Kathleen Ní Houlihan needs a perp’s walk. If the Government didn’t share my views on the need to make people accountable for what was done to our people and our economy under Fianna Fáil, I’d say the opinion poll results which came out since I wrote my l blog below went far to changing their minds.…
Are we Helpless before the Guilty?
Over the New Year I’ve been pondering the implications of a discovery I made while researching my book on the Famine* namely that one of its principal legacies to Ireland was what the psychiatrists called ‘learned helplessness’. The beliefs that no matter how one tried there was nothing to do in the face of catastrophe…
The Famine Plot*
The last number of weeks have been more than a little creepy. I found myself watching Homeland with an increasingly ominous fascination. Somebody somewhere it appears did not want me to visit the United States to publicise my book on the Famine. It was suggested to me that some securicrats in the U.S. embassy had…
Never a Dull Moment
It’s been heartening to see the amount of support I have received following the breaking of the news that my planned American Book tour to publicise my recently published book ‘The Famine Plot, England’s role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy’ had to be cancelled because I was refused a Visa. To judge from the incandescent reaction…
Hello Again
Hello again everybody, apologies for the long silence but the illustrations appended herewith form part of the explanation. I have been writing a book about the Famine and these graphic images, created by my granddaughter Caoimhe Pendred in Skibereen, where the Famine hit hard, are based on potatoes – the crop which so sadly and…
Thinker, feiner, soldier … Spy?
Reviewed a controversial new book suggesting that Eamon de Valera was a British spy for the Irish Independent… “John Turi, author of England’s Greatest Spy: Eamon de Valera, described as a former US Naval Intelligence Officer, has already achieved one remarkable outcome with his book (published on Monday). He has made of me a de…
In the wake of the Pope
“What should I do with the cow’s teat”, inquired the interviewer from the Newstalk Radio station covering the recent National Ploughing Championships. “Squeeze it gently”, replied the lady agricultural instructor evenly, “as though it were your willy.” In all sorts of ways that exchange, and the generally amused reaction to it, encapsulates the difference between to-day’s Ireland…
Why Israel lobby is wrong to demonize Mary Robinson
The shots fired at Mary Robinson by Jewish groups are probably really aimed at President Obama and his efforts to broker a peace deal with Israel starting with an end to the building of illegal Jewish settlements. The President is right to work for peace. The blame which America’s apparent willingness to support Israel in…
Summer schools for thought
Throughout the summer Ireland explodes with summer school mania. Indeed, these schools or festivals pop up amongst the Irish across the world, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish success and good cheer to the good people who will be staging their annual event at Butte, Montana, in a few days time.…
Computer Injustice!
I find that I have been committing a grave injusice on my correspondents—I have been muttering to myself about their lack of response to the myriad of e-mails to which I have painstakingly responded! Alas, my computer genius friend, who guides my hand in all matters Blog and web site, has discovered that none, or…