I resolve… Hmmmm. How’s that going? Did you resolve? Did you get all fired up as the sounding of the midnight bell approached and did you rise to your feet and shout out a resolution for each of the twelve bongs? Did you then fall in a heap, tears of exhaustion, self-belief and hope flowing [...]
Archive for the ‘Kilkenny People’ Category
New Year’s Resolutions
Posted in Kilkenny People on January 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Paddy Murphy, Woodturner
Posted in Kilkenny People on January 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Phenomenal. It is a word misused and overused. It has three definitions and to save you having to consult your Oxford English Dictionary, let me tell you, that the definition you will need on first seeing Paddy Murphy’s creation is the second: ‘extraordinary, remarkable, prodigious.’ (‘Prodigious’ also has three meanings and the one you are [...]
An Enchanting Scrap of Humanity
Posted in Kilkenny People on January 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Zoltan Zinn-Collis and Alicia McAuley have written a book telling the story of Zoltan Zinn-Collis’ life. Entitled, ‘Final Witness; My Journey from the Holocaust to Ireland’, it records Zoltan’s early life in a Nazi concentration camp, his rescue and his subsequent life here in Ireland. The book is both a difficult and an easy read, [...]
Tractor Drive
Posted in Kilkenny People on January 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
High above the road, the tractor driver makes his way at a pastoral pace, bouncing gently in his seat, master of all he surveys, untouched by the needless freneticism all around. Only he knows what lies ahead; only he knows that he will be turning off into his field any minute now, to continue on [...]
Castle Park and the passing of the seasons
Posted in Kilkenny People on January 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There are many sights in Kilkenny which raise a smile or lift the spirit; the castle lit up at night, Clara Church perched on its hill heralding the home straight at the end of a long journey, the snow-topped Blackstairs Mountains in the distance; but few can rival the joy elicited by the changing of [...]
Kilkenny’s Spanish Civil War
Posted in Kilkenny People on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The two churches in the village of Inistioge stand side by side in the square; St Mary’s, the Church of Ireland church and St Colmcille’s, the Catholic church. Bells have brought all the worshippers to their pews and the day trippers are enjoying a rare bit of sunshine at the tables outside the pubs and [...]
Myles Keogh
Posted in Kilkenny People on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
At the end of roads, lanes and long driveways throughout Ireland lie the ruins of castles and houses full of history and full of tales of the people who lived in them. At the end of a long driveway in Clara, lies the ruin of Clifden Castle and beside it, Clifden House, home to Noel [...]
Shawn Sturnick and Ivan Kelly
Posted in Kilkenny People on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
As the government proposes legislation for Civil Partnership, what does the absence of same-sex marriage mean to people living here?
Love has a way of making its presence felt and when Shawn and Ivan arrived for this interview, love arrived with them.
“It’s just not fair,” says Shawn. “We’re in love, we’re committed and we’ve been [...]
Iarla O’Lionaird
Posted in Kilkenny People on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
As a teenager, I had a crush on Iarla O’Lionaird. As I awaited his arrival for this interview, I recalled the times I had watched him singing in the 1980s; the sculpted face, the emotive voice and the wide smile which denoted the end of each song. The minutes ticked by and finally there was [...]
Horse riding
Posted in Kilkenny People on October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Long, long ago on a beach in Co. Kerry, I joined a group of horse riders and cantered along the strand in early morning soft rain. Despite my young years, I could tell that this was an experience I would not forget. Brimming with wide-eyed enthusiasm and yearning to repeat the adventure, I signed up [...]
