Vivid, compelling, partisan—John Kirkaldy on My Life in Loyalism
My Life In Loyalism|Billy Hutchinson with Gareth Mulvenna|Merrion Press|paperback| ISBN: 9781785373459|€18.95 by John Kirkaldy The picture on the front cover tells us almost all we need to know. The eyes are determined, looking into the middle distance. This is a man of strong...
Behind the Screen—Tony Canavan on The Eagle has Landed
Tony Canavan sees some significant differences between the book and film of The Eagle Has Landed by Tony Canavan, consulting Editor I remember buying The Eagle Has Landed when it first came out in 1975. I was a teenager then and immensely enjoyed this adventure...
Acts of Desperation—a deep, epistolary journey into early-twenties angst
Acts of Desperation|by Megan Nolan|Jonathan Cape|€17.50 Paperback|ISBN: 9781787333369 by Susan McKeever ‘That night after meeting Ciaran I drank until I vomited and blood vessels beneath and above my eyes burst, and I traced them gently in the mirror, knowing they would be markers of a...
West Cork Literary Festival: launch of Deirdre Sullivan’s new collection—I Want to Know That I Will Be Okay
Join West Cork Literary Festival for the launch of I Want to Know That I Will Be Okay, a collection of short stories by award-winning writer Deirdre Sullivan. To celebrate the launch of her first book for adults, Deirdre will be in conversation with fellow writer Louise O’Neill. The event will be online...
Poetry happening—Fiona Perry
https://www.youtube.com/embed/IKNO_C5g644 Postpartum, by Fiona Perry You are as naked as a shucked oyster so, my breasts are slashed and raining pearls for you, my suckling child. The universe
Quiet cruelties cast long shadows: revelation in Moyra Donaldson’s Bone House
Bone House|Moyra Donaldson|Doire Press 2021|ISBN: 978-1-907682-81-0|€12 Aoife Lyall talks to Moyra Donaldson about her new collection, Bone House Moyra Donaldson strikes hard truths with a light touch. The poems in Bone House resonate with candour, warmth and vitality. In the opening poem, 'So What...
A Very Strange Man—Sue Leonard on Alannah Hopkin’s memoir of Aidan Higgins
A Very Strange Man: A memoir of Aidan Higgins| by Alannah Hopkin| New Island|€17.95|ISBN 9781848407930 by Sue Leonard In 1986, the poet Derek Mahon introduced Alannah Hopkin to the writer, Aidan Higgins. The attraction was like a thunderbolt. Leaving his Wicklow home, Higgins moved in with...
Why Must the Show Go On?—A short story by Rick O’Shea
from Empty House|edited by Alice Kinsella and Nessa O’Mahony|Doire Press 2021|978-1-907682-80-3|€15.00 by Rick O’Shea Alan weighed himself as usual, shaved while the coffee was brewing, and brushed his teeth thoroughly just before leaving for work. You shouldn’t let your standards slip just because you’d be...
Our Wild World
Our Wild World|Éanna Ní Lamhna|The O'Brien Press|IBN:9781788492331|€16.99 by Éanna Ní Lamhna The theme for this year’s World Earth Day on 22 April is Restore the Earth. We are all looking forward to things going back to normal as soon as possible. When we have finally ended the...
Beautiful Speech: A Tribute to Eavan Boland
The Casey/Boland Family, Poetry Ireland and Stanford University present a tribute to Eavan Boland on the one-year anniversary of her death. A year ago, we lost one of our finest and truest poetic voices. Over the course of her long career, Eavan became one of...
