For Mothers Day
My mother Lena Hayes died in May 2002. As for so many others, this Mothering Sunday is a poignant one, especially as we have a lot of time on our …
Lourdes Pilgrimage needs young helpers
Lourdes is a fabulous place. For finding inner peace. For making great new connections with like-minded people. For helping people who just need a hand to enjoy the pilgrimage — …
Restoring an orchard
The lawing front of the house where I live was once an orchard. Locals tell of getting bags of apples from people like the late Canon Bill Murphy. Unfortunately, one …
Charming Gougane Barra of St. Finbarr
There are few places in Ireland as enchanting as Gougane Barra – the out-of-the-way but picturesque spot which is associated with Cork’s patron saint, Finbarr. It was once a secluded …
Denis Lehane RIP – a natural kind of West Cork man
From my earliest years at home in Drimoleague my brothers and I slept under a ceiling of gloss-painted ceiling boards. That part of the house was added on in the …
Centenary of Hayes and O’Sullivan links
On this date one hundred years ago, 25-year-old Margaret Hayes left from the house I was reared in at Clashduve, Drimoleague, and was taken by horse and cart to St. …
Religious haven’t gone away!
People who devoted their lives wholly to service of God and the church have taken something of a hammering in Irish society in recent decades. This in of the reasons …
In the shadow of sculptor John Hogan
I had an opportunity a few days ago to visit Dublin with a couple of friends. Part of the treat was to follow the trail of a nineteenth century sculptor …