A Beginner’s Guide to Mountain Biking

Part 1: You are never too old to be a beginner I don’t know much about mountain biking, other than the fact I love it and that it involves pedalling a bike up hills and then pointing it down the hill while trying not to crash. As such, this is not a guide for beginners, …

Two years ago, we were the parents who missed our daughter’s preschool Christmas show

Sometimes the hardest story to tell is the one you have thought about most. The one where you failed, and there are no excuses. In the grand scheme of things, in a World where war crimes don’t even make the news, it might seem minor. But to me it is a big deal, because I …

The Plague in Amerika

The Plague in Amerika It was the summer of the year 2000 and I was working as a security guard in Boston. I was on a J1 visa, that was a three month visa that allowed Irish students to do summer work in the U.S. I hadn't particularly wanted to go to America. I was …

‘The Old World is Dying and the New World Struggles to be Born.’ Call the midwife, Ireland needs a new left party.

In keeping with the spirit of our times, on Tuesday I watched an online ‘meeting’ with Paul Murphy TD of RISE (formerly of the Socialist Party/ Solidarity) and Brid Smith TD of People Before Profit. It was a virtual version of the public meeting that most of us on the left know, but may not …

I Learned about White Privilege in Africa

I learned about white privilege in Africa. It should have been the last place I discovered what it was. It should be the continent where Black people with their own nations exercise their rights and are free. But the dead hand of colonialism doesn’t let go easily. I learned what it meant to have every …

Battlestar Galactica in a Granny Flat: Why life in post-austerity Ireland is like surviving a Cylon attack

I never thought I would reach a point in life where I thought Battlestar Galactica was relatable content. At the risk of incurring the wrath of a thousand screaming nerds, Battlestar Galactica was mindless entertainment, that liked to pose as something more meaningful and significant. I refer not to the original 1970s show, which is …

‘Watch where you’re going you prick!’ – An unwanted encounter with an unreasonably angry man

I was walking down Parkgate Street around 5pm last Friday, away from the quays and towards the park, minding my own business. An older homeless couple were hunched in a doorway, sorting out their stuff. Getting things out of their bags or looking for something in a bag. They looked like they had lived the …

The Great British Famine – Should Ireland feed Britain in the event of a no-deal Brexit?

The Irish Central Bank warned this week that Britain crashing out of Europe with no deal could lead to food shortages and price hikes in Ireland. It is an indication of how protracted and painful the Brexit fiasco has been, that Irish concerns have gone from ‘delays at the border’ to ‘food shortages’. However, worries about …

A quick note on the historical context of the Roscommon raid

Whatever your thoughts on the rights and wrongs of the recent attack on security guards occupying an evicted property in Co. Roscommon, you have to admit it is part of an old Irish political tradition. Throughout the 18th and 19th Century a variety of oath bound secret societies carried out night time raids and acts …

On the Edge of the Pale: personal reflections on being the ‘/’ in the urban/rural divide

The media were pretty surprised recently when rural constituencies voted overwhelmingly to repeal the Eighth amendment. There was a lot of talk about what this meant for the urban/rural divide. They were sure something had changed, but what was the difference between Urban Ireland and Rural Ireland supposed to be, and why do so many …