Although church attendance in Ireland has declined – in some places, dramatically – 84 per cent of the Irish population still defines itself as Roman Catholic. And many of those Irish Catholic values still remain in the deposit of the national psyche. That, I believe, is one reason why the Irish are not uncomfortable with … Continue reading
EDNA O’BRIEN – THE WOMAN AND THE WRITER: A PERSONAL ASSESSMENT.
Many introductions to Edna O’Brien start out by stating excitedly that when her first books were published in the early 1960s, they were banned because she so “scandalised her native Ireland”. I remember when Edna’s novels first appeared, and nobody I knew was at all scandalised by the beguiling stories of Cait and Baba in … Continue reading
THE BEAUTIFUL GAIETY GIRL WHO MARRIED A MARQUIS…
When the young Marquis of Headfort, Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, fell in love with a beautiful Gaiety girl – yes, an actress – and insisted on marrying her, in 1901, all of gentry society, in Ireland and in England, was scandalised. Not only had Rosie Boote been on the stage – and her mother and father … Continue reading
FINNISH LESSONS – CAN WE LEARN FROM FINLAND’S EDUCATION SYSTEM?
Ireland’s global position in education has slipped rather badly in recent times: we came 17th in one international study of literacy. A nation of writers and bards – for shame! Top of any European list in the education league now is – Finland. In the most recent study by PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) … Continue reading
Allegiance
A play about Michael Collins and Winston Churchill Continue reading
EQUALITY IN THE BOARDROOM: RACHEL CUSK SHOWS HOW COMPLEX WOMEN’S CHOICES CAN BE…
There was some proposals, highlighted recently on International Women’s Day, that more women should be promoted onto the boards of public companies. The European Commissioner, Viviane Reding had suggested previously that there should be a voluntary agreement that, by 2015, about a third of boardroom members should be women. She is now revising this view, … Continue reading
Allegiance
A play about Michael Collins and Winston Churchill Background & Context In 1921, the Irish rebel leader Michael Collins was ordered to travel to London – with Arthur Griffith and the Irish delegation – to negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty which followed the Truce and the War of Independence. Collins loathed the assignment and protested vehemently: … Continue reading
BACK TO THE LAND – AND NOW FARMING IS FASHIONABLE AND SUCCESSFUL…
The most cheering news of the year, surely, is about Irish farming and agriculture. There is an enthusiastic return to agricultural studies, along with a rise in farm land prices and a boom in Irish food exports. Irish food and drink exports increased by €1 billion last to reach the highest volume ever. Over the … Continue reading
Mary Kenny: The Republic of Ireland and the British Crown.
In every society and at all times there is a notion of “political correctness” – that is, a kind of civic ideal of virtue to which we are encouraged to aspire. The prevailing “political correctness” in the Ireland of my childhood, in the 1950s, was concerned with a certain ideal of “upright republicanism”. Ireland had … Continue reading
WHY WALLIS SIMPSON WAS HEROINE IN IRELAND…
You can see why Madonna wanted to make a movie about Wallis Simpson, the Baltimore siren who captured the heart of a king. Here’s an American from a modest background who comes to London and gets cold-shouldered by the toffee-nosed types in the British establishment. And is disparaged by a hostile media. Yes, Madonna feels … Continue reading
MARYKENNY 