Or; some thoughts on being Ir-ish, on St Patrick’s Day. — For The Emigre.
… my diaries relate a (very positive) diplomatic incident from 15 years ago. — For The Emigre
Filed in correspondence, Journalism
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Also tagged Afghanistan, America, Australia, Basildon, Burundi, Canada, China, diplomacy, drink, finance, Gary Busey, Guinness, London, Malaysia, marijuana, Myanmar, oaths, Queen Elizabeth II, Red Bull, Russia, Rwanda, school, Soho, Somaliland, South Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, The Commonwealth of Nations, The Emigre, the Falklands, Zimbabwe
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Saturday, December 25, 2021
‘The Journal of Victor Emmanuel Smyth, made on a Voyage to Australia’ . Ever since I found a battered typescript in my parents’ house, about a decade back, at this time of year my thoughts quite often turn to Victor Emmanuel Smyth (1856-1947), the younger brother of my great-great-grandfather, who in 1875, set out on […]
Thursday, September 30, 2021
war/conflict/Troubles land modern history of Ireland personal identity religion rural landscape vs industrialisation loyalty to roots vs leaving silence vs talking place language: Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon, Latin, English farming vs academia invasion (poignant) .
A tribute to my somewhat improbable Quaker ancestors, murdered/martyred on this day, at Scullabogue, in 1798. — For The Critic
Filed in correspondence, Journalism
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Also tagged Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey, crime, Daniel Gahan, death, Dr Thomas Hancock, family, George Cruickshank, James Joyce, John Jones, Kilbraney, New Ross, Oliver Cromwell, Quakerism, religion, RF Foster, Samuel Jones, Scullabogue, The Critic, Thomas Cloney, Thomas Keightley, Tom Dunne, Ulster, United Irishmen, Wexford
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. Leather trunks were used in Rome as early as the time of Caesar. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Friday, September 28 1906 . Tilda Swinton has been elected leader of the Liberal Democrats. The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour began outside a kebab shop in Kent. The complete works of James Joyce are available for £0.75. ‘Twirly’ […]
Filed in Journalism, NEWS AT A GLANCE
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Also tagged air travel, books, California, cats, coffee, construction, Devon, emotions, Ethiopia, garlic, George Best, George III, horticulture, hygiene, India, James Joyce, Julius Caesar, kebabs, Kent, Kew, leather, Nelson Evening Mail, Rome, satire, sex, Søren Kierkegaard, The Beatles, the Liberal Democrats, Tilda Swinton, World Tiger Day, YouTube
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Saturday, February 2, 2019
Some Trick: thirteen stories by Helen DeWitt New Directions, £22.95, pp.197 Certain American States by Catherine Lacey Granta, £12.99, pp.190 Hostages by Oisín Fagan Head of Zeus, £8.99, pp.269 Notes from the Fog by Ben Marcus Granta, £12.99, pp.266 The Abyss and Other Stories by Leonid Andreyev Alma Books, £8.99, pp.315 . Only Helen DeWitt […]
Filed in Journalism, review
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Also tagged Alien, Alma Books, Americans, Anglo-Irish, art, Ben Marcus, Berlin, Bertrand Russell, bombs, books, Britishness, Catherine Lacey, children, coffee, computers, Cotton Eye Joe, crucifixion, death, domestic affairs, footnotes, genius, Granta, handjobs, Head of Zeus, Helen DeWitt, humour, Islam, Leon Wieseltier, Leonid Andreyev, linguistics, madness, maths, mental health, music, New Directions, New York, novels, Oisín Fagan, Oxford, painting, parents, plays, Poetry, publishing, revolution, Roy Keane, Russians, short stories, South Park, Spectator, terrorism, the Kaddish, Tolstoy, torture, WWI, xkcd
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Friday, November 30, 2018
Tonight, the Irish journalist Mary Kenny has a play on at the Irish Cultural Centre. Entitled Dearest Old Darling, it’s based on letters sent between the Dublin feminist, socialist, communist, Sinn Fein MP (elect, but never sitting) Constance Markievicz – née Gore-Booth – and her sister Eva. My great-great-great-aunt, Sarah Purser, portraitist, landscape artist, and […]
Filed in correspondence, Journalism
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Also tagged Académie Julian, air travel, An Túr Gloine, aristocracy, bathing, Brendan Behan, burglary, Communism, Constance Markievicz, Count Casimir Markievicz, Douglas Hyde, Dublin, Elizabeth Coxhead, Eva Gore-Booth, exploration, feminism, France, Georgina Gore-Booth, grandmothers, Guinness, Huguenots, Jack Yeats, James Joyce, John Butler Yeats, John O'Grady, Kathleen Kearney, Lady Gregory, landlords, letters, Lissadell, Mary Kenny, Maud Gonne, Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, National Gallery of Ireland, Oliver Gogarty, painting, politics, portraits, religion, Roger Casement, Rome, Royal Dublin Society, Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts, Sarah Purser, Sinn Fein, Sir Henry Gore-Booth, Sligo, socialism, stained glass, the Arctic, the British, the Irish Cultural Centre, theatre, Yeats
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On Bram Stoker, #indexday, and the weird and wonderful history of the hapax legomenon. — For The Spectator
Filed in correspondence, Journalism
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Also tagged #indexday, Amazon Kindle, Audible, audiobooks, BRam Stoker, British National Corpus, Catullus, dogs, Egyptology, Foundling Museum, Gaelic, Galway, Greek, Greg Wise, hapax legomenon, Harkhuf, Hebrew, hieroglyphs, indexes, Jeremy Paxman, Latin, Mayan, National Indexing Day, Old High German, Oxford English Dictionary, Poetry, prayer, pygmies, religion, Sam Leith, Shakespeare, Society of Indexers, TE Lawrence, The Spectator, University Challenge, vampirism, zoophagy
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‘If success does not throw the Irishmen off their balance, they may go on winning and winning until the height of a season’s ambition may be attained.’ — Athletic News and Cyclists’ Journal, 3 February 1896 . When it comes to the 6 Nations, in recent years the fixtures guys have done well making sure […]
Filed in correspondence, Journalism
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Also tagged 6 Nations Championship, Australia, barristers, Brian Moore, British and Irish Lions, Cardiff Arms Park, cricket, debuts, Douglas Hyde, Dublin, embroidery, England, France, French Foreign Legion, gloves, golf, Grand Slam, Guinnness, hockey, humour, Irish Rugby Football Union, Italy, James Sealy, Journalism, judges, justice, King's Counsel, law, Marylebone Cricket Club in Ireland, Oliver Cromwell, painting, Poetry, politics, religion, Robert Johnstone, rugby, Samuel Beckett, Sarah Purser, Saxons, Scotland, Second Boer War, South Africa, sport, St Patrick's Day, tea, The Athletic News and Cyclists' Journal, the Fates, The Times, Tom Crean, Trinity College Dublin, Triple Crown, Ulster, Una Hyde, Victoria Cross, Wales, Yeats
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