The Gaelic State in the Past & Future-Darrell Figgis
Extracts from a 1917 text by Sinn Féin activist and subsequent Treatyite TD Darrell Figgis on the genesis and function of the pre-conquest Gaelic state. A Nation is crowned when it exists in the world not only by virtue of...
How Sinn Féin Controls the Irish-American Press
The main Irish-American print newspapers of note are The Irish Echo and The Irish Voice. In terms of e-media, the main Irish-American outlet is IrishCentral.com, which is a “sister-publication” to The Irish Voice. Traditionally The Echo and The Voice have...
Fitzcarraldo: The Triumph of Gaelic Autism
“Hey, white boy, what you doin' uptown? Hey, white boy, you chasin' our women around?” – The Velvet Underground, ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’ A film whose production process was mired with difficulty — owing to the technical problem of...
RTÉ’s Holy Show: Has the Church Dropped the Ball on Evangelisation?
A caller to a Catholic apologetics show recently asked for some advice on how to evangelise his dear old mother who had somewhat of a checkered attitude to religion, particularly Catholicism. The apologists reply came back swiftly and without reservation....
Margaret Buttimer: Remembering Clownworld’s Irish Prisoner This Christmas
As turkeys are carved and selection boxes pilfered throughout the nation, one Bandon home will be without a key member of their household this Christmas. A grotesque reminder of just how far off the rails the country has erred in...
Ireland and Ukraine: Avoiding Another Great War
In early 2014 I watched the events in Ukraine with equanimity. I could appreciate the national desire of a people to determine their own destiny away from the impulse and aggression of an imperialist, colonial-power. I can also appreciate Russia’s...
An Irish Progressive Rethinks the Borg
It’s hard to believe, in the current year of 2021 CE, that Star Trek: The Next Generation was once seen as the cutting edge of progressivism. It’s true that it introduced a ship’s counsellor to the show, not to mention...
8% of Revenue Threatened by Vehicle Electrification Budget Office Warns
Doubts were cast upon the ability of the Irish State to successfully transition to a promised one million electric vehicles by 2030, with a new report by the Parliamentary Budget Office warning of a potential dip of 8% in state...
Vatican Takes Another Swipe at Latin Mass
The release of a new document from the Vatican has ignited controversy and further inflamed tensions within the Catholic Church since its publication on Saturday. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments released its "Responsa ad dubia"...
(Not So) New To The Parish #2 – From Norf FC to Skibbereen
This is the second part of a series of articles in which I intend to look at various aspects of Irish cultural and social life through the eyes of a foreign onlooker. It is intended to be a cultural autobiography...