BY AODHÁN CREALEY MARCH 06/1845 Amongst the many theories on what inspired the character Dracula is that Bram Stoker was greatly influenced by his older brother’s medical textbooks relating to rare and unusual diseases, one of which was a hereditary blood disorder called porphyria. Sufferers of this condition would have extreme sensitivity to light and … Read more
By Richard Pine The orchestra which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary as the National Symphony Orchestra was officially launched in 1948 as the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra (RÉSO) and, from 1966, the RTÉSO. Later still, it was repositioned as ‘the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra’. And thereby hangs a long story. Like many European states … Read more
By Fergus Whelan I recently had the very great pleasure of visiting the annexe of Ballyfermot Library, which contains the 7,000-volume Sé Geraghty collection. It is a wonderful resource, consisting mainly of books, but there are also many pamphlets and periodicals, encompassing the arts, literature, politics and history. There is a particular emphasis on old … Read more