As the countdown to the centenary of the 1916 Rising continues, the presses carry on rolling with 1916-related publications,producing both new and revised editions. In the latter category is The Easter Rising by Michael T. Foy and Brian Barton, first published in 1999 and described at the time by Roy Foster as ‘the best survey … Read more
I can remember when the castle in Enniscorthy housed the unofficial Wexford county museum. It had all the attractions and flaws of a volunteer-run museum, with every room packed with exhibits, not always in the best of condition. In 2006 the castle was closed for major renovation. A radical decision was taken to concentrate on … Read more
Neil Jordan’s much-heralded family saga of Renaissance ambition, murder and debauchery has more to do with historical reputation than actual fact. However much scholarship proves the opposite, good stories never die. And, as so often, it’s the victors who tell them. When Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere finally succeeded as Pope Julius II in 1503, and … Read more
This is the 45th production of Juno and the Paycock at the Abbey, and this latest, directed by Howard Davies, is a joint venture with the National Theatre of Great Britain. It is appropriate that O’Casey should be the subject of such a collaboration given the circumstances of his own life. Although he made his … Read more
Groups of Irish nationalists, lighted torches in hand, stride forward and are joined by other Irish nationalists singing in unison about the virtues of ‘freedom’. The scene segues into black-and-white images of the sea hurtling into cliffs and the tide encroaching upon a beach, the ‘freedom’ chorus continuing. Yet the refrain is actually concerned with … Read more