In Appreciation of Patrick Kavanagh

So once again I am back with a general appreciation post (not my fault they were born so close together). Today I am celebrating the Irish poet and novelist Patrick Kavanagh, the Monaghan born writer famously caught between two worlds, that of the urban in Dublin and his rural background in Monaghan. Patrick Kavanagh was …

In Appreciation of Oscar Wilde

Today the 16th of October is Oscar Wilde's birthday. On this day 166 years ago Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland. A short 46 years later on the 30th November 1900 he would die in Paris having become one of the most popular and controversial writers in Europe. In the time …

‘The Green Fool’ by Patrick Kavanagh

Once again I return to Irish writing in the middle of the twentieth century with Patrick Kavanagh's first novel The Green Fool. Now it is no secret that I am a fan of Kavanagh's poetry but having read both of his novels I think it's safe to say I am now also a fan of …

‘The Spinning Heart’ by Donal Ryan

My thoughts on 'The Spinning Heart' by Donal Ryan