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When Mother’s Day Falls in Ireland – A Stratagem
I have worked in education long enough that it is not uncommon for me to encounter former students, some of whom are now married with careers and children of their own. It is always surreal to meet these adults who, just a twinkling ago, were writing in composition books about who they would become when they were all grown up. Likewise, they are incredulous to discover that I am now the mother of a daughter who is older than they were when they were my students. And equally perturbed by this scenario and all its implications, is my daughter. A delicious juxtaposition, really – my former students confronting the truth that there…
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Being young, Coming of age, craic, Dispatch from the Diaspora, Irish American relations, Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Culture, St. Patrick's Day, The Troubles, The Troubles, Themes of childhood, United Workers Council Strike 1974
By the Wayside on St. Patrick’s Day
“To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night I am ambivalent about St. Patrick’s Day, still not sure what it is about March 17th that renders so many people Irish or some version of it that I do not recall from living the first twenty-seven years of my life in Northern Ireland. Everywhere I turn on Friday, there will be Americans proclaiming their Irishness, some in T-shirts emblazoned with a command to kiss them, others bearing warnings that they are falling-down drunk. Because they are Irish. Even elected officials whose nationality we never knew or cared about will become bona fide Irish. I wonder just how many frazzled interns there must…
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Breast Cancer Treatment, Cancer Language, Depression, Language matters, Memoir, Mental Health, Northern Ireland, Ordinary Things, World Mental Health Day 2013
where is it likely to go better?
Photo: Barry’s, Portrush by Six Mile Images roll·er coast·er noun ˈrō-lər-ˌkō-stər, ˈrō-lē-ˌkō- Definition of ROLLER COASTER 1. A steep, sharply curving elevated railway with small open passenger cars that is operated at high speeds as a ride, especially in an amusement park. 2. An action, event, or experience marked by abrupt, extreme change in circumstance, quality, or behavior. You. Have. Cancer. A cliché comes next – the roller-coaster ride. You know its refrain. First, the arduous climb towards an intense blue sky. Gradually, the anxious giggling and chatter subsides. At the top, breath suspended, you wait for the world to fall out beneath you. Not yet. Then a sudden plunge at shocking speed. Might you plummet…
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Coming of age, Dispatch from the Diaspora, La Mon House Hotel Bombing, Paris Attack, Rory Gallagher, Stiff Little Fingers, Terrorism, The Miami Showband, The Troubles, The Ulster Hall Belfast, Themes of childhood
Punk Matters – But Not Enough. Thank you, Stiff Little Fingers
When punk rock ruled over Ulster, nobody ever had more excitement and fun. Between the bombings and shootings, the religious hatred and the settling of old scores, punk gave everybody a chance to live for one glorious burning moment. ~ Joe Strummer, The Clash Stiff Little Fingers celebrates its forty years in the music business with a homecoming concert in Belfast in the summer of 2017. The band burst on the scene when I was a teenager, writing about a life I could relate to in songs with titles like “Suspect Device” or “Wasted Life.” Brave, bold, pissed off, they were relentless, taking to the stage and the airwaves on behalf of…
