Formula One is a sport that is under serious pressure. It is ironic that the only elements of consistency and predictability in the sport are the actual results on the track. Although Formula One Management does not release official viewing figures, it is generally held that the sport is on the wane. Considering the ban […]
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 […]
The Go! Team's debut album, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, has made an impact as quickly and energetically as the title itself suggests, with praise coming from every angle of the British music press. NME, as reserved as ever, labelled them “one of the greatest bands in the world today”. So, who are the Go! Team? Are […]
What is Halloween? Why do we celebrate Halloween on October 31st? Why do we wear costumes, or carve pumpkins on Halloween? What are the origins of trick or treat? Halloween, often tainted with comercialism, is a deep rooted festival with origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain. “We had no pumpkins for Halloween when I […]
In the first of a three part series Colm McInerney traces the rise of America from a Colony through to a Superpower. Introduction That these United Colonies are, and of Right, ought to be free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connexion between […]
Neil McCormick knew from an early age that he was destined for stardom. Perhaps that sort of ambition in young men is more common than we think. Certainly Mount Temple Comprehensive in Dublin had its fair share of it. It has become famous as the place where Bono, the Edge, Larry and Adam went to […]
It was a telling sign of our 'foresight' or lack thereof, that, in the midst of South America we'd left behind the one book that really manages to capture the 'backpacker' experience of the continent – The Gringo Trail by Mark Mann. There was a certain logic to this, as we'd both read the book […]
Nearly five hundred years before the Russian serfs were emancipated, WatTyler demanded that “no man should be a serf, nor do homage or any mannerof service to any lord” and that no one should serve any man but at hisown will. Later on, but still before the Reformation, the Czech Taboritessought to abolish power and […]
Even a huge wave appearing suddenly in the sea is made up of tiny drops of water and it is the beautiful result of many factors. Similarly, any progress in science is built on a large number of small results obtained by a myriad of researchers, and influenced by other sociological factors. However, it seems […]