Ireland was officially neutral during the Second World War and the Irish government referred to the war as "the emergency". But part of the island of Ireland was at war and physically we are very close to the UK, so there was always a risk that German pilots could get confused about which country they were over. And so the Irish government set up the coastal watch to … [Read more...] about A Quirky Bit of Irish History
history
Dry Hot Weather Reveals Ancient Past
Ireland and the UK have had very dry hot weather for the last couple of weeks. While there are both positive and negative aspects to the hot weather there's also an unexpected side effect - the dry hot weather has revealed traces of the past that were otherwise invisible. In Wales and now in … [Read more...] about Dry Hot Weather Reveals Ancient Past
Carlow’s Dolmen
I grew up on the west coast of Ireland only a few miles from the Burren region. It's a beautiful part of the world and has a lot of history. Nowadays I live in Carlow, which is in the southeast of Ireland. It too has history, but even though I've been living here for 10 years there are still parts of the area that I'm not familiar with. One of the things that Carlow is … [Read more...] about Carlow’s Dolmen
Wardruna Helvegen
Wardruna are a Norwegian music group that have a rather special sound. They're featured on the soundtrack of History Channel's series "The Vikings" starring Gabriel Byrne, which is how I came across them. [youtube]http://youtu.be/CuWPsx6U8rU[/youtube] … [Read more...] about Wardruna Helvegen
Marketing Gone Wrong – The Titanic
This year mark's the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. A lot of people died when it sank A lot of them were Irish. A lot of them were poor. A lot of them were en route from Ireland to the "New World" to start over. So any "celebration" or other ceremony surrounding the Titanic needs to handled very tactfully. Tayto obviously didn't get that … [Read more...] about Marketing Gone Wrong – The Titanic