Mark Harkin stumbles across Sam Semple, supporting the Webb Sisters, and becomes intrigued by Semple’s soulful and heartfelt songs. A Clearing in the Woods: Sam Semple’s ‘Mystery Songs’ (Proper Records, 2014) The Gig Rueful, self-mocking and bearing up manfully to the unbearable lightness of being: that’s Sam Semple. Whelan’s of Wexford Street, Dublin 2, famed […]
Being a Girl You’ve seen the film: a man looks behind an office filing cabinet to find a portal into another man’s consciousness – someone who turns out to be a famous actor. The intruder remains inside this other life for a quarter of an hour or so before being ejected onto the side of […]
In the world of fictional drama, terrorists are useful and popular – useful to writers who want to propel their plots, and popular with viewers and readers who find subversives so compelling. They’re intelligent, driven characters, they’re prepared to kill or be killed and they think that moral good can be achieved by immoral acts. […]
Back in the ‘90s, I read Tobias Wolff’s memoirs of growing up in a struggling, single-parent family – This Boy’s Life (1989) – and of serving as a junior officer in the U.S. airborne division in Vietnam – In Pharoah’s Army: Memories of a Lost War (1994). I was impressed by both books, for the honesty […]
Sebastian Barry’s A Long Long Way treats an issue which was virtually airbrushed from Irish history for generations after it happened: the involvement of Ireland in the British Army during the First World War. While school texts record the heroic deeds of the 1916 Rising – the event which ultimately led to the creation of […]
At 5.00pm on Monday 20 September, large crowds have already gathered around Old Trafford for the 8.00pm kick-off between Manchester United and Liverpool. In the Bishop Blaize pub on Chester Road, United supporters are belting out their favourite anthem: 'Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put the scousers on the top, put the city in […]
Every so often, a blockbuster sequel comes along that succeeds in deepening and improving on its predecessor. Most notable in this regard has been The Empire Strikes Back, along with Superman II and Aliens. Now we have Spiderman 2, a film which blends action-packed adventure with a thoughtful exploration of identity. There is much more […]
Earlier this year, smoking was outlawed in all Irish workplaces, including pubs and restaurants. The Irish Vintners Association contested this move all the way up until the ban, fearing that it would destroy many of the businesses of its members. Now that the ban is in place, however, publicans appear to be making the best […]
Over the past number of weeks, European football fans have watched in amazement as a team of bit-part players from Greece have won the second-most prestigious tournament in the world. The stars of the Premiership, La Liga and Serie A have emerged from the European Championships looking like over-hyped, underachieving conmen. People might rightly ask […]
For most people, the idea of reading James Joyce’s Ulysses is an intimidating prospect. Film director, Sean Walsh, has gone one step further in adapting it to a two-hour movie. Bloom takes Joyce’s tome and converts it into a largely conventional drama, concentrating on the human aspects of the central characters’ life journeys, which are […]
