Ireland never lets go of an Irish heart. The further we go from our homeland, the stronger it calls us home. French Canadians were never known for singing maudlin ballads lamenting the day they left Paris. English immigrants to Australia were not known to weep out of a heartfelt yearning for Suffolk. Yet we Irish…
I was speaking to my heating system the other day, when I realised that we are currently living in the future. It’s now 2017, after all, which is yet another year straight from the realms of science fiction. Our house has become increasingly like an episode of Star Trek since Alexa arrived. Alexa is a…
Chicken pox is a grim rite of passage for kids. In my family, we even have photos of my brothers and I proudly showing off our spotty backs. Indeed, one of my earliest memories is finding this strange crop of itchy spots all over. Last week, it was the turn of our children to undergo…
Ireland’s recent rugby victory in Chicago over the All Blacks prompted me to get back in touch with a good old Kiwi friend for some banter. However, a search of Facebook yielded only a memorial page for someone with the same name, who looked disturbingly like him. A Google search revealed the tragic story of…
Autumn is deepening. The last few brave flowers bloom through carpets of rusty leaves. Stark branches reach towards the glowering skies. The night surprises us, arriving early, and uninvited – a cold and unwelcome guest. Yet even the cold night is made warm and welcome by the fire, which we gather around each evening. All…
The Irish have a genius for making the best of a bad situation. This remarkable ability to live in hope, and to have the craic even when things go awry, is perhaps learned at an early age during our capricious Irish summers. The Irish fans arrived at the Euros celebrating as joyfully as if they…
“More disturbing symptoms emerged and soon it became clear that something was really very wrong”
“I’m busy.” I used to think I knew what that phrase meant. As a child, it meant “I’m playing with Lego”. As a teenager, it meant, “I’m watching TV”. Now, with three small children, and a busy work life, I think I have finally learned the true meaning of those words. From 6am most mornings,…
What is it about grandparents? Kids love them. Nobody else – apart from antique dealers – gives quite the same preference to age. Right from the baby stage, the bond between grandparents and grandchildren is plain for all to see. A visitor to Earth from space could reasonably surmise that the older generation would be…
Seán came home from school the other day with a fanciful tale: “I won thousands of pounds for my school today. Thousands! My drawing was the best in England and I’m going to be in the newspaper. It’s amazing. I can invite anyone I like to come to a special party when I get the…