She Loved Not Him Who Her Father Chose
A poem I wrote some years back, on love, a disapproving family, and a tragedy of murder and suicide! which I now …
New Year, New Start, All Folks the Same
New year, new start, all folks the same No matter what land or tradition from which they came So close to Samhain, …
Morning Caw of the Jackdaw
The jackdaws call in the morning Before the sun streaks the sky From tree, or other perch, loud it echos We listening, …
Willie Rimes At the Quare Horse Fair
We think there was one lawbreaker at the 2015 Banagher Horse Fair.. of course it would have to be that pal of …
The Old Bond Store Ghost
ghost tale from Tullamore retold in verse, first told by Walter Burke, former leasee of the bar in the Tullamore Dew Heritage …
“The Window Crisis” and “The Miracle of the Porch”
This article first appeared in the 2014 edition of the “Banagher Review” Dad was a handyman in his spare time… handy to …
Plastic Bag: Ballinamuck
Walking in to the village of Ballinamuck last year, I saw a lone plastic bag blowing in the street. A once more …
This Too Shall Pass – #zenquote #zen
Elyane S. Youssef writes for Elephant Journal, and one article of zen quotes caught my eye, and I wrote a series of …
Monks Who Have Never Loved Will Never Understand
“How can you suffer because of something that doesn’t exist?” ~ Buddhist Monk Elyane S. Youssef met in Nepal Read her article …
Veil Through Which We All Pass
Recently a friend of mine passed, Victor Mather, who I knew from a world beyond politics, in which he was very active …
Saintjohnstown – So Beautiful A Name
My mother grew up outside the Longford village of Ballinalee. She always said she preferred the English name on it, St. Johnstown… …
Red Path of the Stag
Set free, running free, blood flowing, fleeing fast in fright Wild eyed, pursued, the stag takes to flight The tribesmen of the …
Whiff of Scandal – Government, Orgies, Dead Pigs, Talking to Bees and about the Homeless – At the Cinema watching Legend
The Krays are the stuff of, as the film title suggests, legend, and it was a must see when the film of …
Bee Conversations
By some believed, when one had died, the bees had to be told Or umbridge taken, they would leave, not liking being …
Treasure Sleeps on Chest of All She Needs
There is a lot of “we must look after our own first” going around now that the refuggees from Syria are on …
People Power Wins at 2015 Banagher Horse Fair and I Manage Not to Get Arrested – Drowned Boy Forgotten in Turkey
I managed not to get arrested at the Outlaw Horse Fair in the Wild West of Offaly… however it was a close …
Outcasts In from the Cold?
Its heartening to hear suddenly everybody wanting to look after our own Coming out of the closet of carers now the migrant …
Dead Children: No Longer the News that Sells
I knew it would happen, borders would be closed, media would turn again on the refugees, and the dead boy on the …
Take Not Gods Name in Vain
Take not the Lords name in Vain it is commanded Some say it means “Do not swear” It baffled me how God …
Missing Electric Picnic and Readings At The Pallet – Unexpected Appearance at Amusing – A Little Boy Drowns in Turkey
Its been a surreal few weeks, with Scene of the Rhyme on in Tullamore, an unexpected appearance organised at the last minute …