Fiction

Early versions of Irish Writers Online and Irish Culture Guide

January 17, 2010
Fiction

Recently I was asked by an MA research stu­dent to give some back­ground about Irish Writ­ers Online. A most grat­i­fy­ing request, of course, and so I set about look­ing up its his­tory and stats. I was pleas­antly sur­prised to see that in 2009, vis­i­tors from 170 coun­tries had made use of it. I knew it had been above the 120 coun­tries mark, but this was nice news. I was even …Read the Rest

The Book-Thief’s Heartbeat

The Book-Thief’s Heartbeat
January 3, 2010
Books

Photo owned by Dan Strange (cc) Yeats’ writ­ings are now in the pub­lic domain, it now being sev­enty years from …Read the Rest

Alliouagana Festival of the Word

Alliouagana Festival of the Word
October 27, 2009
Fiction

I’ve never been to Allioua­gana, but it has a spe­cial place in my heart, and indeed, in Irish his­tory. Allioua­gana …Read the Rest

James Joyce Reading from Anna Livia Plurabelle FW

James Joyce Reading from Anna Livia Plurabelle <span class="caps">FW</span>
June 16, 2009
Fiction

click to enlarge James Joyce read­ing from Anna Livia Plura­belle FW. “Ire­land sober is Ire­land stiff. Is that the Poole­beg …Read the Rest

Towards a Poetics of Anger

Towards a Poetics of Anger
February 24, 2009
Books

How should we describe the extra­or­di­nary con­sen­sus that existed in this coun­try — a con­sen­sus that united us all around …Read the Rest

The Toughest, Bravest Man Who Ever Lived

The Toughest, Bravest Man Who Ever Lived
February 23, 2009
Books

IT ALL begins with words. Words that teem and toss about, they stream and eddy. They’re tor­ren­tial and press­ing and …Read the Rest

James Liddy RIP

James Liddy <span class="caps">RIP</span>
November 6, 2008
Fiction

The sad, baf­fling news of James Liddy’s death, the men­tor of my youth­ful verse and friend of almost 40 years. …Read the Rest

Sydney Bernard Smyth 1936–2008

Sydney Bernard Smyth 1936–2008
October 15, 2008
Books

This sad news from Poetry ire­land: Syd­ney Bernard Smith Poetry Ire­land was sad­dened to hear of the pass­ing of poet …Read the Rest

50 outstanding translations from the last 50 years

50 outstanding translations from the last 50 years
July 20, 2008
Fiction

Brows­ing through best-seller lists these days can be quite depress­ing. I don’t know any of the authors, either in the …Read the Rest

Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge

Chumann scríbhneoirí Óga/Úra na Gaeilge
June 11, 2008
Books

Being the one-man band behind Irish Writ­ers Online, I get a lot of requests for links, and of course I …Read the Rest

Brian Lynch reading

Brian Lynch reading
May 11, 2008
Fiction

Brian Lynch will talk about and read from his novel ‘The Win­ner of Sor­row’ in Pearse Street Library next Wednes­day …Read the Rest