Ten years after his death, commentators and admirers of Seamus Heaney are still looking for new ways to measure his life and work.
Ireland
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Three new books expose the shameful history of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries
In recent years, several books have attempted to piece together what really happened behind the doors of power in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries, including Emer Martin’s novel ‘The Cruelty Men,’ Claire Keegan’s novella ‘Small Things Like These,’ and new collection of essays, ‘A Dublin Magdalene Laundry: Donnybrook and Church-State Power in Ireland,’ edited by Mark Coen, Katherine O’Donnell and Maeve O’Rourke.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Catholics and Protestants both oppose law to curb prosecutions for Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ killings
Despite deep political fractures surrounding the issue, the British Parliament passed a bill which would halt most prosecutions for killings by militant groups and British soldiers during the Troubles.
Posted inArts & Culture, Short Take
Notre Dame football plays in Ireland: A chance for unity for a divided campus (and country)
When Notre Dame meets Navy in a football game in Dublin tomorrow, it will give us all a chance to remember that old Irish adage: “There is no strength without unity.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Some Catholics will never forgive Sinéad O’Connor for tearing the pope’s photo. Others will never forget its power.
Sinéad O’Connor, who was found dead in London on July 26, thwarted any attempt throughout her life to extinguish her creativity or her output.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Will a united Ireland celebrate a holiday that marks a Protestant victory over a Catholic king?
A proposal to make “the 12th” an all-Ireland holiday has not been not met with a warm reception. A former government minister described the popular response as “a mixture of diatribe and incredulity.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
Interview: ‘Miracle Club’ director on Lourdes, Irish guilt and the power of reconciliation
In ‘The Miracle Club,’ Thaddeus O’Sullivan is unafraid to explore more serious topics, such as abortion and suicide, and to reckon with the lingering effects of communal grief.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Census: Ireland is becoming less Catholic
Ireland is becoming less religious, and the percentage of residents who identify as Catholic is down to 69% according to census data. More people identify with “no religion” than in previous years.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Royal Family and their Irish neighbors: How Ireland will be represented at Charles III’s coronation
Sidestepping reservations individual party members must have about being associated with the pomp and ceremony of a very anti-republican spectacle, Sinn Féin hopes to demonstrate diplomatic gravitas and a mature capacity to lead all Ireland.
Posted inLast Take, Politics & Society
An open letter to America about gun violence, from a very concerned Irishman
I was a teenager at the time of the Columbine High School shooting. No one could mistake suburban Dublin for anyone’s utopia, but even then my friends and I could recognize that we might as well live in a different galaxy.