Nov 6, 2019 | Latest
Fr Des Wilson died yesterday at the age of ninety four. I saw him for the last time two weeks ago at Nazareth House Care Village. He was very frail and his voice was a whisper. But with him was Janet Cush, one of many from the Springhill and Ballymurphy community who...
Jul 31, 2019 | Latest
I was prompted to post this chapter from my book, All The Dead Voices (2002), as a result of several photographs of the Winton Arms Hotel on Twitter by Irish Unionist – @wackyj67 – who publishes, and is a source for, some great pics. This story, The...
Aug 16, 2018 | Latest
Just finished On Leave by Daniel Anselme, first published in 1957, an anti-war novel which found no favour in France at the time. It has a fine introduction by the translator, David Bellos, which places the author and the writing in context. Bellos says: “It had few...
Jul 26, 2018 | Latest
The Irish-American activist, Tom Hayden, died in October 2016 – his death an incalculable loss to the struggle for civil rights, justice and freedom, peace and democracy. I first met Tom forty years ago when he was visiting Ireland with his young son Troy. They stayed...
Apr 18, 2018 | Latest
This Penguin Modern Classic could have been made more accessible in a larger font. I struggled through it because I love Hrabal – and, of course, I was eventually rewarded. Not as funny as Closely Observed Trains, or, Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age, but...
Apr 14, 2018 | Latest
At least thirty four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since they began holding Land Day protests on March 30th. This afternoon, at the gates of Belfast City Hall, members of a number of organisations held a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian...
