Blog.

‘Unofficial Ireland and our sense of ourselves…’

They say the past tells us a lot about the present.  Queuing at immigration in the early morning at Lusaka International Airport in Zambia highlights the point. Having submitted my passport, the immigration officer comments ‘Ah, you’re Irish, I was taught by the brothers’ – no visa required for Irish

Drowning in the Mediterranean: Tears are not enough

“Whatever mourns when many leave these shores; Whatever shares The eternal reciprocity of tears.” – Insensibility by Wilfred Owen (October 1917) Wilfred Owen’s poem dwells on the insensibility of civilians to the suffering of the soldiers in the trenches of the First World War. He condemns those who fail to

The world is watching as Ireland votes on marriage equality

Ireland is the first country in the world to put the question of same sex marriage to a public vote. Taking place tomorrow, the referendum presents voters with a choice whether the Constitution should be changed so as to extend civil marriage rights to same-sex couples. The proposed bill would

10 quotes that changed the way we look at the world

The Huffington Post recently included what it considers the Top 10 quotes  from various ‘leaders’ across the globe that “in some way changed how humanity looks at the world.” This list includes quotes that commemorate historical moments/actions that impacted on the global landscape, through political reforms, scientific revolutionary discoveries, human