NATIVE SHORE
Finished this novel in the early hours and just wanted to congratulate the author, journalist and playwright Phil Mac Giolla Bháin, for the way he melded and contrasts aspects of the republican struggle for a united Ireland with Scotland’s attempt to secure...
read more
Poetry Book Reissued
I was honoured and proud to be involved in the publication of Eoghan (Gino) Mac Cormaic’s poetry book, the pen behind the wire. I’d previously worked with Gino in editing his book about the H-Block prison protest, On The Blanket. So, it’s great that the poetry book...
read more
Féile na bhFlaitheartach
The bilingual Féile na bhFlaitheartach 2023, which celebrates the story-telling of Liam O’Flaherty, takes place on Inis Mór, Aran, on the weekend of the 26/27 August. The Liam & Tom O’Flaherty Society is celebrating its eleventh bilingual summer festival, and this...
read more
I COULD READ THE SKY
Tim O’Grady and Steve Pyke’s photographic novel, I Could Read the Sky, first publsihed in 1997, has just been reissued in a brilliant new edition, along with an audiobook which combines O’Grady’s reading with a score created by fiddler Martin Hayes (who in a concert...
read more
Shorty & Sinead
I told Sinead O'Connor this story in 1997 in London--and she teared up. I had written it in 1992 in H-3, Long Kesh, for An Phoblacht/Republican News. The next day she gave me a miniature Madonna and Child statuette. SHORTY We had an Irish juke-box in Crumlin Road...
read more
A ‘Magisterial Study’
Cahir O’Doherty, Arts Editor, Features and Travel Writer for The Irish Voice, Irish America magazine and IrishCentral.com reviews Patrick Anderson’s book, Rewriting The Troubles: War and Propaganda, Ireland and Algeria. This review first appeared in The Irish Voice on...
read more
Whatshisname?
Joe Dwyer, the political organiser of Sinn Féin in Britain, reviews the latest volume of diaries by the former Labour Party politician who campaigned on behalf of the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four: LAST WEEK saw the release of Chris Mullin’s latest volume of...
read more
A Fine Novel – The Liar
Today's Irish Examiner carries my review of The Liar by the late Danish writer, Martin A. Hansen, translated by Paul Larkin. I love European literature written just after the ending of the Second World War and this translation is a literary treat. -oo0oo- The cruelty,...
read more
Palestinian Flags & Emblems Act
Yesterday, Israel’s security minister Itamar Ben-Gvirban issued an order banning the flying of the Palestinian flag in public. It was yet another punitive step by the new Israeli government which was in retaliation for Palestine lobbying the UN for a more pro-active...
read more
Britain’s Shameful History
Guest writer Roy Greenslade reviews Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire by Caroline Elkins. -oo0oo- In 1970, a popular British newspaper published a story that rightly deserved to be called sensational. The People reported that British soldiers had...
read more