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Category Archives: Republic of Ireland
A bloody Finnish cautionary tale for Irish Republicans
The independent presidential candidate Sean Gallagher has recently joined Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Sinn Fein among the growing list of people who have said they expect to see a united Ireland in their lifetime. The two new factors behind their … Continue reading
My dream is of an economically united Ireland
When it comes to Northern Ireland many years of journalism and cross-border cooperation have taught me to be a hard-headed, cold-eyed realist. Any suggestion of movement towards Irish unity, whether it be a post-Brexit agreement to put border checks down … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
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Leitrim lessons from the great John McGahern
John McGahern is known, in Ireland and beyond, as a marvellous teller of stories about ordinary rural people’s lives. His most famous novels – The Dark, Amongst Women, That They May Face the Rising Sun – are set in his native Leitrim … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
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In praise of Irish villages (under the summer sun)
Earlier this month I spent a week walking along back roads and across hills through a relatively unknown part of the rural north and west of Ireland. I started at the village of Tynan, west of Armagh city; walked across … Continue reading
Posted in General, Republic of Ireland, The island environment
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10 beautiful and interesting places off the Belfast to Dublin road (part two)
Regular readers of this blog will remember that last month I left you in the excellent Strandfield cafe just north of Dundalk, which was my fifth beautiful and interesting place just off the Belfast to Dublin Road. This month I … Continue reading
10 beautiful and interesting places off the Belfast to Dublin road (part one)
The road and railway between Belfast and Dublin have been an important part of my life. Over the past 50 years I must have travelled between Ireland’s two major cities several thousand times. Given the millions of people who make … Continue reading
Sadly, rugby is one of the few things that unites all Irish people
I was intending to write about Brexit again this month, but the dreadful conundrum of Brexit and the Irish border is going to be with us for some time, so I am going to turn to a far cheerier and … Continue reading
Posted in General, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
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