Blogs

In Northern Gaza’s Tal Al-Zatar, hungry stray cats wander war-torn streets. They seach for food among the debris and for the young boy who always cared for them. They stumble upon his charred remains, a life gone astray. Mohammed Moussa, The Face Before You: To Write Poetry on Genocide. Notes. ‘Listen to yourself,’ wasn’t some piece of New Age advice when we were younger. A whack on the lug was the remedy. My wee brother, Bod wasn’t one to...

Buried. With the remains of my first child in my arms, I journey barefoot, fragile as a newborn, breathing in the tears of premature farewells. He is light as a feather, but impossibly heavy. Upon arrival I’m greeted by my family, friends, acquaintances, strangers, they all feel closer and further away from me than ever. Our grief finds little solace in embraces, our damaged souls gnaw at our hearts and bodies they stain out evenings. Our grief...

Some might think that inflicting the moron’s moron, Donald J.Trump, on an innocent world is payback for the Holocaust of the Highland clearances. But Scottish historian T.M.Devine takes a more nuanced view. He studies what records are available to differentiate between what happened in the Highlands and Island and compare it with Lowland Scotland. A History of the Dispossessed answers some questions, but reveals others. Devine follows...

I hadn’t heard of Scottish novelist Ewan Morrison, which is perhaps unusual because I read lots and he’s won lots of awards. And I kinda pride myself on knowing the Scottish literary scene. He’s a great writer. But this book almost failed the ten-page test. Beginnings. My Survival Guide. ‘I’m still alive, and if you’re reading this that means you’re all alive too. That’s something. My name is Haley Cooper Crows and I’m in lockdown in a remote...

Many people believe in a Heaven but not in a Hell. This would require God to have a trivial attitude to sin. One writer said that he thought that God viewed our mischievous acts as he viewed the antics of his young kitten. Jesus said we would have to give an account for every careless word we had ever spoken. Matthew 12:36. God doesn't see our bullying, our gossip or our racist insults as being amusing. These are all very serious to him. Some...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002p1fr/oppenheimer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppenheimer_(film) My mate Andy Rat still goes to see films. I think it’s so he doesn’t need to talk to his partner. But you can do that just as well—maybe even better, if you skive off to write stuff—in the upstairs cuboard. Oppenheimer is one of those films I quite fancied. Rat had seen it and Barbie , which came out the same week. He said Oppenheimer ‘was...

My nephew Charlie loves me read ing his "abshe talsh" keep up the good work! There's something for everyone Favourit is swindommoody and cath poach and all the teddybear stories too.

In the 1980's and 90's in Dublin, the theatre scene was dominated by the mercurial genius of Donal McCann . His physicality and intensity electrified the stage. The 1989 run of Juno and the Paycock and his portrayal of Captain Boyle didn't just invite you into the 'fourth wall', he dragged you into the world and character he inhabited and threw you into the nearest chair. I saw that production three times back-to-back. It was considered at the...

The last carry-out, carry-in and carry-on, Vince got was in the Goldenhill at the end of September 2025. Betty’s great-grandson. Wee Arnie’s Christening. The latest addition to the McCann family. One comes in. One goes out. Vince wasn’t drunk—although he had a couple of whiskies—but the wooden stairs outside the pub were as steep as a ladder propped against a cliff. Vince was 93. His legs were older than his head. He’d become the dead spit of...