Gate Theatre, 27 September–27 October 2024 A Lyric Theatre Production By Sylvie Kleinman ‘This is not the time for soundbites: I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders.’ When a boyish and buoyant Tony Blair (Martin Hutson in an outstanding and entertaining performance) bounced around the stage uttering his iconic phrase (cleverly updated for … Read more
Directed by Kevin Costner By David Murphy Fans of Kevin Costner will be well aware of his fascination with the Western movie formula. To date, he has made several forays into this genre as an actor, and also in the roles of producer and/or director. Previous Westerns have included Silverado (1985), Open Range (2003) and … Read more
RTÉ1, 12 August 2024 By Brian Trench As you approach Valentia Island on the ferry from Renard Point, you see a village like very few others along the western seaboard. Knightstown displays a row of imposing buildings, none of them associated with church or state. The hotel grew in the mid-nineteenth century on the success … Read more
By Joseph E.A. Connell Jr On 8 December 1924, the Dáil formally approved the merger of all railway companies in Saorstát Éireann to form the Great Southern Railway Company. During the revolutionary period the railways suffered considerably at the hands of all parties. In the 1916 Easter Rising, stations in Dublin were taken over by … Read more
By Martin Morris Dr John F. Keenan (S.F. Ó Cianáin) was one of Longford’s great local historians. Longford County Library and Archives hold a collection of his papers, mainly consisting of notes on a range of subjects, including place-names and families. Keenan published numerous articles and there is evidence of his correspondence with antiquarians/local historians … Read more