Two years ago in the Little Theatre in Athlone I had the privilege of watching a debut performance of a play written by Neil Richardson and directed by Caroline Barry called From The Shannon To The Somme. A true story about an Athlone man, Sgt Michael Curley, a soldier before and during World War 1. Michael had done his seven… (more…)
Last Thursday was my youngest son’s 19th birthday and as he was painting Cork red, I thought I would celebrate it by going to Dublin, to a book launch in Hodges and Figgis’s commendable book store on Dawson Street. The book Dark Times, Decent Men by Neil Richardson is the story of all the Irish men and women who served… (more…)
Irish soldiers who enlisted in the British Army in their hundreds of thousands in late 1914 were faced with a massive dilemma by 1917. What was their exact place in history? Could they ever be let live with their families in their much changed homeland? Would their blood sacrifice be forgotten? What were they and who were they fighting for. … (more…)