of four poetry collections: Bright Travellers, Vertigo & Ghost, Ephemeron, and Midden Witch (forthcoming). All three of her published collections have been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot … [Read more...] about Hibernia: Events
Book Notes: Enright Honors McGahern
Next year will mark six decades since celebrated Irish novelist and short story writer John McGahern was censored and banned in his own country. Now, another celebrated writer – Anne Enright, Ireland’s first-ever “laureate” for fiction – is commemorating McGahern’s life and career with fond memories as well as new revelations. Back in 1965, McGahern wrote The Dark, which … [Read more...] about Book Notes: Enright Honors McGahern
Arriving in the New World
What we know from literature about what Irish Famine immigrants encountered upon their arrival in North America.If you ever spend the day at the Silver Lake golf course on the north shore of Staten Island, New York, pay attention. It’s not that the greens are particularly speedy or that the course is unusually challenging. What you should keep your eye out for, instead, is a … [Read more...] about Arriving in the New World
Malachy McCourt, “Death Need Not Be Fatal”
Author Mark Twain once famously quipped about the great exaggerations fueling rumors of his death. But the legendary Malachi McCourt topped even Twain, by noting that - exaggerated or not - death “need not be fatal.” That was the title of one of McCourt's many books. And, in some ways, it was the guiding principle of his extraordinary life - acting on stage and screen, telling … [Read more...] about Malachy McCourt, “Death Need Not Be Fatal”