Other Writing

Charleville: A town on tenterhooks

February, 2019. A colour piece about the town of Charleville, whose hurling team was due to play in the All-Ireland final the following Sunday. I went down there and talked to a few people. Published in the Irish Examiner. Piece online here.

A Poem for Con Murphy

January 2019. A poem for my old friend and physician, Dr. Con Murphy, a great man and a great Cork GAA man. You don’t see many poems on the sports pages but The Irish Examiner were good enough to publish it. Photo of the poem here.

Peter The Great: Beyond Perfect and into Myth

Peter The Great: Beyond Perfect and into Myth. Piece in The Irish Examiner about Peter O’Mahony’s impossible performance against New Zealand in a rugby test match. Ireland beat the All Blacks for the first time ever on Irish soil and the win could not have been possible were it not for O’Mahony’s Homeric deeds. Click here to read.

Fertile Retelling of Homer’s Epic Poems is Revived

Joint Review of The Silence of The Girls by Pat Barker and Country by Michael Hughes in The Irish Examiner. Both these books are retellings of Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad and both are very successful in different ways. Click here to read.

We were all enriched and renewed from the experience

Piece in The Irish Examiner about the late Liam Miller tribute match, played in Páirc Uí Chaoimh between veteran Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic teams, in support of his family and some charities. A moving day, a wonderful communal day. Click here to read.

Hurling is in the quiet, not the noise

A piece in The Irish Examiner about two photos I saw on Twitter after the All-Ireland Hurling Final when Limerick beat Galway to win their first All Ireland senior title in 45 years. This article was described by Vincent Hogan as ‘utterly, utterly beautiful’ (*blushes*). Click here to read.

Longing, Loss, Regret, Reparation … a Family Package

Longing, Loss, Regret, Reparation … a Family Package Review of Markus Zuzak’s new novel: Bridge of Clay in The Irish Examiner. This is Zuzak’s follow-up to the hugely successful The Book Thief. It’s an interesting and entertaining read, playful and tender. Photo of the review here.

Learning to Die by Thomas Maloney

Novel Comes to Life in its Second Half as Emotions Pitch. Review of Learning to Die by Thomas Maloney in The Irish Examiner. A novel in three parts, two of which are really rewarding. Five lives intersect in modern day England. Photo of review here.

Taking a seat for a Páirc Uí Chaoimh passion play

A piece in The Irish Examiner on the official opening of Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 2017 after a complete rebuild. This coincided with the 2017 senior Cork county finals in both Football and Hurling. Click here to read.

Why Do We Flock to the Four Great Sundays in September?

A piece in The Irish Examiner on the four Sundays on September when the All Ireland Hurling, Camogie, Men’s Football and Women’s Football are all played, one Sunday after the other. Ironically, in 2018 they moved the men’s finals, so that was that! Click here to read.