tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83347791916260178932024-03-23T03:14:46.420-07:00Culture and the artsMichael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-1701371953457863562024-03-21T07:42:00.000-07:002024-03-21T07:42:25.063-07:00A journey through our myths and legends<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Introduction</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><img height="89" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/35K25iIbdEVIjRs0VPpfeH2-dpFvvibtoN9CZ9UP2JUKiobihbIUNrfCxRaRaIUNfgm1z8WMfZMQE-zV9aQVcBlQu0VfXL5KD5VsuyaSl54f-LoD3wTh57esZw-c-mi9MgTPyBiXkuSINThCkgY44so=w103-h89" style="font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;" width="103" /> confession to start. Two weeks into addressing a gap in my knowledge with a journey through the storied landscape of Ireland’s mythology (1), I was stunned by a lightbulb moment. Having attended previous classes at Queens University Belfast on diverse topics - including the origins of Ulster place and surnames, the six Celtic languages, Ulster’s archaeology from first settlers, Ireland's native trees - and after reading a couple of books by folklorist, travel writer and linguist Manchán Magan (2), that self-same dazzling light prompted me to try “joining up the dots.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To that end I'd like to focus on two of our mythology's four main cycles, the Mythological and the Ulster, and illustrating both with a story. Beforehand, this 21st century <i>mac léinn</i> (student, literally a son of learning) must examine the source material, our ancient manuscripts.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><img height="119" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/vkob7VDTIYzUd16Vk9yZhruhpCfSSV8Ist4oSPtSn4tM8Vqh5WQ4i8MGaKZASVU7HVdoH8NUtjGRp3a8vorDL16Mlo_cJ0n3300EbP2VwN8tOhKk19YnZpW2UR_U8Mwhlx4Dzk7-EbSpgmOzB-m2QiA=w119-h119" style="font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="119" />ramatis personae include druids deities and high priests, kings and a queen, and tribes including one that sounds like a contemporary traditional music band, the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tuatha Dé Danann </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(3)</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> The latter were an ancient race of gods who conquered and ruled Ireland long before humans (4). My brain-cells, dots or no dots, are being taxed from the outset. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><img height="126" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/98JF91o60laYZ0PiI0DVszE3Bb0nA9QU4sUug3Zw__gNsTDFASpp-G0vOlOEe5tq49MDTLL7PdFPUCrzerl3JFYc1j6VZWHfCE8bMSf7cXvE58XAWe-temF-ajS1GY8qAwyEwIaMKHlzPu4ezZkj-5I=w147-h126" style="font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="147" />he </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dé Danann</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">’s arrival in </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Brú na Bóinne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> displaced their predecessors </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">na Fir Bológa</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (strongmen of Mediterranean origin) to Connaught. They in turn were followed by the Milesians, regarded as ancestors of Ireland’s Celtic population. These Milesians defeated the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tuatha Dé</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> sending them to live under fairy mounds (</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">síthe)</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> at Uisneach, a sacred place of assembly associated with the druids and the festival of <i>Bealtaine</i> (5). Next came </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cúchalainn</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Craobh Rua</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (red branch) occupying the sacred stronghold </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Emain Macha</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (Navan Fort</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">)</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">; with the</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Fianna</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (warriors) led by Fionn MacCumhaill completing the four Cycles. All in all, these groups constituted a veritable cacophony of activity covering many centuries before Saint Patrick’s arrival with Christianity </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in the fifth century AD</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Manuscripts</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" id="docs-internal-guid-1ca61c9d-7fff-d133-398f-2ebed3661b6f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span style="border: medium; display: inline-block; height: 141px; overflow: hidden; width: 167px;"><img alt="Old engraved illustration of Letter S, decorative ornament" height="141" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/8jCkgWg2CXT_fvYyB9hIHKUwwIaoscTixvUGHzhQh7vVgGzqkrxHjodoOJQE18SGJ5XyerO5Zv4_HOdUX6Le3YcGVVLJN301tHyyfuUR9t_eKCTYDiQomHoEXbSwviwSDQMBlFunYUZ3lXV1pQzTt2g" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="167" /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">tories abound from the Children of Lir (the God of the Sea in Irish, Llyr in Welsh mythology), to the beautiful Deirdre of the Sorrows </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and her doomed romance with Naoise son of Úisliú</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (6), and leading to the epic of early Irish literature the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Táin bó Cúailgne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> or Cattle raid of Cooley - to provide an introductory flavour of myths. Proof of the existence and survival of the fables that accompany the Cycles appears in narratives, recorded in </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ancient </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">manuscripts with exceptional literacy and artistry by Christian monks from the 11th century onwards.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">These sages had for the first time in human history written down stories that had been passed down through the centuries solely by word of mouth, providing insights into prehistoric eras of life in Ireland. To them we owe gratitude as custodians and scribes of our cultural heritage. The main manuscripts intrigue not least because of their titles - the Book of Invasions, the Book of the Dun Cow, the Book of Leinster and the Yellow Book of Lecan. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Serendipitously, it was recently reported (7) that Trinity College Dublin’s Medieval Studies Manuscript Research Project </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(8)</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> had, by December 2023, digitised 60 documents or about 16,000 pages of text and artwork from its prized collection numbering 600 such manuscripts. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><img height="100" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/MB3ZBm5JPkkpE4qB4bECLO02XCmDph-RTGhrhtFtRG6S-1EHP2qa9zDHF5kuy4HQ__x3ynqSnvjTVtK6lzZ4u-CS_N7GJ5U2tn707LJy1V5HXqIcbhsDpoNG0-Qd4M0UllR7maU5GqKdPgXl__HwLEk=w131-h100" style="font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="131" />he digitised documents are now available to view. To quote one commentator, “the university’s collection of books and instruments has been brought to life through a dizzying array of projection mapping animations and immersive visuals (9).” In addition, the Book of Kells written in Latin about the Gospels can now be seen in animated film shown on a wraparound screen journeying to Ireland from the sacred Inner Hebridean island of Iona and its 6th century Abbey founded by the Irish Saint Columba (10). A trip to Dublin seems like an essential next step.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><img height="112" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/TucuvQzxfUooG__0cqTVn6ey5VOXfgC18jr5N6BVKAt42V7WD1qJtER7I2GHUB4cqkezmzz8uos8yHIIRfaqB680KKmiDsrY4Zax53E6_bQM_8AO2REJ9NTFr0__u4HciXstJUl4U6H1ZNk3IAT9bdY=w111-h112" style="font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="111" />inguistically, the principal language adopted by the manuscripts’ scribes was Irish. The scale and survival of Trinity’s collection says something about the significance of fables both in and before the 11th century here (as well as today). It is a de facto recognition that narrative was - and remains - an art apart. As Oscar winner Cillian Murphy replied to a question about growing Booker and Oscar nominations for Irish authors and actors, "we have always been a nation of story-tellers." </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whereas there are different ways to express stories - song, dance, art - in this essay we mean the oral telling and much later transfer to writing. In normal parlance, one would say </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">insím scéal duit </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">- I am telling you a story or - </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">is scéalaí mise</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> - I’m a storyteller. But legendary story-telling has always been an exalted activity, above the everyday. Hence, linguistic Irish has particular words for ancient wisdom. The compound word </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Seanchas</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> means lore (the adjectival prefix </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">sean</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> meaning ancient), the art of story-telling. Specific terminology such as </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">seanchaí</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (suggestive of a sage, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">saoi </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in Irish) is needed to describe “a custodian of tradition” or “a reciter of ancient lore.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">special vocabulary elevates and transfers the oral art of story-telling across to written form. And that’s before even mentioning the flamboyance and effort devoted to the artistry of the Gaelic font and colours used to portray with emphasis the manuscripts’ ancient wisdom.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Furthermore, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">dinnseanchas</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> translates as lore about places. The adjectival prefix </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">dionn</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> means eminent; as a noun, it means a fortified height. This lore includes fairy-mounds, holy wells, hill-forts, trees, ceremonial monuments. In recent centuries, it extends to the origins of place-names such as in townlands and geographical features which may also provide tantalising clues about their mythology. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Examples of locational intersections between mythology and archaeology are described eloquently by Manchán Magan (11). Our ancestors, he writes, were inspired by nature through myths and lore which have shaped a national identity that is embedded in the land. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> A theme in his analysis is that retaining connection with the natural world and place is crucial to our understanding of who we are.</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> On</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> 14 March 2024</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> he began a new documentary series on </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">TG4 </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">entitled <i>Ag Triall ar an Tobar</i> (in search for holy wells). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A propos linguistic subtleties, consider the manuscript titles taking two as examples. The Book of the Dun Cow or </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lebor Na Huidre</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> uses the word Lebor, in modern Irish </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">leabhar</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (pronounced like the English word lore). </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Na Huidre</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (sounding phonetically like the English word heir)</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">is the genitive Irish word </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">oidhre, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">derived from the nominative </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">odhar</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (12) (and pronounced in English phonetics as oar) meaning Dun Cow (greyish brown). Likewise the Book of Invasions, or </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lebor Gabala Erenn</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, uses the words </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Leabhar</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (book) and </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Éireann</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (Ireland itself). </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Gabala</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> stems from </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Gabhál</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, genitive </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">gabhála</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> - seizure, hence the Book of Invasions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Mythological Cycle - a story</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Book of Invasions lists all the ruling groups since the beginning of the world no less, as well as the battles they fought. The </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tuatha Dé Danann</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, the people of the Goddess Danú, were the first such group. The quintessential story of their era is the legend about the Children of Lir. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQWAAtTe-AbxcISxwjLZfrx4LKrI4kv1ti2Clvmri79cZhM8OqldMLFF7oN5_VotVX7terHU6ZwoIuzhzMxNY7f1E03UpnmOHMx73Wx3sOTIczuoiuJzIC-V3lOnCFcHGC0oIRHojhzSSay-khTI01yIxy-WF63iyC3ws1iJJQkcTg9g9izVUtZp3nZU/s2000/2024%2001%2023%20Garden-of-Remembrance-Children-Of-Lir-statue.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQWAAtTe-AbxcISxwjLZfrx4LKrI4kv1ti2Clvmri79cZhM8OqldMLFF7oN5_VotVX7terHU6ZwoIuzhzMxNY7f1E03UpnmOHMx73Wx3sOTIczuoiuJzIC-V3lOnCFcHGC0oIRHojhzSSay-khTI01yIxy-WF63iyC3ws1iJJQkcTg9g9izVUtZp3nZU/s320/2024%2001%2023%20Garden-of-Remembrance-Children-Of-Lir-statue.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Children of Lir sculpture (1966) in the Garden of Remembrance Dublin</span> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A side-story which </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">appeals</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, given my upbringing surrounded by music and instruments, centres on the high priest of the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tuatha Dé</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (plural of </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">tuath</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, the people of </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dia</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> or God - The Chosen people). He was Danú’s father, <i>The</i> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Dagda</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (meaning Good God) (13).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Dagda could control the seasons using a magic harp called the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uaithne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (modern Irish for a prop; or appropriately in music, meaning consonance; </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">cruit </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">is Irish for the small harp, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">cláirseach</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> being the classical harp). To change the season he could play a certain chord. Made from native oak, the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uaithne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> was a powerful tool which he would take to battle, as its chords would exhort his men and ensure victory.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Tuatha Dé Danann’s mortal enemies, the Formorians - described as a cruel people and led by Balor of the Evil Eye - plotted to steal the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uaithne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. They would learn its secrets and bring it into battle, hoping to defeat the Tuatha Dé and rule Ireland. The violent Formorians broke into his lair and purloined his </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uaithne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. No matter how hard they tried, however, they simply could not get it to play. Any time they ran their fingers over its strings, all that resounded was</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> silence</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> .</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When The Dagda noticed that his cherished harp was missing, he gathered a group of warriors to get it back. He called out to </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uaithne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and it sprang to life, flew through the air towards him, killing nine Fomorians (maybe collateral damage, says I). He grabbed his </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uaithne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and effortlessly played three chords. The first one made the Fomorians burst into tears and collapse in despair. The second made them erupt into laughter and toss their weapons aside. The final chord sent them into a slumber, allowing The Dagda and his men time to escape unharmed.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The three chords of </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Uaithne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> are </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Goltraí </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(slow sad music), </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Geantraí </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (happy lively music), </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Suantraí </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(a lullaby). </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Geantraí</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is, incidentally, the name of a traditional music programme broadcast by the television channel TG4. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To be accredited as a Master Musician in Ancient Ireland, the performer had to be able to induce the audience to weep, to dance and to snooze. Entertainments (the ancient equivalent of nights out on the town) began with sorrowful tunes, leading to lively tunes, the evening ending in tones designed to induce slumber - just like many’s a “trad” music </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">seisiún</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> today. A Dagda legacy is that the harp became and remains as Ireland’s national emblem. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Two postscripts. Apart being home to these ancient manuscripts Trinity College in Dublin also houses the 1400 AD “Brian Ború harp.” And a new BBC television documentary about the work of archaeo-musicologists on instruments including the harp and the music of Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology is recommended for potential parallels and applicability to Ireland (14).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_5tFvKMj7Bk-A86Io35ddjy3hzoTBarL_ZhkKgfEyG93xgwFNaoEEYVRiqWUD1ScuObN55FiC0fwPIwFnG6bD8PVY-3yqh7vGqTXW55ovytMjxTyUsHyNLP86sphYNwY2jHmQA7OsCaMDr3UZ4ygXyX2KD1UrlMCcT_DW4ZbbBWOwKsfXQEbuybpGio/s700/2024%2003%2019%20BrianBor%C3%BAHarpTCD.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_5tFvKMj7Bk-A86Io35ddjy3hzoTBarL_ZhkKgfEyG93xgwFNaoEEYVRiqWUD1ScuObN55FiC0fwPIwFnG6bD8PVY-3yqh7vGqTXW55ovytMjxTyUsHyNLP86sphYNwY2jHmQA7OsCaMDr3UZ4ygXyX2KD1UrlMCcT_DW4ZbbBWOwKsfXQEbuybpGio/s320/2024%2003%2019%20BrianBor%C3%BAHarpTCD.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Brian Ború harp" TCD<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The Ulster Cycle - a story</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The central text of the Ulster Cycle is the </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Táin Bó Cúailgne</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> story. It’s about a war declared by Connacht’s Queen Medb and her husband Ailill against the King of Ulster over wealth, the aim being to steal Ulster’s stud bull </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Donn Cúailnge</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Because of a </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">geis</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (a curse) on Ulster’s king and warriors, the role of combatant fell to Cúchulainn, the hound of Ulster (15). Kinsella’s translation from the Irish manuscript (16) describes Cúchulainn’s </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">riastradh </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(old Irish for a “warp spasm”). Its graphic prose doesn't hold back:- </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“malignant mists and spurts of fire flickered red in the vaprous clouds boiling above his head, so fierce was his fury”.….“tall & thick steady & strong rose up from the dead centre of his skull a straight spout of black blood darkly and magically smoking….. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“When that spasm had run though the high hero Cúchulainn he stepped into his chariot to find his enemies and killed 100, then 200, 300, 400, then stopped at 500… </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“he threw up this circle round about the four great provinces of Ireland to stop them fleeing, he went into the middle of them and mowed down great ramparts of his enemies corpses </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“this slaughter is one of the 3 uncountable slaughters on the Táin.... </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“In this great carnage of Muirthiemne Plain, Cúchulainn slew 130 kings, dogs and horses, women and children and rabble of all kinds, not one man in three escaped without his thigh bone or head being smashed and when the battle was over Cúchulainn left without a scratch on himself or his helpers or horses.”</span></p></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whoever the monk was, the author of this account (as translated by Kinsella), he knew eacatly how to compose a horror story and how to communicate it with enough drip-feed to petrify readers. The monastic scribe had a redoubtable literary technique and a polished nous in describing armageddon. In the aftermath of Irish successes at the aforementioned Oscars, were he around today he could well have become a Hollywood screeen-writing nominee. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Even allowing for my exclusion of much detail, the Táin's message is reminiscent of today’s wars, such as applying similar militaristic words like defence and slaughter. Seemingly 21st century leaders have learned no lessons from the past. In Irish the alliterative saying <i>Filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire</i> fits<i>;</i> a French equivalent likewise - <i>Plus ca change plus c'est la meme chose</i>. </span><span class="HwtZe" lang="ga"><span class="jCAhz ChMk0b"><span class="ryNqvb"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Cúchulainn acts with apparent impunity, like a killing machine. His status as a “high hero,” or being so described by a Christian devotee, is debatable. Is this really a role model for Mother Ireland?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Two QUB academics (17) have scrutinised Kinsella’s account of Cúchulainn including his translation of the day after the Táin slaughter. Their analysis includes these descriptives supporting an important hypothesis:- </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Cúchulainn’s hair, “brown at the base, blood-red in the middle, a crown of golden yellow, settled in 3 coils on the cleft at the back of his head…</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“4 dimples on each cheek, yellow green crimson and blue, 7 bright pupils, eye jewels, each foot had 7 toes, each hand 7 fingers, breast broach of light gold & silver with gold inlays.... blinding brilliance.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">McCafferty and Baillie say that this account “leaves little doubt that people had seen a comet, close enough to make out the details.” Most of these elements are impossible, they argue, if you try to make Cúchulainn into a human hero; conversely, all the elements be they coloured dimples or blindingly bright jewels could be explained as interpretations of a close comet and its coma. They describe comets as “hairy stars with dust tails appearing as long hair streaming behind.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Their book presents this image of Donati’s 1858 Comet:- </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLiNSTzKF1K7yv91EBwuhdQmTOfYtZpJuqv4rgdQpGpK981mRDh3x1or8WmJR9DpDNcKVEiuy7HYfk8oJEv1utRUZUQTX8WdnW2OB-XYq0TxJisiPbhojHBUGczr8bcTS5wmeezEa-4Uj8leCcuta5PENxW_xpGZO78sWvFa5e0aay_Lka-619K1QCEY/s960/2024%2003%2007%20MythsDonatiComet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="960" height="549" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLiNSTzKF1K7yv91EBwuhdQmTOfYtZpJuqv4rgdQpGpK981mRDh3x1or8WmJR9DpDNcKVEiuy7HYfk8oJEv1utRUZUQTX8WdnW2OB-XYq0TxJisiPbhojHBUGczr8bcTS5wmeezEa-4Uj8leCcuta5PENxW_xpGZO78sWvFa5e0aay_Lka-619K1QCEY/w640-h549/2024%2003%2007%20MythsDonatiComet.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In further support, the QUB experts refer to Cúchulainn’s final encounter - his combat with Ferdia - quoting, among other passages, this gory piece:-</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“Cúchulainn warped into his fury spasm. He blew up and swelled like a bladder full of breath and bent himself in a fearful hideous arch, mottled and terrifying, and the huge high hero loomed straight up over Ferdia, vast as a Formorian giant.” </span></p></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">McCafferty and Baillie describe the blood-curdling encounter with Ferdia sticking his sword inside Cúchulainn, “turning the ford crimson with his battle gore;” and Cúchulainn attacking Ferdia with his </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">gae bolga</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, a spear that (wait for it) opens its 30 barbs inside the body, killing him. Is the scribe justifying the use of lethal weapons to defend something or somebody?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To reconnect with the linguistic sub-plot and the adjective </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">bolga, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the Mythological Cycle’s first-recorded battle pitched the Tuatha Dé Danann against </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">na Fir Bológa, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">aka the Fir Bolgs, barrel-chested men from Spain or Greece. These Fir Bolgs somehow conjure up modern images of Irish rugby's super-fit prop forwards. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Bolga</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> is the same Irish adjective as </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">bológ, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">now used to describe the spear, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">gae,</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> as it was with the burly men, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">fir. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Spear in today’s Irish is </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ga. Bológ</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> means a strong heavily-built man; it also means a bullock. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The QUB authors’ interpretation continues in support of the Comet thesis thus:-</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">The imagery of “two blazing torches,” “gift-scatterers” and “a fearful hideous arch” sit comfortably with the comet hypothesis as does the turning of water red; and</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">“When the comet is far away Cúchulainn is not heard of and peace reigns in Ireland. When the comet is near earth Cúchulainn and the others get up to all sorts of supernatural shenanigans.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><img alt="Illuminated, Medieval Initial Letter B combining animal body parts from a Lion, tendrils and endless Celtic knot ornaments" class="js-img-protect container-absolute to-all opacity-zero" height="110" src="https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/05/10/82/90/240_F_510829025_XDlCsj3lzq6VchSuLZY6JglgDr51MSsc.jpg" width="144" /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">y chance I found a musical parallel between this bellicosity and The Dagda story. It might, however slightly, alleviate distressing impressions left from Cúchulainn’s combative fury. An authoritative musicologist has reported that the original title of the anthemic and haunting Londonderry Air (O Danny Boy) was “Eimear’s Farewell to Cúchulainn, (18)” his sometime wife (but that’s another story). An age-old question occurs - could Eimear be the “anon” composer of Ulster’s most beloved ballad ever? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><img alt="Medieval, Celtic Initial Letter G combining animal body parts from a Dog and a dragon with endless knot ornaments in four different versions" class="js-search-result-thumbnail responsive-img container--focus" data-content-id="508024047" height="67" id="details-enlarged-image" itemprop="thumbnail" src="https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/05/08/02/40/1000_F_508024047_NOTcB2SaeqXyQDsfb7RPHzt4ruPl14jl.jpg" width="38" /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">iven that our ancient predecessors lived in harmony with nature (unlike ourselves) (19), equally aware of the planets, their design accuracy of monuments is uncanny. Long long ago - some 5,200 years to be more precise - the mid-Neolithic builders of Newgrange constructed a roof box over the passage entrance. On winter solstice the rising sun sends in a shaft of light that penetrates 19 metres hitting the triple spiral motif in the back burial chamber (20) to open the vortex into “the other world” for the dead. In addition, those neolithic builders were suffieciently skilled and knowledgeable to line up Newgrange and other monuments across Ireland to the central point of Uisneach.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">These facts adds veracity to claims about residents of this little island, Ireland's ancients, as observers of and influenced by celestial events. <i>Fadó fadó.</i> While avoiding any temptation to sound far-fetched - and taking the surreptitious opportunity to add the Aurora Borealis - those stellar apparitions might indeed include Cúchulainn and other such passing comets.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Passing comments</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="border: medium; display: inline-block; height: 68px; overflow: hidden; width: 111px;"><img height="78" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/05fuhleapm-YUFImJMzyOeghch-m2-FW_byyjEODZ53pLe9KMw_3rE0oSyBP53qHz0u_PV11-zFQZPrKsN_s0WEwvGdxCw306PbMoZiNltyOUZNRoaaFTgQNwlG8zokecCEwwD0AkW6nMuBfHIY75IE=w116-h78" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="116" /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">any of the legendary invasions are said to be based on actual historical events. In which case real time must be relevant. The Milesians, for instance, the group which ruled Ireland after the Tuatha Dé Danann and are regarded as Celts, the Gaelic people are said to have invaded around the first century BCE (21). According to the Ulster Cycle Cúchulainn’s death aged 27 is reported in the Annals of Tighernach (</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Tiarna</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> meaning Lord) to have occurred in 39AD (22).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The archaeologist Ruairí Ó Baoill (23) points to evidence of Ireland’s first settlers existing at Mount Sandel near Coleraine. Excavation indicates occupation dating from the mesolithic period. "Their sturdy huts represent the only definite mesolithic houses discovered in Ireland."</span><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Flint tools have been unearthed, indicating that Stone Age hunters camped there to fish salmon in the weir. It shows that Mountsandel Wood is the earliest known human settlement in Ireland (24) dating to between 7600 and 7900BC. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Without taking legend literally on timescale, thoughts occur about reconciling histories of the first century BCE Milesians and maybe even the first century AD Cúchulainn with archaeological evidence. The Mountsandel settlers would have been living here seven millennia before those early Celts were born or before the disguised (or metaphorical) Cúchulainn soared high.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This mythical journey has a way to go if I’m ever going to be able to replicate the artistry of my ancestors and join up dots.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><img alt="Grunge Celtic Header with Braid Ring and with Celt Triskele" class="js-search-result-thumbnail responsive-img container--focus" data-content-id="749521040" height="207" id="details-enlarged-image" itemprop="thumbnail" src="https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/07/49/52/10/1000_F_749521040_7r4HyA7ypXH9NjPYoHeLhnIqfJWbvSUU.jpg" width="604" /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">©Michael McSorley 2024</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><u>References</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">. "A Journey through Irish Myths and Legends" Janice Witherspoon Queen's University Belfast 10 week course</span><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-15ec2907-7fff-5055-7680-e11b04821122" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Talk at Black Box Belfast 18 March 2024 https://imaginebelfast.com/event/manchan-magan-listening-to-the-land/</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-fefc23ce-7fff-bb0f-4898-b17ed1ebd5f9" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">In concert at Ulster Hall Belfast Tradfest 16 March 2024 </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-fefc23ce-7fff-bb0f-4898-b17ed1ebd5f9" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.ulsterhall.co.uk/what-s-on/frankie-gavin-d%C3%A9-dannan/</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">4. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-33643bc6-7fff-2aa8-ff0d-ab65f4f25197" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Encyclopedia Britannica</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-33643bc6-7fff-2aa8-ff0d-ab65f4f25197" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">5. www.irisharchaeology.ie Mayday and the Celtic festival of Bealtaine </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-33643bc6-7fff-2aa8-ff0d-ab65f4f25197" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">6. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/legendary-deirdre-sorrows?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">fbclid=IwAR1LSjrvHm_Hy7M33zc-BpPHIVMP4zKTvXe1-uG8kkKqEsTr9k5i2Mu7mFI_aem_AZh1C-Ns4vE_</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">BNSUqtQp0E0WpnOvFxDAylikntp-sPJhnYuJQO9XxvkA2jcpey3C1zk</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">7. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-431b0e2e-7fff-cf2a-3a6c-eebb3863f38e" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Irish Times The Ticket 2 December 2023</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“Down to the Finest Detail” Henrietta McKervey</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">8. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-dbe86314-7fff-728d-80e5-1e2aac40a4ee" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/catalog</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-dbe86314-7fff-728d-80e5-1e2aac40a4ee" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">9. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb12deb0-7fff-1110-1e0e-3cfda8c96819" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Irish Times The Ticket 20 January 2024 Una Mullally</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb12deb0-7fff-1110-1e0e-3cfda8c96819" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">10. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-b1fdec28-7fff-7bf7-b115-2c0cafe5ed30" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">RTÉ News 16 January 2024 </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/rtenews/videos/6954537057993222" style="font-family: arial; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.facebook.com/rtenews/videos/6954537057993222</span></a><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb12deb0-7fff-1110-1e0e-3cfda8c96819" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bb12deb0-7fff-1110-1e0e-3cfda8c96819" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">11. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-f13d4be5-7fff-85aa-2a0f-ab5dd9a07e8f" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Manchán Magan "Listen to the Land Speak" 2022</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">12. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.focloir.ie" id="docs-internal-guid-2cccf83f-7fff-a6c2-35c8-27ed472f6d7a" style="font-family: arial; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">www.focloir.ie</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/odhar" style="font-family: arial; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/odhar</span></a><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-21f87e0d-7fff-e595-e2a2-b535611a5fda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">13. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-1ddb6cda-7fff-22ea-f9ec-8270beb1294a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Irish-Antiquities-Division-Collections/Irish-Antiquities-Articles/</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1ddb6cda-7fff-22ea-f9ec-8270beb1294a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The-Winter-solstice-at-Newgrange</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1ddb6cda-7fff-22ea-f9ec-8270beb1294a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">14. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-19c5d972-7fff-8e75-d6ad-7637722d795a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">BBC4 4 Mar 2024 “Discovering the Music of Antiquity. The search for period instruments”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-19c5d972-7fff-8e75-d6ad-7637722d795a" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">15. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-7fe31432-7fff-c83b-6b5a-117f1eaf7221" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Reflected in the modern surname </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">MacConUladh </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">McCullagh - son of a hound of Ulster</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">16. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-9d1083da-7fff-2618-dc5d-4acdea5d4722" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Táin Translated from the Irish Epic Tain bó Cuailnge Thomas Kinsella 1969</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-9d1083da-7fff-2618-dc5d-4acdea5d4722" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">17. "</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-945e18dd-7fff-0ddb-51ff-eca09d34845c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Celtic Gods Comets in Irish Mythology" Patrick McCafferty & Mike Baillie. TempusPublishing 2005</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-945e18dd-7fff-0ddb-51ff-eca09d34845c" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">18. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-6e23820e-7fff-0963-4034-c9fd1edb1bda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">BBC Radio3 Invitation Concert 29 February 2024 D Byers Programme Notes C.V Stanford Irish Rhapsody no.1</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6e23820e-7fff-0963-4034-c9fd1edb1bda" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">19. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-7fe8991e-7fff-8dcd-a148-aec0004551ff" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">BBC News 8 March 2024 Lough Neagh: toxic algae potentially waking again</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7fe8991e-7fff-8dcd-a148-aec0004551ff" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">20. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-03067f0d-7fff-e6c0-fba3-6e434e89357b" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Irish-Antiquities-Division-Collections/Irish-Antiquities-Articles/</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-03067f0d-7fff-e6c0-fba3-6e434e89357b" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The-Winter-solstice-at-Newgrange</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-03067f0d-7fff-e6c0-fba3-6e434e89357b" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">21. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/lir" id="docs-internal-guid-42586304-7fff-4f46-c55d-7754affe3fb5" style="font-family: arial; text-decoration: none;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/lir</span></a><span id="docs-internal-guid-03067f0d-7fff-e6c0-fba3-6e434e89357b" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-03067f0d-7fff-e6c0-fba3-6e434e89357b" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">22. "</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-700b185b-7fff-73c6-e688-8c1ff89abb49" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Celtic Gods Comets in Irish Mythology" Patrick McCafferty & Mike Baillie 2005</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-700b185b-7fff-73c6-e688-8c1ff89abb49" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">23. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-babaa2fc-7fff-69df-45e0-11845837eae0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">The Archaeology of Ulster: from first colonists to modern times Ruairí ó Baoill QUB O/L Jan-Mar 2020</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-babaa2fc-7fff-69df-45e0-11845837eae0" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">24. </span><span id="docs-internal-guid-40b031c6-7fff-3a7b-68d7-f441bee76140" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">P C Woodman 2015 "Ireland’s First Settlers. Time and the Mesolithic" Oxbow Books</span></p><p><br /></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-32448320644477755402024-01-17T01:48:00.000-08:002024-01-17T01:48:48.125-08:00A Musical Epiphany<p><span style="font-family: arial;">As winter takes its grip and snow falls, what better way is there </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> to grow into the new year than to </span><span style="font-family: arial;">reflect on some of the best of last year's exceptional concerts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Allow me therefore to highlight a small number of musical gigs from 2023. Having listed a personal selection of its best books last month (1) just before Christmas, it feels appropriate to emphasise the joy of live musical entertainment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And, following the recent feast of the Epiphany, a quotation from the great bard's Twelfth Night fits the bill - <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span> </span>"If music be the food of love play on, give me excess of it...."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There is no particular order of priority except to say that every single one of the following four concerts warrants special mention. That's because each gig makes the list because of some unique quality, as will be revealed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil Clonard Monastery</u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On 31 March last year, a choral group from Dublin performed Rachmaninoff's epic All Night Vigil, or Vespers, in Belfast. The venue for this masterpiece of the Russian Orthodox liturgy was the hallowed surrounds of Clonard Monastery. I had never heard Chamber Choir Ireland perform live previously. The artistic director is Paul Hillier from England who, for example, established the Hillyard Ensemble back in the 1970's. I had once previously heard the Vespers sung </span><span style="font-family: arial;">in Omagh </span><span style="font-family: arial;">by the celebrated Chorus of the Mariinsky Orchestra from St Petersburg. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My abiding memory of the latter's rendition was the startlingly deep sounds of the basso profundo voices. I did not think that an Irish choir could achieve the same or even similar quality, but Chamber Choir Ireland did so with aplomb. Adding to the uniqueness of the occasion was the fact that late March 2023 marked the 150th anniversary of many people's favourite composer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfw1YDsTfFzAyIjfii-an5-9x2k0Kw80eXxMIsxnz56Ty8dNiltS0DeMwPifNLMiT24EyM573PQ19HEPh0ylZrb-N7VQMmDtmbaA_5jdwvXDfI1-YHms4MCGpBRVIVR2YEXQQykM-0XvyYwn6eMkTOjdlvJZ8FjleaKnvBMDbUBtp1A-StEn1s_pjyxE/s960/2023%2003%2031%20ChamberChoirIreland%20Clonard%20RachVespers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfw1YDsTfFzAyIjfii-an5-9x2k0Kw80eXxMIsxnz56Ty8dNiltS0DeMwPifNLMiT24EyM573PQ19HEPh0ylZrb-N7VQMmDtmbaA_5jdwvXDfI1-YHms4MCGpBRVIVR2YEXQQykM-0XvyYwn6eMkTOjdlvJZ8FjleaKnvBMDbUBtp1A-StEn1s_pjyxE/s320/2023%2003%2031%20ChamberChoirIreland%20Clonard%20RachVespers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chamber Choir Ireland Rachmaninoff's Vespers Clonard Monastery<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>Harps Alive Rosemary Street First Presbyterian Church</u> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Exactly six months later on 30 September, another unique event took place in a different ecclesiastical setting, this time in the First Presbyterian Church at Rosemary Street in Belfast. Entitled Harps Alive (An Chruit Beo as Gaeilge), this was the finale concert in a series of events demonstrating the history and beauty of the Irish harp. The impact of hearing a mixture of groups such as from the fifteen students drawn from both jurisdictions to a pair of award-winning experienced harpers was intense and gorgeous to hear.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZnT59NEci2ouaZLsIRUiwHGdR6z5QyjtG1qyGxUcI-9PnjOke1eKv0xMZc2WE4KasieLnUMwoaNoNJMZQ41TeROPtc1kKhu1JNZYdo-4Ga4faGB05-U_rPL6rqsW1NKx81eIM7PllNiVD5zOPldAwU52Px_coiKzQniLu2QX7hHMlqAnSsujC210Qok/s720/2023%2003%2026%20HarpersAlive.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZnT59NEci2ouaZLsIRUiwHGdR6z5QyjtG1qyGxUcI-9PnjOke1eKv0xMZc2WE4KasieLnUMwoaNoNJMZQ41TeROPtc1kKhu1JNZYdo-4Ga4faGB05-U_rPL6rqsW1NKx81eIM7PllNiVD5zOPldAwU52Px_coiKzQniLu2QX7hHMlqAnSsujC210Qok/s320/2023%2003%2026%20HarpersAlive.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Harps Alive Ensemble Rosemary St Presbyterian Church<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A particular purpose was to showcase the early Irish music collected by the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century organist and collector Edward Bunting, whose </span><span style="font-family: arial;">archives are </span><span style="font-family: arial;">now stored safely in Queen's University Belfast (2). The original Belfast Harp Festival had taken place in July 1792 with Bunting recording the music and noting the techniques of the harpers. His archives are to this day quoted regularly by big name traditional musicians of the modern era as the key source in their performances. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>Studio Symphony Orchestra 75th anniversary</u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's impossible to ignore the invaluable contribution of the Ulster Orchestra to life here, both in its major series of platform concerts and with its multi-faceted programmes reaching out into the wider community. Every year contains so many highlights. For this article's purposes, however, it's opportune to mention another orchestra.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This example takes us back again to March 2023, to a concert featuring classical music performed by the Studio Symphony Orchestra. Celebrating its 75th anniversary in Belfast's Elmwood Hall close to Queen's University, this orchestra comprises of non-professional musicians from all across Northern Ireland. As such it always attracts a big audience of families and friends leading to a particularly convivial atmosphere. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QO3kvO6CBGKJhU4mdPDx_zsMaQbXDM01oin9owobNv1EzLtU06N1VKk6ASn_hntcHRtQEPRqKFqx51fWuQBE9ete8EwXiZaBYo5Fx3pijp62GoD7nOz1MHTpCgBUAPFKCgRGvKwB8SBoxc0KXYkYwLCFdDXecFlXjaiH2_rzVY1-fSZOm4jAOh4CY-s/s868/2023%2003%2025%20StudioSymphony75th.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="629" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QO3kvO6CBGKJhU4mdPDx_zsMaQbXDM01oin9owobNv1EzLtU06N1VKk6ASn_hntcHRtQEPRqKFqx51fWuQBE9ete8EwXiZaBYo5Fx3pijp62GoD7nOz1MHTpCgBUAPFKCgRGvKwB8SBoxc0KXYkYwLCFdDXecFlXjaiH2_rzVY1-fSZOm4jAOh4CY-s/w232-h320/2023%2003%2025%20StudioSymphony75th.jpg" width="232" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Under the baton of David Openshaw, formerly principal timpanist with the Ulster Orchestra, the concert featured Shostakovich's festival overture, Mozart's piano concerto in E Flat, and </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Shostakovich's boistrous 12th symphony. The orchestra's guest was the renowned Belfast-born pianist Michael McHale, himself celebrating his 40th birthday at the time. The combination of excellent music with two big birthdays resulted in a well-earned and rousing standing ovation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>The Maxwell Quartet with Bríghde Chaimbeul & Linda Buckley Duncairn Arts Centre<br /></u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The most recent of these four musical gigs took place in November just past, part of the attraction for me being that I hadn't been in the venue before. The Duncairn Arts Centre is a former Presbyterian Church on the north side of the city with easy access off the westlink road - especially on a Sunday as was this concert (3). Following this moment of revelation, I've become aware that this year the Duncairn will be celebrating its tenth anniversary.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The event's novelty was that The Maxwell Quartet is an string ensemble from Scotland best known for classical and baroque repertoire. Tonight's programme, however, offered something new and different. The audience was treated to a mix of Scottish traditional music with the quartet preceeded by a solo set with Bríghde Chaimbeul playing Scottish smallpipes. The Maxwell renditions of a number of pieces included Hebridean dances and a haunting plainchant from Inchcolm Abbey (4), a 12th century monastic priory prominently sited on an off-shore island in the Firth of Forth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2gd6jjIg8tcCo6uLlde94kzPVdH64bOL63jNW9VRcMBbm0ssP9KxLjeeNeC4ooqbmxrx4Il527rLth2_T9ag_tTxW7w2Rx2GtJURnFVDn63Z54Dr-wzUsLeX9Na9S74CD2p952dJUWiYForEPGcUs2AVLOGMF3v08WN_67RIVMYASdkH8SIo9lG0WIU/s960/2023%2009%20DuncairnMaxwellQuartet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="960" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU2gd6jjIg8tcCo6uLlde94kzPVdH64bOL63jNW9VRcMBbm0ssP9KxLjeeNeC4ooqbmxrx4Il527rLth2_T9ag_tTxW7w2Rx2GtJURnFVDn63Z54Dr-wzUsLeX9Na9S74CD2p952dJUWiYForEPGcUs2AVLOGMF3v08WN_67RIVMYASdkH8SIo9lG0WIU/s320/2023%2009%20DuncairnMaxwellQuartet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Maxwell Quartet & Bríghde Chaimbeul at Duncairn Arts Centre<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RqnJXMKd2Ux_-sVyQBRt8cf1mLTB0PswhFULF2h40930QP1B4bi-4sT7l6WeMqMPwE6wuZS_VFtfLiImWWURRHYM4h0p0Y3wXoioj-bmpmNu-mkoH-4CXQIRYzfrRIMGLv7elTkHoOVlmcr7Eck6PVie-vkr52v_zIlsP-C1a_9Z8IMgADPDp4HkAYQ/s960/2023%2011%2021%20DuncairnMaxwellQuartet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="704" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_RqnJXMKd2Ux_-sVyQBRt8cf1mLTB0PswhFULF2h40930QP1B4bi-4sT7l6WeMqMPwE6wuZS_VFtfLiImWWURRHYM4h0p0Y3wXoioj-bmpmNu-mkoH-4CXQIRYzfrRIMGLv7elTkHoOVlmcr7Eck6PVie-vkr52v_zIlsP-C1a_9Z8IMgADPDp4HkAYQ/w470-h640/2023%2011%2021%20DuncairnMaxwellQuartet.jpg" width="470" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In the second half the quartet treated us to a new trad-styled Irish piece entitled Thar Farraige (Gaelic for Over Sea). It was composed by the Munster musician Linda Buckley who introduced it as well as adding the musical electronics. Inspiring to sample not just a fine new venue but also uplifting to witness performers pushing our own boundaries, perhaps even towards further musical epiphanies. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2024</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">References<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. https://michaelmcsorleyculture.blogspot.com/2023/12/books-of-year.html</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. https://omeka.qub.ac.uk/exhibits/show/edwardbuntingcollection/edwardbuntingpublications</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">3. https://www.theduncairn.com/events/maxwell4</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">4. https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/inchcolm-abbey-p247601<br /></span></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-45000020296028393372023-12-19T14:02:00.000-08:002023-12-19T14:02:46.768-08:00Books of the year<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's always inspiring to read so many pages </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">in the weekend newspapers</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> with recommendations from authors journalists and critics listing their favourite books as the</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> year ends</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, let me suggest a few titles that might appeal, potential Christmas presents. It's two and a half years since I last compiled such a list (1). Most of my selections are of books published in 2023, the best of those that I have read this year.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before this, however, I must pay tribute to all of the authors whose creativity transports readers so vividly, setting us as witnesses into places actions and time-zones, both real and imagined. At the same time, I'm reminded of what may or may not be some people's image of writers. </span></span><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUipzglCY4JoAC8MiowXyJXYlN0QQXFlebZQlG3DOET2HM0n-q5Heo_ED7wJebVvwrpJdMrCIy5tUmJvoEmoBm-KBh1xyemNATLlD0tIXFHtAJJwWKXkmsDSF4_bQdAXyGSnJrrR7K44nwSdHzRVpYBdvEtQiON5BQIYaw_vjeSleuLK_QS-2UOUhrZU/s960/2023%2012%2017%20Books.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="792" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUipzglCY4JoAC8MiowXyJXYlN0QQXFlebZQlG3DOET2HM0n-q5Heo_ED7wJebVvwrpJdMrCIy5tUmJvoEmoBm-KBh1xyemNATLlD0tIXFHtAJJwWKXkmsDSF4_bQdAXyGSnJrrR7K44nwSdHzRVpYBdvEtQiON5BQIYaw_vjeSleuLK_QS-2UOUhrZU/w330-h400/2023%2012%2017%20Books.jpg" width="330" /></a></span></span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This time last year "<i>Act of Oblivion" </i>written by <i>Robert Harris</i> was selected by the Times as its historic fiction book ot 2022. As soon as the paperback edition was published this year, I snapped up a copy and - was not disappointed. Set in Cromwellian England, this 550-page epic novel tells the spell-binding story of the murder of King Charles I and the ruthless pursuit of fugitives by the secretary of the regicide committee. Set in the context of his work across different and more recent eras in our history, Harris's genius for narrative warrants public attention and respect. As such, this is a candidate for my novel of the year.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another classic - in my opinion - albeit hailing from the previous year is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Klara and the Sun"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kazuo Ishiguro</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2017. As a sign of the author's prescience, his superb novel's theme has become an even bigger theme in many ways </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this year</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Artificial Intelligence. Set in the near future, relevant to our era, this novel is both topical and worrying in equal measure.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the international front, Scandinavian noir continues to grab the imagination if only because there is a continuing supply of excellent authors and of icey locations catering for that bleak atmospherics fix. This year I found </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"You Can't See Me"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It's part of the author's "Forbidden Iceland" series. A family reunion in remote Iceland turns out to be at least as scary as you might desire and expect.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Towards the end of the year, I examined the bookshelves at home for another read, being too lazy to brave the winter storms to buy something new. To my delight, and with thanks to my late wife's book-buying habit, I have discovered an author familiar to many but new to me. One novel is entitled </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Leaving Home"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> published in 2005, the other </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Undue Influence"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is from 1999. Their author (now deceased) is the art historian </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anita Brookner</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> whose style and pacing is such a contrast to Noir, to crime or to political fast-paced and page-turning thrillers. She tells stories using proper prose and syntax about seemingly uncomplicated everyday lives and featuring few characters. Both novels centre on a thoughtful female lead who is preoccupied with internally analysing life and relationships. She communicates in a calming manner. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULYLx3Y9DnYFcEBiSjySgYrViWklsDwj1-J3GsEgiZCir64zwqReYmtSw1g_Q2_BIgMabTCMaZyUVvbAHYLcr7Ot9ECDb9z3kAk5jMO4uedFRWlvSBH1kwX5EvXzLzFuYSmEAUXDAWjdqFHDbwNEihjAmDrdK_Cktrri2ZweyC3iidRv9gn5QlMPRgcM/s960/2023%2012%2019%20Books%202023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="634" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULYLx3Y9DnYFcEBiSjySgYrViWklsDwj1-J3GsEgiZCir64zwqReYmtSw1g_Q2_BIgMabTCMaZyUVvbAHYLcr7Ot9ECDb9z3kAk5jMO4uedFRWlvSBH1kwX5EvXzLzFuYSmEAUXDAWjdqFHDbwNEihjAmDrdK_Cktrri2ZweyC3iidRv9gn5QlMPRgcM/w132-h200/2023%2012%2019%20Books%202023.jpg" width="132" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Examples of the opposite style - rapid, action-packed crime thrillers - came my way this year from two well-known American authors. <i>David Baldacci's</i> published his latest </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>"Long Shadows" </i></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">about FBI agent Amos Decker and the murder of a federal judge. It is complete with all sorts of twists and turns which kept me going with 575 pages to be turned; as did his 600-page crime thriller <i>"The 6:20 Man."</i> I learned much about the rasping greed of some New York traders. His novels may be long but time flies as each involved plot evolves relentlessly. </span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other author that fits broadly into this category is <i>John Grisham</i>. Two new books by him grabbed my attention. <i>"Sparring partners" </i>marks a change of style consisting of three stand-alone shortish stories. Their themes concentrating on legal dramas will reassure Grisham fans. His other book this year was <i>"The Boys from Biloxi." </i>This involved a more apparent style change in which Grisham has written an almost Baldacci-esque blockbuster. A first novel from his pen running to over 500 pages, this one is a legal drama set in a coastal location with dire complications unfolding for owners of gambling casinos and strip joints.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another author deserving of a mention has two unrelated and thematically contrasting novels on my list. One is <i>"The Undertaking"</i> and the other is <i>"The Colony."</i> Both are the work of<i> Audrey Magee</i>. The former is a love story against the backdrop of the German invasion of Russia in World War 2; while the latter, which was long-listed for the 2022 Booker Prize, is a movingly haunting tale about survival and romance </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on an idyllic island</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> off the west coast of Ireland as threats to the Irish language lurk.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My choice for the non-fiction book of the year is <i>Manchán Magan's "Listen to the land Speak." </i> Magan is an acknowledged expert on Irish folklore and linguistics. The originality of this book is its stunning ability to bring pre-historical verbal accounts from Irish mythology to intersect with archaeology. Using clues from a range of sources such as place names geography and local legends he manages to place certain myths to ancient sites that local people have always known about. This book is a follow-up to his earlier work about Irish linguistics "Thirty-two Words for Field."</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI520rzZE47Lz4ikPRfRm2HHbORLKqRnLye7i322xy3inpqJVAcIoPD5TA4ub59TOs_PveEknCUnrIIjNvF9OgBjzqNaHDkmUzIk0QpyNT83E5gWI7PxlOokVtZUaKPLrSreyanx1IGjYm2x4Rqq0PS3OedxY7eIUeGR0bhQmaHtMM6sIgXIcEhKsM_a8/s825/2023%2012%2019%20M%20Mag%C3%A1n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI520rzZE47Lz4ikPRfRm2HHbORLKqRnLye7i322xy3inpqJVAcIoPD5TA4ub59TOs_PveEknCUnrIIjNvF9OgBjzqNaHDkmUzIk0QpyNT83E5gWI7PxlOokVtZUaKPLrSreyanx1IGjYm2x4Rqq0PS3OedxY7eIUeGR0bhQmaHtMM6sIgXIcEhKsM_a8/w255-h400/2023%2012%2019%20M%20Mag%C3%A1n.jpg" width="255" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By coincidence the next book I read bore on a similar theme - as if I had been subconsciously directed to read one after the other. The ironically entitled novel </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Haven"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> written by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma Donoghue,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the Irish-Canadian screenwriter whose earlier <i>"Room"</i> was a Booker Prize finalist and adapted as a movie winning an Oscar. "<i>Haven"</i> is a story of early Irish Christian monks in 600AD Ireland establishing a monastic base on a rugged and bare island. A fictional account of events follows, which may or may not bear a resemblance to the actual occupation of Skellig Michael, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2). This international asset was infamously used a few years ago as a location on two episodes of the fantasy Star Wars (3). "Haven" is another candidate for my top novel of 2023. </span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I conclude with a discovery of another new author. Earlier in the year this book caught my eye,</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> being special</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for two reasons. The first was that it was stamped on publication by the Times reviewer as its novel of the month; the second was the surname of the author. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Squeaky Clean"</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is the debut novel by </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Callum McSorley</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It's reminiscent in some ways of the Booker prize-winning "Shuggie Bain" insofar as it is a gritty story set in Glasgow and at times a difficult story to observe. Callum's book is an assured debut recounting life and survival in the midst of organised crime and violence. Powerful stuff and scarily realistic.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCMGqqKuT9yItZStrY3l2TU8Srhrra_hzawt0CLFrW33NqOQPb7noTN5qP5E6GmAXM74u_ftUT6Af_EarwCsT4heJZ_WgOR-uDlvuIIlWUyxylsEVpk8oQRb1mEKgebY9eqJPKr5iANEd0gQz5M0I-r6wl13ETDmX_liuIqoW1zeKt2-isfZzihBwfZg/s1500/2023%2012%2019%20CallumMcSorley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="939" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCMGqqKuT9yItZStrY3l2TU8Srhrra_hzawt0CLFrW33NqOQPb7noTN5qP5E6GmAXM74u_ftUT6Af_EarwCsT4heJZ_WgOR-uDlvuIIlWUyxylsEVpk8oQRb1mEKgebY9eqJPKr5iANEd0gQz5M0I-r6wl13ETDmX_liuIqoW1zeKt2-isfZzihBwfZg/w250-h400/2023%2012%2019%20CallumMcSorley.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2023</span></p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5da8bc08-7fff-ce11-7f57-65968d1e3a96">References</span></p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5da8bc08-7fff-ce11-7f57-65968d1e3a96">1. https://michaelmcsorleyculture.blogspot.com/2021/06/summer-books.html</span></p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5da8bc08-7fff-ce11-7f57-65968d1e3a96">2. https://heritageireland.ie/places-to-visit/skellig-michael/</span></p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5da8bc08-7fff-ce11-7f57-65968d1e3a96">3. https://www.skelligmichael.com/star-wars/<br /></span></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-64410516792611730452023-08-28T22:32:00.000-07:002023-08-28T22:32:20.607-07:00Music makes the World a Better Place<p><span style="font-family: arial;">"If music be the food of love play on, give me excess of it..." When William Shakespeare wrote these words, he may or may not have had in mind the recent series of concerts performed live in venues close to me during August 2023.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">What makes them stand out is that most were provided free of charge, all have been performed live, and each presented with such perfection as to leave a lasting impression that the world can be and is a better place.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is in contrast to our daily exposure to a never-ending litany of national and global crises which affect us all. It's impossible to ignore events ranging from political stalemate at home and upsetting stories from the National Health Service, a horrible cost of living crisis, the horrendous impacts of climate change in so many different places with loss of life, property and natural habitats, the distressing scenes of migrants fleeing persecution and poverty attempting escape across dangerous seas, never mind the security threats posed by a despotic invasion of Europe. None of these crises makes anyone feel that the world is a better place.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Looking at the life's positives for a change, the month's extravaganza of concerts began on 4 and 11 August with two evening events in Belfast's Ulster Hall where the Ulster Orchestra performed beautiful music by big-name composers including Claude Debussy, Robert Schumann, a symphony by contemporary composer David Matthews, a beautiful suite by an "unknown" Swedish-speaking Finn Ida Moberg, a Schubert overture and Jean Sibelius's imposing 7th symphony. Quantity and quality.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7duYeJ2ZTxZZ97WBRhqLTHfkAPq_HDwaXompZcScd0xKbFi1f0XX5dAxoSlFUs07oxq-HiZFx7e2MEzdMZ8VRZr_xZI2vUseWQYlpwG_Xgv8KXUGi80Kkzj6PeRvKe7t9yZxwuNGr7hWyJxmLVsCwt5HpX1E6hmIB3f3sPh8cPxn2oelmpmiE5urdWA/s937/2023-08-11%2020.09.58%20UO%20InvitnConcert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="707" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7duYeJ2ZTxZZ97WBRhqLTHfkAPq_HDwaXompZcScd0xKbFi1f0XX5dAxoSlFUs07oxq-HiZFx7e2MEzdMZ8VRZr_xZI2vUseWQYlpwG_Xgv8KXUGi80Kkzj6PeRvKe7t9yZxwuNGr7hWyJxmLVsCwt5HpX1E6hmIB3f3sPh8cPxn2oelmpmiE5urdWA/w241-h320/2023-08-11%2020.09.58%20UO%20InvitnConcert.jpg" width="241" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> They followed this up the next week with two more free events on the 16th and 18th, both lunchtime concerts again in the Ulster Hall. The music this time was composed by Maurice Ravel followed by Beethoven's second symphony; with a work by contemporary composer Judith Weir followed by Dvorak's life-affirming 8th symphony completing the four-strong series.</span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In between times, the Ulster Youth Orchestra presented a celebration concert on 12 August to mark its 30th year annversary. A packed Ulster Hall heard these gifted "youngsters" play Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto with patron Barry Douglas on piano; and after the interval their other piano patron Michael McHale played Gershwin's piano concerto in F, and the Orchestra completed the programme with a rousing rendition of Bernstein's West Side Story Symphonic Dances. The outcome was the spontaneous delivery of two standing ovations from a well-pleased audience. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Bearing in mind that all of these events are taking place ahead of the start of the "New Season" for 2023/24, as the Ulster Orchestra follows its pair of lunchtime concerts in Belfast with a visit to meet its wider audience this time in Dungannon. Ranfurly House on the historic Hill of the O'Neill's has become the splendid and scenic setting for the local authority's Arts Centre. The orchestra played a programme of movie music and some classical pieces. The latter included works by Ravel and rhythmic Slavonic Dances composed by Brahms and Dvorak; the movie music featured popular themes from blockbuster films such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Once again the Ulster Orchestra was rewarded with a rapturous standing ovation from an enthusiastic family audience.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A week later, the Ulster Orchestra performed yet another free concert in Belfast, the Presbyterian Assembly Buildings, a rehearsal event for a Berlioz Festival taking part in La Cote-Saint-André in southern France. The final article, so to speak, will be given by the Orchestra in France on 31 August. Rugby teams preparing to visit France in September have been going through arduous "pre-season training" ahead of the Rugby World Cup also hosted by France. I'm thinking that the Ulster Orchestra is on an equivalent muscular course.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNSzYZVtZs2mZT4np-HMVrsYLV1exduZ8Kr_scDPGtax5MzV6XE09xz2vIwCEvcB-ebvuNyhay-xcgIXNKQJxVOvvCgRePYFc3epcv2MsXz91TRCec2f3x1NMLD_vFfHCPyyV1-We-FOyBar-zFKvJSvCASiHBkLY3t30wn687SYWg8Z1zxKjiV2JRKw/s1024/2023-08-28%2020.02.02%20Berlioz%20UO%20concert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="780" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNSzYZVtZs2mZT4np-HMVrsYLV1exduZ8Kr_scDPGtax5MzV6XE09xz2vIwCEvcB-ebvuNyhay-xcgIXNKQJxVOvvCgRePYFc3epcv2MsXz91TRCec2f3x1NMLD_vFfHCPyyV1-We-FOyBar-zFKvJSvCASiHBkLY3t30wn687SYWg8Z1zxKjiV2JRKw/w305-h400/2023-08-28%2020.02.02%20Berlioz%20UO%20concert.jpg" width="305" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We all love traditional music, or trad - as in "folk music" more generally. My wife Marie and I have, pre-Covid, attended a variety of literary and music events at Homeplace in Bellaghy, the modern new arts centre inspired by its own Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney. On a late cancellation, I got a ticket to see the virtuosic fiddle player and composer Colm Mac Con Iomaire on 26 August perform live in the intimate setting of its Helicon auditorium. It was one of a series of events arranged to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the poet's death. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSidtohv_yppT0Lln_bDxi3sq2y5-Fq7IFjIfbqZq_6eajLfjaSjUCikt4dw24RqQ0UN-aseksSI9lOiHpLePCo6o8cM16vilWZiIhZ5b7Zk7oVgCmvfx6V3jxoAm1YL7grMsdCmXZxbL0w2mT5ygHvKRTO8j_YMGvF_FErJrMF2Eu_J7HeBzWxbmaw60/s1024/2023-08-26%20at%2023.10.38%20ColmMacConIomaire%20Homeplace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="1024" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSidtohv_yppT0Lln_bDxi3sq2y5-Fq7IFjIfbqZq_6eajLfjaSjUCikt4dw24RqQ0UN-aseksSI9lOiHpLePCo6o8cM16vilWZiIhZ5b7Zk7oVgCmvfx6V3jxoAm1YL7grMsdCmXZxbL0w2mT5ygHvKRTO8j_YMGvF_FErJrMF2Eu_J7HeBzWxbmaw60/w640-h482/2023-08-26%20at%2023.10.38%20ColmMacConIomaire%20Homeplace.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">©Photo John Melrose<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I'd known of Colm's rise to fame when, along with Glen Hansard they established the successful rock band The Frames back in 1990. To hear him play live, fusing celtic-inspired haunting airs and gorgeous melodies with the seemingly paradoxical addition of modern recording technology was a magnificent joy to experience. The image below is extracted from the Homeplace summary of artists appearing at the weekend anniversary commemoration.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK-qw5odzz88AakAJ17Wt6BHY-uG6tcAOktQaWTKt8Z43xLuvaY3cxulKsKtxKNpiGQAM4NNRFP-aJZ-ftGeWih6ddCDle4W0aasQk4jYoBPCp1OqbGWHKeW6XQyKt39J1phE3ZL2jvdmMFseP6OAyzVyHk35kNSaEAVQlq1MIO027adiM_m0NR2G7vE/s1024/2023-08-28%2020.28.02%20ColmMacConIomaire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="578" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinK-qw5odzz88AakAJ17Wt6BHY-uG6tcAOktQaWTKt8Z43xLuvaY3cxulKsKtxKNpiGQAM4NNRFP-aJZ-ftGeWih6ddCDle4W0aasQk4jYoBPCp1OqbGWHKeW6XQyKt39J1phE3ZL2jvdmMFseP6OAyzVyHk35kNSaEAVQlq1MIO027adiM_m0NR2G7vE/w226-h400/2023-08-28%2020.28.02%20ColmMacConIomaire.jpg" title="Extract from Homeplace PR for Heaney commemorative weekend events" width="226" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Marie had known and admired Seamus Heaney from his short time lecturing lyrically to her English degree class at Queens University Belfast and, I think, would have approved of my return visit to Homeplace. With the imminent first anniversary of her passing in mind, I dedicate this account with love in musical memory of my late wife. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fHFL3IuWznhJm5jFT4xtjx94Oh-GnA-yKK-tvm1mp_WLUECaSwaLheVrVZuJNavfSUOwUrqofRODKVShnNCR3_EIU5NomVbwsYCwxlWqimW8WmZAOxognAMz9yl9HJaUi8dJ-m9FqDKst6bbJeb1xuDc8snERGJ8qdE9IuVkmqMMPnYLnjUtJPG0mBM/s2592/2011-12-25%2015.42.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1728" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fHFL3IuWznhJm5jFT4xtjx94Oh-GnA-yKK-tvm1mp_WLUECaSwaLheVrVZuJNavfSUOwUrqofRODKVShnNCR3_EIU5NomVbwsYCwxlWqimW8WmZAOxognAMz9yl9HJaUi8dJ-m9FqDKst6bbJeb1xuDc8snERGJ8qdE9IuVkmqMMPnYLnjUtJPG0mBM/w133-h200/2011-12-25%2015.42.29.jpg" width="133" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2023</span></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-20055884840890387402023-07-25T13:48:00.000-07:002023-07-25T13:48:21.225-07:00New films for the "Barbenheimers"<p><span style="font-family: arial;">As climate change provides north-western Europe with excessive rain </span><span style="font-family: arial;">this July </span><span style="font-family: arial;">while southern Europe swelters under abnormal heat, America's movie industry wilts as actors and film-makers go on strike for the first time in 60 years.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Creatively speaking, however, it is rewarding for audiences to see the movie industry mirroring many of the global concerns of the day on the big screen. Apart from climate change and the cost of living crisis, the issues absorbing people include national security and the threats of war, human rights, as well as the merits or otherwise of AI - artificial intelligence. At the same time people are ravenous for the return of normal activity like evenings out.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">With perfect timing, two of the year's most anticipated films have been released in Canada, the U.S.A and Europe on the third weekend of July. Given the pleasant summer weather in June, the early summer had provided little incentive to sitting indoors in cinemas. By contrast, however, heavy and persistent rain have prevailed in July across both Britain and Ireland, resulting in people escaping from unseasonable weather into cinemas as a refuge to see the brand new Barbie and Oppenheimer films. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The record crowds have even become a self-contained news story in the main evening TV news (1). More interestingly, one newspaper reports (2) that the simultaneous release <i>"has prompted some cinemagoers to take on the challenge of seeing them on the same day. That's four hours and 54 minutes viewing time</i>." Barbenheimers is the new term for those adherents.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">With both films on my radar, I considered rising to the escapist challenge. After diligent consideration of the journalist's strategy, my choice was to vary implementation of the challenge. It suited better to see the Oppenheimer epic on a Sunday evening; and instead of exposing my sitting apparatus to the ordeal of an extra couple of hours' top class entertainment, I would stall a date with Barbie for a little over twenty-four hours. An incentive was provided by the cinema's offer of a discount on Monday's.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The thought of spending three hours watching a film, much shot in gloomy black and white, to do with nuclear physics and the development of the atom bomb may at first sound unpromising. I'm happy to report that Christopher Nolan's treatment of a serious subject with all of its arresting sound and light effects and the employment of the best acting talent allayed any doubter's reservations. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a wonderful film, likely to stand the test of time. The audience's attention was held in rapt silence from start to finish, with the film's message best articulated during the final 45-60 minutes. Its portrayal of the ex-post policy inquiry provided much of the drama of a courtroom with senior lawyers taking on politicians. The theatrics also displayed strong hints of an abiding McCarthyite attitude among some politicians.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA82GEEU3FoZPoFYtTsp6E39Gvgit8HaKU_xgjuhR6cfkYkKt8RGMY2Qx-acfCaaXEmMpLVsQF0mv3brz0bGLMRlbFNg7f_-4XFK4pS7j3qDRZpzfxp0GRB4N_x58ZddBCRHVljqLL1wXTg0Yt7qdl_e74byd3A2GuSxJLyDdR-IbAIHafdxXDxubkZAQ/s1024/2023-07-25%20Oppenheimer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="1024" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA82GEEU3FoZPoFYtTsp6E39Gvgit8HaKU_xgjuhR6cfkYkKt8RGMY2Qx-acfCaaXEmMpLVsQF0mv3brz0bGLMRlbFNg7f_-4XFK4pS7j3qDRZpzfxp0GRB4N_x58ZddBCRHVljqLL1wXTg0Yt7qdl_e74byd3A2GuSxJLyDdR-IbAIHafdxXDxubkZAQ/w400-h179/2023-07-25%20Oppenheimer.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARMQInREXfaywqt8872hQJPR7ZJOu_3pQZwGoYmXDAn8HRnGmNuTcSOCRoQTN4cxOcNvOQDT-7eYZGXhQBQqo25srEm4VH0KJ6R6eG4W1O1OPJVV0KS9VAeaaZG4L-1_Dok4JWDG-EM9C5FDiZmtjKxcIMRiEGXU6WPfmogqVYQQStd65Sx3KG2i4wDc/s1170/2023%2007%2025%20Barbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="1170" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiARMQInREXfaywqt8872hQJPR7ZJOu_3pQZwGoYmXDAn8HRnGmNuTcSOCRoQTN4cxOcNvOQDT-7eYZGXhQBQqo25srEm4VH0KJ6R6eG4W1O1OPJVV0KS9VAeaaZG4L-1_Dok4JWDG-EM9C5FDiZmtjKxcIMRiEGXU6WPfmogqVYQQStd65Sx3KG2i4wDc/w400-h230/2023%2007%2025%20Barbie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Despite having read previews about Greta Gerwig's brilliant work on previous movies, particularly on screenplay, my expectations of Barbie were low-ish before attending the screening. And yet they were exceeded in every way. Barbie presented such a visual contrast with the sombre tones of Oppenheimer. Audiences will be aware of the use of bright primary colours and the origins of the Mattel toy story. Without giving away the feature's means of communicating its message about feminism and human rights more broadly, I have to say that the use of subtle techniques and particularly smart satire make this an unmissable film.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In a way, the satire reminded me of the 2017 Nobel-prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro and his 2022 book, Klara and the Sun. Barbie and her friends were somewhat reminiscent of that story's "AFs," Artificial Friends. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On which point, I see irony in the Barbie story and its industry's current travails over striking actors. This is that one of the principal concerns, apart from fair pay, driving the industrial relations discontent is Hollywood's use of AI in making movies. It was interesting to read comments made by the actor Brian Cox in Leicester Square London at an Equity rally in solidarity with the American SAG-AFTRA union when he said (3) -<i> "the wages are one thing, but the worst aspect is the whole idea what AI can do to us."<br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Otherwise, we have two superb films released on the same day, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">substantially contrasting both in message and in techniques, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">a pair of artworks that are worthy of recognition, and both of which stimulate the imagination and debate about important topics in positive ways. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Together, Barbenheimer is set to be a major highlight of summer 2023, possibly even a phenomenon. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">References:-</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. BBC News 24 July 2023 "Barbie movie wins box office battle in US" https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/2005588484089038740<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. The Times Saturday 23 July 2023 Sidonie Wilson "The atomic blonde double bill" </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">3. The Times Saturday 23 July 2023 Stars align Andy Rain/EPA photo </span><br /></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-49970219266769720912023-01-29T06:07:00.001-08:002023-01-30T05:25:13.683-08:00Mid-winter days out<p><span style="font-family: arial;">A popular saying fits the early weeks of a new year like an exhortation to act after the excitement of the festive period fades. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Variety is the spice of life. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Ingredients can include books, films, night classes, visits to theatres to see shows. Positive diversions help us make the most of life and, come to think of it, to cope with loss.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">About a year ago, I wrote about attending entertainment and arts events, using the Observer newspaper's column "On my Radar" as the template (1). Its aim - to present examples from the worlds of cinema, reading, music and elsewhere to illustrate what's on and worth checking. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If only as an escape from "the bleak mid-winter" not to mention the daily diet of shocking stories that emerge from news reporting, allowing ourselves some time to be diverted is important. It reminds us that the world's a better place as we focus on cultural events. It's also a good strategy to get a new year off to a lively and productive start.</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Cinema</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Having seen Cate Blanchett's brilliant portrayal </span><span style="font-family: arial;">of the Dublin investigative journalist</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> "</span><span style="font-family: arial;">Veronica Guerin"<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: arial;">in 2003 against the villainous John Gilligan played by Gerard McSorley, and read a preview (2) of her latest role - "Blanchett is simply the best she's been" - as a fictitious orchestral conductor in "<b>Tár</b>," this made </span><span style="font-family: arial;">a first visit in 2023 to the Queens Film Theatre</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> compulsory. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A few days after I watched her, she won the prize for Best Actress at the Golden Globes. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">If she repeats the success at the Oscars in March, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">I won't be surprised. Naturally it is music like Mahler's fifth symphony, Elgar's cello concerto and a special film score composed by Iceland's Hildur</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">Guðnadóttir</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> which are at the front, centre and backdrop to Tár. But it is Cate Blanchett's commanding performance that dominates the soundtrack, as the conductor's life changes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A propos Oscars, the observation by BBC news that 25% of the 2023 Oscar nominations feature Irish-made films brings cheer and huge pride to many on both sides of the border. An Cailín Ciúin, Aftersun, An Irish Goodbye and the Banshees of Inisherin (the most insightful piece about the Banshees film - see 3) are there on merit. Where we live there is quiet anticipation about the big event in Los Angeles on 12 March.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Cathedral Arts Festival</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Since 2005, Belfast has been fortunate to have had the Out to Lunch festival (4) take place in January. It provides an eclectic range of short lunchtime shows in the aptly-named and atmospheric Black Box, with a wholesome lunch included in the ticket price. A perfect tonic to dismantle any blues, more so in 2023 after its being stalled by Covid19. The latter's impact is evident from the enthusiastic public response and the 18th's rapid sell-out of several events.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I attended three music gigs. <b>Special Consensus</b> are from Chicago and play bluegrass with a virtuosic 4-piece line-up of mandolin, banjo, double bass and guitar; the <b>Skallions</b> are a high-octane group from Belfast and, as hinted at in their pun (spring onions) title, play reggae with consistent applomb; and a trio of harmonious Irish musicians (Dónal O'Connor, Harry Bradley, Libby McCrohan - fiddle, flute, bouzouki) played "<b>Trad for lunch</b>." </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ska for Lunch feat. The Skallions" class="lazyloaded" data-src="https://cqaf.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Skallions.jpg" height="213" src="https://cqaf.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Skallions.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Skallions<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Excellent musicianship and vocals all round presenting completely different styles of music and song. Selecting three music events out of a festival programme with over 60 gigs exemplifies variety with quality. And not bad value with the added attraction of professionally-catered food like lasagne or vegetarian stew before heading out into the fresh afternoon air.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Books</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I have two recommendations for reading to start the year, one novel and the other non-fiction. The former is the debut by Irish writer Audrey Magee, "<b>The Undertaking</b>." It was long-listed for the Booker Prize last year. It tells what is essentially a love story set firmly in the context of World War 2, told through German eyes and their battle against Russia. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Normally I would avoid war dramas. Not so on this occasion, however, with a gripping tale narrated from the aggressor's perspective. My attention had recently be drawn to the author by rave reviews of her new novel, The Colony which will soon be winging its way to me. Audrey appears soon for interview at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace in Bellaghy.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The author, journalist and presenter Manchán Magan caught my attention with his informative and funny factual book "Thirty-two Words for Field." He is not only an accomplished linguist and travel writer but he is also an expert on the sagas of Ireland. And likewise, as his book illustrates, knowledgeable of the folklore of several other countries. His book, "<b>Listen to the Land Speak: a journey into the wisdom of what lies beneath us</b>" tantalisingly fuses our island's pre-Christian fairy stories with archaeological evidence. His efforts to match them up and even to place some examples of sagas geographically are so well constructed as to be convincing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Visual Art</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It is encouraging to witness an example of north-south co-operation given the political pressure on cross-border trade arising from Brexit. In November, to explain and set the scene for the loan by the National Gallery of Ireland to the Ulster Museum of a <b>Goya</b> masterpiece (5), a lecture was given in Belfast by the Dublin Gallery's keeper of Spanish and Italian art. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For starters the history and importance of the portrait, Do</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ñ</span><span style="font-family: arial;">a Antonia Zárate, was clearly explained. The exposition reminded the audience of a spectacular art theft during the Troubles. More generally, the detail of the Gallery's collections was summarised in impressive depth. Whereas this Goya returns to Dublin at the end of January, the success of the loan seems likely to lead to further similar exchanges.<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2EjiSLyi6vtG2e98IQbOR-Bb4KvcDsqd30WUot8MwiUn-9T_tKCJDgBAcZOs_dUwP90juB0PPWW3cnqJ4xSpt_4GIslG6RcwkE4xEqbTUWkStND0M43bJ_N6W4Cp7uMeumxVE0E_B30vKMUNILmvzYTsW3_LgIOpCFIcyoKev8W_zfLodOmtwsgf/s960/2013%2001%2029%20Goya.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2EjiSLyi6vtG2e98IQbOR-Bb4KvcDsqd30WUot8MwiUn-9T_tKCJDgBAcZOs_dUwP90juB0PPWW3cnqJ4xSpt_4GIslG6RcwkE4xEqbTUWkStND0M43bJ_N6W4Cp7uMeumxVE0E_B30vKMUNILmvzYTsW3_LgIOpCFIcyoKev8W_zfLodOmtwsgf/w150-h200/2013%2001%2029%20Goya.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Apart from free entry to the museum, the venue is a welcoming refuge from wintry days. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Television drama</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">By chance I discovered a new drama series broadcast on ITV, rather than the much-hyped and allegedly excellent equivalents available on platforms like Netflix. Rather than appealing to my normal diet of Nordic Noir, "<b>Maternal</b>" is a medical drama, set somewhere in the U.K. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It tells the contemporary stories of three senior doctors, each one having just returned from maternity leave, juggling the demands of child-rearing and of working in a hectic NHS hospital with all the well-documented current issues present. Brilliant scripts, realistic plot-lines, impressive acting - very dramatic and definitely worth watching. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I also watched the Holywood movie "<b>Green Book</b>" on television recently. I recall seeing it in a cinema on its release in 2018 and loving its message. Based on a real-life story, it deals with a tour of the southern States in 1962 by an black American classically-trained pianist, having to play jazz after being denied any opportunity to perform classical music, chauffeured by an white Italian, and encountering problems of racial and policing intolerance. A message whose relevance lingers today (6). It's available on the i-player (7).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>To end</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In a way, there is no conclusion. There are always more superb events to see. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">That begins next week in the Grand Opera House in Belfast. The traditional (and experimantal) music ensemble <b>Common Ground</b> will perfom live, presenting a postponed Belfast International Festival concert. The group's founder, the fiddle-player Martin Hayes, has collaborated with everyone from Yo-Yo Ma to Sting and Paul Simon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The upcoming gig will feature musicians including pianist Cormac McCarthy, cellist Kate Ellis, and bouzouki/harmonium player Brian Donnellan. We are promised beautiful traditional music with each artist exploring jazz, avant-garde and contemporary classical. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But before that another film beckons. This afternoon my daughter and I will go to watch Steven Spielberg's <b>"The Fabelmans" </b>which, I'm told, is a favourite to win best film at the Oscars. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">References</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. https://michaelmcsorleyculture.blogspot.com/2022/02/something-for-weekend.html</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. The Times Saturday Review 14 January 2023 Kevin Maher preview <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">3. The Times Saturday Review 28 January 2023 Kevin Maher interview with Martin McDonagh, playwright & director Banshees of Inisherin <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">4. The Out to Lunch Festival 7-29 January 2023 https://cqaf.com/ </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">5. https://www.ulstermuseum.org/whats-on/goya </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">6. BBC News 28 January 2023 "Video shows police beating Tyre Nichols in Memphis" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64435109<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000yxc4/green-book </span><br /></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-84919432526178808102022-08-05T04:59:00.000-07:002022-08-05T04:59:17.921-07:00An uxorious tribute<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-family: arial;">Introduction</span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Summer and no better time to talk about novels.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bear with me, even if the next paragraph might seem like a
non sequitur.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Writing recently in the "Body and Soul" section of
a weekend newspaper (1), an eminent brain expert Dr Mithu Storoni explains the
many ways that we can improve our powers of retaining information. This is by understanding how our memory
works.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">She goes on to say that reading novels is an important way
to exercise the mind - a great discipline.
In her own words, "you have to remember what happened pages before
to fit what's happening now into the plot."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Her article quotes new research from the journal Neurology
which demonstrates that regularly reading books, newspapers or magazines can
give you the thinking skills of someone 13 years younger.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-family: arial;">Titles</span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">That background sets the scene for a modest tribute to my
bibliophile wife. On a recent outing to
our city centre she stopped for coffee in a book shop, returning home laden
with four novels, and all of them published in paperback this year. A thoughtful gift for both of us to sample
and hopefully to enjoy. As I went on to
discover, each was written by an author whose work I hadn't read before; and
all four novels were different from each other in story-line and in writing
style. Pure joy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Only one of them had appeared in the year's best sellers
lists, as far as I know. <i>"Lean Fall
Stand"</i> by Jon McGregor is a story about dealing with the physical impacts
of a scientific expedition to the Antarctic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Never before have I encountered this unique - and at first
exasperating - manner of using words to illustrate the power of a polar
storm. Massive blizzard is an
understatement. On reflection the prose
was reminiscent of how a visual artist would paint a scene of overwhelming
catastrophe on a canvass. After the
deluge, to coin the French phrase, the novel explores the use of modern
rehabilitation techniques and the importance of understanding alternative ways
of human communication. Expressed in
straight medical terms this might be a difficult message to put across; the
novelist, however, manages to play it out in a way that evokes the reader's
sympathy for the patients, their families and the medics.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"A town called Solace"</i> by Mary Lawson is a story
about a missing girl, set in Northern Ontario Canada. It's one of those books where the poignant
tale emerges teasingly chapter by chapter each through the eyes of three main
characters. The protoganists are an 8
year old girl, an elderly lady and a man in his 30's. This technique of alternating between them
winds up the suspense and adds to the anticipation of different outlooks,
providing a page-turning experience. Its
portrayal of themes like lonliness, grief, love and belonging explain the
emphatic reviews and Booker prize long-listing last year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"The Lamplighters"</i> novel was written by Emma
Stonex. What a compelling story this is,
inspired by real life events a century before in the Outer Hebrides. This novel is set at Lands End in the
south-west of England and involves a complicated pre-mechanisation days story
about the 3-man crew of the local lighthouse.
Mystery tales come no more gripping than this epic. Just as this book and "Lean Fall Stand" are resonant with
contemporary concerns about the extremes of climate, both novels go
further. They are literally and
metaphorically almost mind-blowing. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"Listening Still"</i> by Anne Griffin was the last one
of the four which I read - in no order of priority. Without giving anything away plot-wise, this
marvellous novel recounts events that take place in a family business of
undertakers. Set in rural Ireland with a
crucial foray to France, this is a classic story embracing love, death and
musings about what Graham Norton refers to as "everything in between." There is something poetic about Irish authors'
affectionate use of prose which gives novels an entrancing impact.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-family: arial;">Postscript</span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">So impressed was I with my wife's book choices based on
impulse that I asked her to recommend another novel. For that reason, I was delighted to read
another author for the first time. This
man won the Booker Prize in 1989
("Remains of the Day") and the Nobel Prize for litterature in
2017. His latest book is the remarkable
and best-selling <i>"Klara and the Sun,"</i> the author being Kazuo
Ishiguro. It concerns a future world
which may be a glimpse into the not so distant future. I can say no more about it other than to
watch out for AFs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Last summer, I put together a list of seven recommended
books - 4 fiction and 3 non-fiction (2).
A year later the title selected for special mention has appeared
recently as a Holywood block-buster - "Where the Crawdads
Sing." Perhaps one or more of the
five novels above may likewise inspire the movie makers.
Anticipation is everything.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">©Michael McSorley 2022</p><p class="MsoNormal">References:-</p><p class="MsoNormal">1. The Times Weekend 30 July 2022 "Want to improve your
memory? How the neuroscientist does it" Dr Mithu Storoni</p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal">2.
https://michaelmcsorleyculture.blogspot.com/2021/06/summer-books.html<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-77611802634658966352022-06-24T01:26:00.003-07:002022-06-24T08:30:34.258-07:00Viking Ships and Valhalla<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Preamble</u></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To celebrate Midsummer and the summer solstice, people in Sweden retire to their cabins out in the country as they revel in</span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> all-night natural light. They say that </span></span></span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">walking barefoot in the dew as the Midsummer night turns to dawn helps you stay healthy; and that wearing a wreath of flowers in your hair is an old symbol of rebirth and fertility. Now you know.</span></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This year's solstice falls on 24 June coinciding with the feast of St John the Baptist. Festivities continue for several days.</span></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Norway Denmark and Finland likewise celebrate Midsummer with their own traditions. </span></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What better time to turn our attention to the Norwegians and Danes who visited our shores a millennium and more ago.</span></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beautiful as their artefacts like golden jewellery and ornate swords are, no other Nordic archaeological object can surpass the modus operandi of the Vikings, their longships. A successful quest to find one would represent the ultimate testimony to the engineering and sailing prowess of Scandinavian visitors to Ireland twelve centuries back in time. It would constitute a eureka moment.</span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Archaeologists have discovered Viking ships in Norway, in Denmark, in Poland’s Gdansk Bay, and boats on a couple of Britain's islands - but not definitively in Ireland, at least yet. Where are the Viking ships that came to Ireland docking originally at Rathlin Island in 795 AD with potential follow-up trips to (and possibly also from and between) other locations in a 300 year time-span? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Resources</u> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As an interested amateur, I have a suggestion. A new hunt for Viking ships in Ireland is needed. Sources like Ireland's geography and toponyms, together with reference to Old Norse (ON) and twenty-first century Norwegian and Danish records could well, given a fair wind, combine to unearth evidential clues. The tools of modern technology might assist in the effort.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Norway</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2008 my wife and I visited the country's most popular (and currently-closed) museum the Vikingskiphuset in Oslo. Apart from its housing of the Gokstad (23 metres long, built from oak at the end of the 9th century and excavated in 1880) and another called the Tune, the museum’s star attraction was the Oseberg Viking ship (pictured below). It was excavated in 1904 from a site 100 km south of Oslo at Tønsberg. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGzpzhPCA9QdYiRT7FVHLwFeurv5ZKONdHZWCnkksn2AXRJ_uKOP-vHyLnGcbyg-omoieAFMSc6MypXLJuI4gYgm1LLSzG7-2wf4QLWrO5PE5UX_auSv6zkx8jtZ5U_Wum-uFPKGAPDRY8-dRmi02zwBq-iRtbRnjS6DmZ-5XKeJ2IZwt6QxuOrrr/s800/2022%2006%2010%20OsebergShip-VikingShipMuseum(Oslo).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGzpzhPCA9QdYiRT7FVHLwFeurv5ZKONdHZWCnkksn2AXRJ_uKOP-vHyLnGcbyg-omoieAFMSc6MypXLJuI4gYgm1LLSzG7-2wf4QLWrO5PE5UX_auSv6zkx8jtZ5U_Wum-uFPKGAPDRY8-dRmi02zwBq-iRtbRnjS6DmZ-5XKeJ2IZwt6QxuOrrr/s320/2022%2006%2010%20OsebergShip-VikingShipMuseum(Oslo).jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tønsberg is regarded as the oldest city in Norway, founded by Vikings in the 9th century which, if true, post-dates their arrival on Rathlin. Science Norway says that the Oseberg’s excavation also unearthed </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“numerous wooden and metal artefacts, textiles and even sacrificed animals used as offerings to the two buried women.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And all three ships </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“ended their sailing careers in burial rituals” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(1). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What a tantalising prospect it would be to find something similar (or smaller boats, even remnants, any evidence of Viking boat yards) in Ireland.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A worrying report this month from Science Norway (1) reveals that work on the proposed new museum has been "paused to cut costs." </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Denmark</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2014 we visited the British Museum in London to see the blockbuster exhibition “Vikings; Life and Legend.” It included a dazzling array of artefacts including the 37 metre long Roskilde 6 dragon ship. It was built after 1025, discovered as recently as 1997 along with other 1000 year old ships in Denmark’s Roskilde bay. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Exhibits included rope-like chains of silver and gold; outsized buckles and brooches that became status symbols from Stockholm to Shetland. It included amulets and bracelets some of which doubled as currency. Many jewellery and armour exhibits, as well as the whalebone artefacts, were decorated with riverine and wave designs.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The show’s message, I suspect, was that the Vikings weren’t so much or even solely raiders as much as they were artistic and engineering wizards - the dragon ship (dreki in ON) being the exhibition's showpiece. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’d been persuaded to attend by the infectious enthusiasm of the Observer’s reviewer (2). His rapturous account had begun with the etymology of the operative noun:- </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Viking” was originally shorthand for setting oars to water, deriving from "vik," which was the Old Norse name for the mouth of a river or fjord. Later, in the Icelandic sagas, it became something like "fara í viking", "go on a viking" which came to mean to set out on a voyage and to take part in anything that might follow – trade, commerce, raiding, piracy or worse.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>"Viking"</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A recent report in the Times (3) quotes an article from June’s “History Today” by St Andrews history lecturer Alex Woolf who advocates the cancellation of the term “Viking.” </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauTog8WdY5uS2pPfl-GZFlypblWebddYg4KJ8i50DD-0r8YSiUFoAHr7Q--UGmlgsp3tw2lPUnjsNSdMDRA8piBHybZ9pd8aJDcwvrU5ZljsKctJaHezQMrKkmlsq42MWI9cK16mki5CVgm49IvFMCu7Scvs94xSH2ghNJaRUTN0w_3wjjevezzPn/s960/2022%2006%2017%20Times040622.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauTog8WdY5uS2pPfl-GZFlypblWebddYg4KJ8i50DD-0r8YSiUFoAHr7Q--UGmlgsp3tw2lPUnjsNSdMDRA8piBHybZ9pd8aJDcwvrU5ZljsKctJaHezQMrKkmlsq42MWI9cK16mki5CVgm49IvFMCu7Scvs94xSH2ghNJaRUTN0w_3wjjevezzPn/w480-h640/2022%2006%2017%20Times040622.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><p></p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is, he argues, <i>"a 19th century mistake that borders on racist."</i> The Times adds an editorial elucidating both sides of the case. I’ll leave that spat to the experts.</span></span></p><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Nordic Placenames</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Nordic linguistic legacy has survived for a millennium or more, reflected in various Irish coastal place names (and also in several of our surnames e.g. ON </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>sumarliði </i>meaning summer sailor</span>). </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is the possibility of finding, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">say,</span></span> a Viking place in Ireland which signals the site of a buried ship? </span></span> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Names provide an extra resource in the archaeological search for ocean-going artefacts and other clues. Vik is one example of ON which occurs as a suffix or prefix in towns across Britain and Ireland for example, Lerwick in Shetland, Wigstown (4) in Leicestershire, and Wicklow here.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ó’Mainnín (5) says that the Vikings coined roughly 60 place-names in Ireland, including (importantly in ON) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ueða-Fjörðr (Waterford), Ueigs-Fjörðr (Wexford), </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Uikingrló (Wicklow)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(6).</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Smyth (7) adds the ON </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hlýmrek</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (Limerick) on the west coast arguing that Nordic influence on Ireland’s place-names was more widespread than is currently held.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Archaeologists tell us that most of their evidence of places settled by the Vikings in Ireland lies on the south-east and south coasts. Let’s take that as a cue to examine the lesser excavated Ulster and its relative lack of evidence of Viking settlement. One source, Sophie Vanherpen, opines that only two place-names in Ulster derive from Old Norse (8):</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Larne</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in ON, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ulfreks Fjörðr</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> – fjord of Ulfrek - and Strangford. The most interesting point made in her research says that</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“in the 10</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and 11</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> centuries Ulfreksfjordr was the centre of Viking activity. This is seen from Viking burial sites and artefacts found in this area..... Snorri Sturluson (9) (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1178-1241, Norwegian poet, historian and politician in the Althing</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) mentions Ulfreksfjordr in his Heimskringla as the place where Connor the King of Ireland defeated the Orkney Vikings under the leadership of Einar in battle in 1018.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unlike other Norse-derived place-names in Ireland, Ulfreksford has disappeared. Strangford endures, deriving from the ON </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Strangr Fjörðr </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">which means strong sea-inlet. Could either of these “fjords'' (Larne and Strangford’s sea loughs) be home to long-lost ships from Western Norway?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allow me to submit that there are at least three other Ulster place-names which derive from the Viking age. Rathlin Island derives from the ON </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rechru</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Its prefix echoes in my ears with that of Iceland’s capital city (10) and with the Limerick suffix (ON </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hlýmrek)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The Annals of Ulster use the ON </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rechru</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> when describing the 795 Viking raid as Rathlin’s “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">burning by the heathens</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (11).”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carlingford is derived from the ON</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Kerlingfjorðr </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(12) meaning narrow sea-inlet of the hag. It translates into Irish as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Loch Cairlinn.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This suffix linn translates as lake/pool. Coincidentally, Dublin’s original Gaelic name is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DubhLinn</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, literally deep/dark pool. The Annals of Ulster recorded that in 841AD the Vikings had a stronghold (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">longfort</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Irish) there and built the first town (13) at WoodQuay (14). Despite Dublin’s position as being Ireland’s “power centre” and best excavated Viking settlement, I'm unaware of evidence discovered of ship remnants.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Provincial name, Ulster, is an ON derivative. Historian Jonathon Bardon explains that Ulster’s rulers were called the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ulaidh</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This was a tribal name, he says, recorded as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Voluntii</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> about 150AD by Ptolemy of Alexandria in his geography of Ireland. The Vikings named the land of the Ulaidh </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Uladzstir</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, mixing their pronunciation with the Irish word </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tír</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, meaning land or country. When the Normans and English invaded Ireland in the twelfth century, they adopted the Viking version. As Bardon explains (15), Uladztir became anglicised to Ulster. The place-names expert Patrick McKay (16) corroborates that the form Uladztir originates in Norse.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Allow me to add two additional settlements to the above three places. Arising from our knowledge of the Vikings’ establishing longforts in Dublin as fording points for their ships (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">long</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Irish Gaelic), this pair of prospective Viking settlements contain the Irish noun </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">long</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One is Ballylumford, (in Irish) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Baile an Longfoirt</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It occupies a strategic site on County Antrim’s Islandmagee peninsula - opposite </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ulfreks Fjörðr</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, aka </span></span>Larne. Ballylumford's English meaning (17) is stated as the town of the fortress, stronghold, or camp. The compound word's prefix </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Long</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, isn’t specified definitionally, lost in translation perhaps? If I may think aloud, could the original Irish Gaelic form, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">long phort</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, translatable as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ship of the landing place/harbour</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> be more appropriate than </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">longfort</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> meaning fortress? Perhaps one for linguists and archaeologists to consider, given our quest for ship burial sites.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Placenameni’s descriptive of</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ballylumford makes conjectural observations about temporary camps of 9</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> century Viking raiders, the position of the peninsula exposed to attacks by Danes and Scots – alas with nothing to shed light on my thesis, like buried or sunken ships (18). One wonders what, if any archaeological work has been carried out in Ballylumford.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other similar prospective candidate which might have a claim to the Vikings’ sailing vessels is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Annalong</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Áth na Long in Irish meaning </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ford of the ships</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (19). Could it provide the elusive answer to the big question posed above? Annalong, in common with places established as Viking settlements in Ireland, sits on the eastern coast of Ireland, this one in southern County Down. Perhaps again, no archaeological excavation has taken place here.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another Norse word survives in a couple of place-names. Between Hilltown and Kilkeel County Down sits the townland of</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Stang (An Stang </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in Irish Gaelic</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stang derives from</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the ON word </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stöng </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">meaning (20)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a measure of land</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> such as a rood or an acre. My ON dictionary, however, defines stöng as a pole/staff (21)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A Tyrone place-name uses the same prefix Stang as a noun with a Gaelic adjective suffixed. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stangmore</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An Stang mór</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a big piece of land - alternatively a big pole) lies outside Dungannon. Given the inland siting of these Stangs, my initial reaction is to exclude them as potential sites for ship burials. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Ship shape</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That said, a Northern Ireland Environment Agency book (22) reminds us that a Viking </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">longphort </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">named </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ruib Mena </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">was located inland at Lough Neagh south of Randalstown. Its authors Forsythe and McConkey state that the Vikings' success was largely due to "<i>their maritime prowess and many of their activities took place within range of</i> <i>longphuirt </i>(Irish plural) <i>where fleets could be easily deployed." </i> My impression is that these "fleets" will have needed maintenance bases.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkArIj3nB1SMju8FYGnsZH6yuNv4s943MbKHsutPmtEvkdF4NgD9gI_pQCPUqheIoxQRlGi0MFlQf0R_sbtyKG6N4y-SXKOW6S2m_x-35eiywWyM5yQCrc4-52O8TFJcrkl_MRp0VMzHARFM22igB30V9O08B4_5J-QnpmewhmH82Pv4WPrik6D9t/s960/2022%2006%2020%20Loughan%20Island,%20RiverBannPortrush.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="960" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAkArIj3nB1SMju8FYGnsZH6yuNv4s943MbKHsutPmtEvkdF4NgD9gI_pQCPUqheIoxQRlGi0MFlQf0R_sbtyKG6N4y-SXKOW6S2m_x-35eiywWyM5yQCrc4-52O8TFJcrkl_MRp0VMzHARFM22igB30V9O08B4_5J-QnpmewhmH82Pv4WPrik6D9t/w640-h616/2022%2006%2020%20Loughan%20Island,%20RiverBannPortrush.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loughan island Viking site - Extract from "Rathlin Island an Archaeological Survey" (22)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Among a range of potential <i> longphuirt</i><i> </i>sites on the north coast, the book presents images of Loughan (Irish<i> lochán</i>, small lake/pool) Island on the River Bann south of Coleraine (see pictures above). These would, they say, have been suitable as a longphort base (its lower portion looking, to me, akin to a boat shape); the book also refers to the discovery in 1813 of a buried ship in Ballywillin (in Irish </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Baile an Mhuilinn</i> ‘townland of the mill’) bog, a mile from Portrush; and it discusses a “boat-shaped mound” on Rathlin Island (picture below) known as “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Danes Burial.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In contrast to the viking ships excavated in Norway and Denmark, the evidence in Ireland, unfortunately, appears to be inconclusive (22).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggoPD9J-vISrEO3_-g-eOPlRAFlcdoaomolTt1SCJRJJ2W07h8PsVfRSxip4UQE00djQWt3jmzF993BNTJkqSGL-FkaOVYJc5Wqvt_7g-CA2jtv12YoG8KUzgChieC7NrX2fv0bdnXlWsxCFVJvDwjIocot1Q8JBwCuWFhArSuXD-PL2Gk2-v_AD9/s960/2022%2006%2020%20DanesBurialMound%20RathlinIs.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="960" height="509" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggoPD9J-vISrEO3_-g-eOPlRAFlcdoaomolTt1SCJRJJ2W07h8PsVfRSxip4UQE00djQWt3jmzF993BNTJkqSGL-FkaOVYJc5Wqvt_7g-CA2jtv12YoG8KUzgChieC7NrX2fv0bdnXlWsxCFVJvDwjIocot1Q8JBwCuWFhArSuXD-PL2Gk2-v_AD9/w640-h509/2022%2006%2020%20DanesBurialMound%20RathlinIs.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dane's Burial boat-shaped mound - extract from "Rathlin Island an Archaeological Survey" (22)</span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forsythe and McConkey refer in passing to boat burial excavations on Sanday, one of the Orkney islands and another at Balladoole, Isle of Man. Tellingly they add that only a few of the British examples have been systematically excavated. That argument might apply to Ireland.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Ulster Museum is a key resource containing an array of Viking artefacts. A comprehensive article by its curator of archaeology Dr Greer Ramsey summarises the impressive collection (23). These include gold and silver rings and ingots, a County Antrim silver hoard, iron axes found in the River Blackwater, and an 1840 Larne burial find of a sword, parts of a spearhead and a comb. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Stinking henbane</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the subject of Viking artefacts and returning to Science Norway (see footnote 1, ship excavations), another of its articles raises a topic examined by the ethnobotanist Karsten Fatur about the role of a performance enhancing herb, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the plant Hyoscyamus Niger (24).</span></span> The journalist Ulla Schjølberg describes it and additional research by Annelene Kool, a senior lecturer at the Natural History Museum in Oslo. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aEorCgLTzNtkAA273hWgxTyGmeXGufp23q4ZpHkUWbJHA10wL8UDZCLdvAl1s6X7YdOX_sQd5A6XDV8Dfs6EkZSbvbaP61xvOSmvnQWgqba-YQ7PYcD0qbBvGoOw1QDUAdwa5vRFycW7AKQkGhLm_-lzMMcYNPzt8PyeYG8QgrM-hfOqBtmhtfUM/s1058/2022%2006%2014%20Odin%20withBerserker%20550-100Image.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1058" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aEorCgLTzNtkAA273hWgxTyGmeXGufp23q4ZpHkUWbJHA10wL8UDZCLdvAl1s6X7YdOX_sQd5A6XDV8Dfs6EkZSbvbaP61xvOSmvnQWgqba-YQ7PYcD0qbBvGoOw1QDUAdwa5vRFycW7AKQkGhLm_-lzMMcYNPzt8PyeYG8QgrM-hfOqBtmhtfUM/w400-h345/2022%2006%2014%20Odin%20withBerserker%20550-100Image.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from 550-800 of Odin (left) with a berserker, a warrior who fought with bloodthirsty aggression on the battlefield (Source: Oscar Montelius,about life in Sweden in pagan times)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Its anaesthetic effect may have allowed the warriors, known as <i>Berserkrs</i> (ON), to tolerate more pain than the average fighter. My alternative suggestion is that if such a substance was consumed by Vikings, it may have aided their ability to cope with rough seas and cold weather in navigating to the emerald isle and other destinations.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Otherwise known as stinking henbane, this “historic flower” was in use during the Viking era, evidence of which has often been found in excavations of Viking Age sites. Interestingly for our purposes, Science Norway states that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“it has been found in several places in Denmark, York, Dublin and Staraja Ladoga in Russia.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> As a clue of Viking life in Norway and apparently also in Ireland its availability and use here merits closer investigation.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Breaking news</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Further teasing news from Norway reveals the recent finding of a previously unknown Viking ship grave in Kvinesdal in southern Norway (25). The discovery was made on a plain at Øyesletta. The boat is estimated to be 8-9 metres long and could serve as a grave for one or more people. It appears to have been cut into the ground, before a burial mound was built on top. Interestingly, the report adds that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“recent advances in georadar technology have resulted in more of these rare boat graves being discovered in various parts of Norway." </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inspiration for us sons of summer sailors whose antecedents built family houses in Ireland. Given that Vikings lived here happily ever after, they must have needed death ceremonial sites.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFsJfDE56RodwgnzQPj_viWDehm6uG3LOPdHl8jl7wYzL5OU1_f1S9aud3sl5Rbw4BZwDDOl-J8SPxq_Vnn2ku98kRniP_VTPqEtT8hdFNfNryTtO-aPZ__t_J74_IwYWx3pF0K3wi97FK6XY30uI85SEv20mwipxMNYBwY84mdrWeX-vdVrsJNY4/s768/2022%2006%2014%20GeoradarMachine%20NorwegianArchaeologists.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFsJfDE56RodwgnzQPj_viWDehm6uG3LOPdHl8jl7wYzL5OU1_f1S9aud3sl5Rbw4BZwDDOl-J8SPxq_Vnn2ku98kRniP_VTPqEtT8hdFNfNryTtO-aPZ__t_J74_IwYWx3pF0K3wi97FK6XY30uI85SEv20mwipxMNYBwY84mdrWeX-vdVrsJNY4/w400-h300/2022%2006%2014%20GeoradarMachine%20NorwegianArchaeologists.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norwegian archaeologists with a georadar machine<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I experienced a huge sense of revelation in learning that one Viking ship discovered in Denmark was built in Ireland (26). Skuldelev 2 was found in 1957 during the first underwater archaeological investigations by divers in Roskilde Fjord’s Peberrenden. It was excavated together with the other Skuldelev ships in 1962. The record of Roskilde’s Viking Ship Museum says that</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“...</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dendrochronological analysis reveals that the tree used to make the keelson was felled in May or June 1042. The trees used for the planks, felled at the same time, grew in the vicinity of Dublin and Waterford. Both towns were founded and inhabited by Vikings. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the shipbuilders who constructed Skuldelev 2 are to be found among their populations, most probably Dublin….it is interesting that the Scandinavians in Dublin in 1042 – which at that time had made strong contacts with the surrounding population – still built ships in a characteristically Scandinavian way. ”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u>Conclusion</u></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in the Ulster Museum, Dr Ramsey concludes that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“the Vikings did settle in Ulster … perhaps one day more evidence of where they lived will be discovered.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Whereas I see no mention in his account of ships, shipyards or even of plants, I take encouragement from his presumably evidence-based hunch of likely settling by Vikings in Ulster. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taking his prognosis along with the sources of support listed above provides a prima facie rationale to consider - without going berserk - archaeological excavations in places that may not have been examined heretofore. The use of georadar technology could assist in the noble search for the palace of immortality reserved for heroes slain in battle. Valhalla. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It being Midsummer why not?</span></span> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2022</span></span> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Acknowledgement:- This article is an edited version of my assignment for the Queens University Belfast School of Open Learning spring term course entitled "The Viking Age Archaeologhy of Ireland" under the tutelage of archaeologist Ruari O'Baoill.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.656; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bibliography & References:-</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 Oct 2019 Ida Irene Bergstrom</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-history-museums/government-finally-grants-money-for-new-viking-ship-museum-in-oslo/1574616</span></a><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 June 2022</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-abace147-7fff-8728-7ee8-86b62597a4ef"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Ida Irene Bergstrom</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-science-policy-viking-age/new-report-budget-cuts-put-1200-year-old-viking-ships-at-risk-of-being-destroyed/2038328</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tim Adams The Observer New Review 9 March 2014 </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Times 4 June 2022 p21 “Historian attempts to kill off the Vikings”</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> W G Hoskins “The Making of the English Landscape” 1970</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Mícheál Ó’Mainnín 2017 “Annexing Irish Names to the English Tongue: language contact and the Anglicisation of Irish place-names” Paul Walsh Memorial Lecture Maynooth University</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ibid Ó’Mainnín 2017: p6 - meanings - </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ueða-Fjörðr (ram or windy fjord), Ueigs-Fjörðr (fjord of the water-logged island or piece of land), Uikingrló (meadow of the Vikings).</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Limerick William J Smyth History Ireland Mar/Apr 2020 “The Scandinavian Impact, A Geographical Exploration.”</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.jstor.org/stable/26915175?seq=1</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sophie Vanherpen May 2016 ”Traces of Vikings in Northern Ireland” </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://vanherpens.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/traces-of-vikings-in-northern-ireland/?fbclid=IwAR1a42ptQugDscY-2DgMZh8ST5_7JV0CDNW4_Zy9O2RzhT0RTaQo6tIIQm4</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ibid Vanherpen 2016 quoting Sturluson</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Snorri-Sturluson</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ON dictionary search reveals options: e.g. Rejk=bay, reykr=smoke, rekkr=warrior </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Annals of Ulster</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100001A/text365.html</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kerling ON= hag/old woman</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old_Norse_Dictionary_N2E.shtm#s</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dublin</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.logainm.ie/Eolas/Data/Brainse/baile-atha-cliath-dublin.pdf</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wood Quay Dublin</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/wood-quay-revealing-the-heart-of-viking-dublin.htm</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jonathon Bardon “Place names in the North of Ireland” p 2 NICLR.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patrick McKay “A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names 1999 p 144 ISI QUB.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ballylumford </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=16796</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viking Ships </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Annalong</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.logainm.ie/en/130004?s=Annalong</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stang</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=14666</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stang</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old_Norse_Dictionary_N2E.shtm#s</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Rathlin Island An Archaeological Survey of a Maritime Landscape” Wes Forsythe & Rosemary McConkey 2012 NIEA</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dr Greer Ramsey The Vikings collection story</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.nmni.com/story/the-vikings</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ulla Gjeset Schjølberg 2 October 2019</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://sciencenorway.no/drugs-history-plants/crazed-viking-warriors-may-have-been-high-on-henbane/1571431</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David Nikel 8 April 2022 Life in Norway</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/8334779191626017893/7761180263465896635#" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.lifeinnorway.net/viking-ship-boat-grave-discovered-in-kvinesdal/</span></a></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/the-longships/findings-of-longships-from-the-viking-age/skuldelev-2</span></p><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p></li></ol><br /></span><p></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-87147682519038452392022-02-10T05:15:00.000-08:002022-02-10T05:15:45.211-08:00Something for the Weekend<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>On My Radar</u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the best parts of the weekend's newspaper supplements is the feature where artists, performers and writers chat about their artistic choices. Recommendations from people in the know can often provide sound suggestions. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They prompt me to list new films, recently read books or other activity that I would recommend and which are currently (in the Observer's words) "On My Radar." So here goes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Cinema </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"Parrallel Mothers" directed by Pedro Aldomovar and featuring Penélope Cruz in the lead role is a powerful new film. Set in Spain, it reflects the director's preoccupation with maternal themes and, unsurprisingly, women are the dominant force. Apart from its emphasis on the feminine dimension, the story takes its drive from the past and the atrocities of Spain's civil war in the 1930's. The narrative carries resonances beyond Spain where, even if smaller in scale elsewhere, the legacy of evil acts does not disappear into the earth </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">unforgotten</span>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXyJ44eHjy1BQkFcyIlsJ4HCybOmshAt2yYyu3xcIXgKp7oYzU6UzxzrBVAWeH_f0bZF0dF5kZ7IF1yxVlfYFc3gdJ1z8pD7d4gdEI5-1M5qbeVZjud_hhh6_-su_Eg6I_WoIOiPdZVL532Ugox2HM5lr2suIFRYYQC7nOIQH_FHd9XVQt1Wpj1X1Q=s960" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXyJ44eHjy1BQkFcyIlsJ4HCybOmshAt2yYyu3xcIXgKp7oYzU6UzxzrBVAWeH_f0bZF0dF5kZ7IF1yxVlfYFc3gdJ1z8pD7d4gdEI5-1M5qbeVZjud_hhh6_-su_Eg6I_WoIOiPdZVL532Ugox2HM5lr2suIFRYYQC7nOIQH_FHd9XVQt1Wpj1X1Q=w150-h200" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Times 29 January 2022 Weekend Review<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"Belfast" is the latest film from Kenneth Branagh. Paraphrasing him, the Covid-19 lockdown inspired him to write (and direct) this memoir and screenplay based on his youth growing up in Northern Ireland's "Troubles," seen as an earlier lockdown when streets were barricaded. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Whereas people who lived through them </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">can be instinctively uncomfortable with flashbacks</span> to those bad times, this portrayal of survival - and escape - communicates its message in an affectionate way. For the most part the events are seen through the eyes of the director as a 9-year-old and his endearing relationship with his grandparents. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIMAkD3QRG_lIX22NLsXDbi0ys1aaSLpgdNo04IkyS6omIyN3URn_vT0ojNPqe3pOiHpdpxWu1aJLKS63JnsMvttqcmjRZCbZD3PP9BOkCUQK9vEL1PCuS2lBxx08EUYqCY-wWNroknQJKMWjo3GXdsZDtV52xzOjwtaqM2yT4XWDyYGdsGtj3Jn9O=s2096" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="2096" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIMAkD3QRG_lIX22NLsXDbi0ys1aaSLpgdNo04IkyS6omIyN3URn_vT0ojNPqe3pOiHpdpxWu1aJLKS63JnsMvttqcmjRZCbZD3PP9BOkCUQK9vEL1PCuS2lBxx08EUYqCY-wWNroknQJKMWjo3GXdsZDtV52xzOjwtaqM2yT4XWDyYGdsGtj3Jn9O=w640-h280" width="640" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">With the news of Oscar nominations for Parallel Mothers and for Belfast, I have to add "The Power of the Dog" to my radar. If Benedict Cumberbatch is anywhere near as good in this as he was in The Courier, I cannot wait.<br /></span></p><p></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Television documentaries</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"The Bront</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>ë</span>s - An Irish Tale" illustrates the accuracy of Hamlet's line about brevity being the soul of wit. I stumbled upon this 30-minute programme by accident minutes before its broadcast. Residents of Northern Ireland are aware of the location of Bront</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>ë</span> country in County Down; but few will know the detail and double Irish connection with the three renowned Yorkshire-born </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">authors Emily Charlotte and Anne, the</span> sisters </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bront</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>ë</span></span>. Their books are classics of English litterature - Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, for example. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The documentary was presented by a young lady speaking with an English accent as she interviewed experts on the family archives both in England and across Ireland. It was only at the end as the credits rolled that I realised that the presenter, Aoife Hinds, is the daughter of Ciarán Hinds (who played the grandfather in the Branagh film Belfast). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The concise thoroughness of the telling of this story sent me to bed happy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"Ireland's Rugby Number 10" reveals the richness of an activity which unites a country in sport with reference to the pivotal position known as out-half. The documentary traces the seam of talent from the 1940's and the legendary Jack Kyle to now and Johnny Sexton, as well as the illustrious wearers of that jersey in between. Timely manna from heaven for sports fans, as the 2022 competition launches onto our pitches and screens in front of returning supporters. </span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Novels</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In December when the weekend supplements began their annual review of the arts, an Irish Times edition invited well-known authors to pick their books of the year. A stand-out recommendation </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> which seemed to be included in most of these experts' lists was "Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan.</span> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Its receipt of the highest praise from Hilary Mantel, Douglas Stuart, Colm Tóibín, Sarah Moss and others meant that this is a must-have book. Set in mid-winter 1985, it describes in beautiful prose a moral tale of repression which Ireland has been facing up to ever since. As with the </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bront</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>ë documentary, this novella's impact is magnified by its understatement and brevity.<br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXeD_5HW1NE37eVgDtUCBvw_3p7MjO74vQnNO0yMP0GSxzU-d9ZrLAwoFm2J0Ipqo5y6azNt8pWWacFij44pZ-44DADagG_ASYHIH455USBdW-8rYHdiTjF58-F-fqmRscQ1K83mdEh4ZL6jVY-UrMGlTAILlyvWuc2bn2VBKmRm95ocbhOjQf7zFo=s950" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="618" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXeD_5HW1NE37eVgDtUCBvw_3p7MjO74vQnNO0yMP0GSxzU-d9ZrLAwoFm2J0Ipqo5y6azNt8pWWacFij44pZ-44DADagG_ASYHIH455USBdW-8rYHdiTjF58-F-fqmRscQ1K83mdEh4ZL6jVY-UrMGlTAILlyvWuc2bn2VBKmRm95ocbhOjQf7zFo=s320" width="208" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">"A Calling for Charlie Barnes" by Joshua Ferris, likewise, emerged onto my radar from another of those year-end reviews. It is a completely different novel, both in writing style and in themes. This one is an American story about a newspaper man and his self-styled capitalist outlook. I admit that it took me a while to acclimatise to the author's casual writing style - his accent using colloquial Americanisms.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The effects of economic recession, the subject's health and his family relationships combined to present a complicated lifestyle. Previews used words like hilarious, deeply funny and work of genius, leading me to expect something like a Harlan Coban crime thriller. While I did recognise its funny side, the tale of familial dysfunction was a bit distressing.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Music education<br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Evening classes like those organised on every conceivable subject by Queens University Belfast provide a welcome distraction from inclement nights. 2022's winter term classes have had to be postponed for about six weeks because of Covid-19. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Their return in early spring including my chosen subject - "The Great Life and Work of Russian Composers: Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Igor Stravinsky" - will be all the more welcome. And especially so with attendance in an actual classroom and hosted by a Russian teacher<i>.</i> Hopefully that will mark the end of two years of "remote learning" and Microsoft Teams. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Satire and debating<br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Everybody from cartoonists to stand-up comedians has been having a field day</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> in the last few years</span> poking fun at politicians whose handling of big events could not have been scripted even by the funniest comedian in the land. This applies to their handling of Brexit (1), to the pandemic (2), and other matters of public interest. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The cartoonists' artwork and script-writers' lateral thinking humorously expose the double standards of some people in high office.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuYvEWGQAzHSsP3krnje7FUTCchGJPSCvFi1Kf9LkKppgjQ0RRgtqoNC_MoyCWI-gzV0HLwhB7mbLPQFpBkiyjN05r7osZUUlhsnG0MRrwypeyNRFI7W9s1AQEyijS2wd_JFSA0rwSGPQ_xJ-jk5oOgGF926lUHNEgXIj32Lmq-IuUIYonOd2Ha2nY=s960" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="769" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuYvEWGQAzHSsP3krnje7FUTCchGJPSCvFi1Kf9LkKppgjQ0RRgtqoNC_MoyCWI-gzV0HLwhB7mbLPQFpBkiyjN05r7osZUUlhsnG0MRrwypeyNRFI7W9s1AQEyijS2wd_JFSA0rwSGPQ_xJ-jk5oOgGF926lUHNEgXIj32Lmq-IuUIYonOd2Ha2nY=s320" width="256" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The satirists' art remind us that recent Parliamentary debates together with </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Westminster'</span>s arcane conventions are not providing a good advertisement for the place which calls itself The Mother of Parliaments. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The refusal by "Ministers of the Crown" to answer straightforward questions with direct and truthful answers besmirches its reputation. </span> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There are also lessons to learn from what is now dubbed "the Partygate scandal" and its impact on public trust. One such is that the art of debating and, by extension, the place of democracy in the U.K. are being lost in the fog of "failures in leadership and judgement (3)." <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The pledge to take back control seems like an idle and shattered promise.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My invitation is that you put satire on your radar with the following </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">New York Times</span> clip (best watched on a large screen). It provides 7 minutes of eloquent rant and comedic public speaking in favour of my proposition.</span><span id="container-1103-outerCt" role="presentation" style="display: table; height: 100%; width: 100%;"><a data-qtip="https://twitter.com/nytopinion/status/1489566060328198148?s=12" href="https://twitter.com/nytopinion/status/1489566060328198148?s=12" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/nytopinion/status/1489566060328198148?s=12</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2022 </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">References:-</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. https://michaelmcsorleyeconomy.blogspot.com/2019/04/brexit-lampooned.html</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/08/humour-for-pandemic.html</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">3. BBC News 31 Jan 2022 "SueGray Party Report; What are the Findings?" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60201752<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span id="container-1103-outerCt" role="presentation" style="display: table; height: 100%; width: 100%;"><br /></span></p><p><span id="container-1103-outerCt" role="presentation" style="display: table; height: 100%; width: 100%;"> </span><br /></p><p><span id="container-1103-outerCt" role="presentation" style="display: table; height: 100%; width: 100%;"><br /></span></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-31569582512614379152021-11-29T04:17:00.001-08:002021-11-29T04:17:58.781-08:00The evening economy and Covid-19<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The importance of the arts to daily living</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When town centre managers talk about the night-time economy, they are referring to the businesses that provide catering, hospitality, entertainment and the arts - broadly speaking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">During the worst periods of the pandemic especially from March 2020 when the so-called R rate was above 1, death rates soared and health services in many countries were under huge pressure. People were told to keep their distance and to stay at home. The evening economy was shut down. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In many cases singers, musicians, actors, dancers and others - as</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> well as</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> their </span><span style="font-family: arial;">audiences - </span><span style="font-family: arial;">were deprived of working performances with venues large and small shut down for month after long month. It led to hard times for a whole range of professional artists and performers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">For the general public</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> it has meant finding ways to be resilient in the face of loss, to deal with difficult times, and to celebrate what we have and love doing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Arising from the unavailability of live artistic activity, some institutions found creative ways to keep the wheels of culture going in other ways. From the privacy of their own homes, for example, classical music fans could avail of "virtual" concerts. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Orchestras including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Mariinsky in St Petersburg and the Berlin Philharmonic broadcast a mixture of live performances from empty halls or recorded events from their extensive digital archives. Universities provided night classes on-line. And literary organisations, such as the Irish Times, provided live interviews with writers, sportspeople, and others for global audiences.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Since early summer 2021 and aided by the roll-out of vaccines especially in "first-world" nations, nights out in restaurants and in places of entertainment began to return with considerable support from the general public. "Freedom Day" was the ultimate (and prophetically inaccurate) slogan of the U.K's Prime Minister as recently as July. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The deprivation of nights out on the town has been gradually eased across the continent in recent months, culminating in the withdrawal of most restrictions as winter 2021/22 approaches. In many parts of Europe, however, as people gather indoors avoiding the incoming cold season's elements, Governments' easements have coincided with a concerning (if predictable) deterioration in infection rates and the Delta variant. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And looming on (perhaps above) the horizon are warnings of variant B.1.1.529, or Omicron. This is the latest and potentially most infectious variant of Covid, as illustrated by the early discovery of the first two cases in the U.K. on 27 November</span><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: arial;">and a larger number in the Netherlands</span><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;">. </span></p><p><i style="font-family: arial;"><br /></i></p><p><i style="font-family: arial;">Examples of summer 2021 reopening in Belfast</i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Cinema</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Whereas my gym reopened on 30 April, it was mid-July before cinemas recommenced business here, with night-clubs having to wait a further 3-4 months. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> Picture House a</span><span style="font-family: arial;">udience numbers were initially restricted in July and August, which helped to make customers feel safer. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Two of the first three films that we saw in the QFT (Queens Film Theatre) were music documentaries, nostalgia being an appropriate if accidental theme. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"Summer of Soul"</i> is set in 1969 Harlem, the same year as the more heralded Woodstock festival. It presents brilliant performances from Mahalia Jackson, Fifth Dimension, Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples, and many others. A celebration of black American culture. What a wonderful reintroduction to the joys of cinema. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"Jazz on a Summer's Day"</i> was a similar film, set a decade earlier at the 1958 Newport jazz festival - where everybody there seemed to enjoy smoking with impunity. That aside, the cast list was a who's who of jazz - people in their youth like Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk and again Mahalia Jackson.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In between those two films, we went to see "The Courier," a superb political thriller based on the true story of businessman Greville Wynne and set against the background of the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 and the threat of nuclear war. Depiction of the latter reminded me vividly of life as a 13-year-old in grammar school, in particular the day that almost became the start of World War 3. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Wynn with an outstanding performance. The power of a movie to resurrect forgotten memories.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The best of three more recent films which we saw </span><span style="font-family: arial;">was Wes Anderson's superb "The French Dispatch." </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> We saw it a week prior to Halowe'en, when audience numbers were rather less restricted. A little masterpiece set in Ennui-sur-Blasé (translating would be a bore, n'est-ce pas?) and with an impressive cast-list which included Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Saoirse Ronan and Owen Wilson. Its quirkiness reminded me of the Oscar-winning Grand Budapest Hotel by the same director in 2014. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Concerts</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Most if not all symphony orchestras begin their annual season in mid-late September. Given all of the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and consequent risks in the complex task of planning concerts arranging conductors and soloists, it was a substantial achievement for the Ulster Orchestra to open its 2021/22 season on schedule on its usual late September date.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We have attended four out of its first five concerts held in its home venue, the Ulster Hall. Although audience numbers were relatively restricted for the 24 September and 8 October concerts, the later easing of restrictions on numbers has not, yet anyway, tempted full house sales. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This despite strong repertoire which has included Dvorak's cello concerto, Brahms's Symphony number 4, Chopin's first piano concerto, Beethoven Symphony number 6, Korngold's violin concerto, Mozart's flute concerto number 1, Fanny Mendelssohn's overture in C Major, Schumann's Spring Symphony - with </span><span style="font-family: arial;">accomplished international soloists playing at each concert. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Apart from having to wear face-masks during concerts, concert audiences receive programmes on-line rather than having to buy printed copies. These sentences from the 25 November concert's programme notes </span><span style="font-family: arial;">caught my attention - and that of my wife. They convey</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> Robert </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Schumann's awareness of the enormous act he was following in daring to compose a symphony less than 15 years after the death of Beethoven:- </span></p><p><i style="font-family: arial;">"</i><i style="font-family: arial;">Schumann's </i><i style="font-family: arial;">Spring Symphony was an instant success. His great friend Felix Mendelssohn conducted the world premiere in the Schumann's home city of Leipzig in March 1841. And on 1 September that year, nine months after the conception of the Symphony Clara gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter Marie." </i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">December 3's programme includes the magnificent Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky and Shostakovich's beatiful piano concerto number 2 with soloist Steven Osborne. December continues with a series of festive concerts, one of which includes the Belfast Philharmonic Choir, and another being the annual performance of Handel's Messiah.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In addition to its annual programme, the Orchestra presents other events, often in collaboration with institutions like Northern Ireland Opera and the BBC. One such recent event was the <i>"Fanfare for the Makers"</i> BBC Invitation Concert recorded in the Ulster Hall on Monday 8 November for Radio 3. Its purpose was to celebrate the corporation's 40 years of partnership with the Ulster Orchestra. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It consisted of a large programme of music (including some newly commissioned works by local composers) and poetry read by four well-known actors. It was broadcast nationwide three days later. This free concert attracted a full house and received a rapturous ovation. Bigger audiences restore much-missed enthusiasm and a better atmosphere in the hall.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHSJLpkzHG5jIwIWG-e-FUxLvTQ-Hrf0O0B8mcZVbExnpLM6nksQb7o9gzRcV6nInJr9_hBNpXdQwtCQAu96OV2-oftB0N9LkpQBkaMm59J38ots6RUhUeoM2t01kV-v0tvdh-kzeit8/s956/2021+11+29+UO+BBC+40th+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="956" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHSJLpkzHG5jIwIWG-e-FUxLvTQ-Hrf0O0B8mcZVbExnpLM6nksQb7o9gzRcV6nInJr9_hBNpXdQwtCQAu96OV2-oftB0N9LkpQBkaMm59J38ots6RUhUeoM2t01kV-v0tvdh-kzeit8/w640-h454/2021+11+29+UO+BBC+40th+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Orchestra's recent announcement of 11 further concerts running from January and ending the season as normal in June 2022 will be music to its fans' ears. We read that the Netherlands Government's new November/December restrictions prohibit the Concertgebouw Orchestra from performing evening concerts for the next three weeks (at least, possibly). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Caution and continued adherence to public health advice during and beyond the festive season, it seems, remain the by-words if we want the evening economy to continue.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYy7LtoL5TlAO6EEmE7z5O1U2a8LlKezz01O0F_SCLC-ipCVCYbQizN3y74yXHrrAX7L3ygtks_bsNjyjDxR8jZzu-WppPoZVUuEaWyF-LbCok7l1RoFVtQJMg72IQBPr_tenS0baXQ8/s960/2021+11+28+CovidNativity.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="956" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYy7LtoL5TlAO6EEmE7z5O1U2a8LlKezz01O0F_SCLC-ipCVCYbQizN3y74yXHrrAX7L3ygtks_bsNjyjDxR8jZzu-WppPoZVUuEaWyF-LbCok7l1RoFVtQJMg72IQBPr_tenS0baXQ8/w399-h400/2021+11+28+CovidNativity.jpg" width="399" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nativity 2021 style</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The other concert venue which we have visited recently is the city's 1895 Frank Matcham-designed landmark, The Grand Opera House. As soon as its reopening after a £12m refurbishment was announced for early October, I deemed it essential to attend the opening show. This was the West End production of the musical "Six," a modern girl-band take about the wives of King Henry the 8th. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTBLr9wKVa5I23JJEbI2gXQcgLs27TMDjTbzFqY2xcjRawYoxn1_jbH1fkfz0Ohbb24B3E12NtxQbzcH6K-erPTDbOFgL38iX1XGnLtmSQ9iSyhBpUIj7D3CnHSDcwdI-5pnuev7E43Q/s960/2021+11+28+GOH+Six.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTBLr9wKVa5I23JJEbI2gXQcgLs27TMDjTbzFqY2xcjRawYoxn1_jbH1fkfz0Ohbb24B3E12NtxQbzcH6K-erPTDbOFgL38iX1XGnLtmSQ9iSyhBpUIj7D3CnHSDcwdI-5pnuev7E43Q/w300-h400/2021+11+28+GOH+Six.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Six" viewed from the gods, Grand Opera House Belfast 10 October 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The self-induced imperative to attend was driven by the previous big reopening approximately forty years ago when, after being bombed during the Troubles and closed for about four years, a group of ten of us travelled to Belfast from Omagh to see Rowan Atkinson (of Not the Nine O'Clock News and later Mr Bean fame) single-handedly spark a beginning of evening normality to a deprived and damaged city centre. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Back to the present and with restrictions on audience numbers easing gradually, we attended two more events in the Opera House. One was to see the Belfast International Festival event "The Great Irish Songbook,"</span><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: arial;">with Sligo-based traditional music band Dervish centre stage. The large traditional ensemble was supported by a galaxy of Scottish and Irish talent like Glen Hansard, Eddi Reader, Cara Dillon, Karen Matheson, Brian Kennedy and Belfast's Open Arts Community Choir. That was ten days before Halowe'en and the place was rocking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We returned to the Opera House in early November. This performance was another West End musical, "Hairspray." Unlike "Six" which was a 70 minute one-part show, meaning less opportunity for social interaction, "Hairspray" was a conventional two-part performance. Such was the quality and liveliness of the latter, that it is a show which we would recommend and probably see it again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The late spring and summer have given people the taste for a return to socialising, dining out, going to the cinema and to concerts. Audiences support concert and cinema-going as a stimulus to </span><span style="font-family: arial;">happiness and to </span><span style="font-family: arial;">good health. Sláinte. Anything that alleviates pressure on the National Health Service is positive. Nowhere is this more applicable as it is to Northern Ireland which has a history of coping with hard times and with learning how to survive artistic and cultural lockdown. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">©Michael McSorley 2021</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Postscript:-</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Previous articles in this Covid-19 series include the following:-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 1 (24 March 2020) A Test for Elected Leaders<a href="#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 2 (11 April 2020) Coping with Contagion, a Survival Strategy.<a href="#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 3 (30 April 2020) The New Vocabulary<a href="#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 4 (21 May 2020) Following the Science<a href="#_edn12" name="_ednref12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 5 (11 June 2020) Beautiful books<a href="#_edn13" name="_ednref13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 6 (25 June 2020) Stone Circles<a href="#_edn14" name="_ednref14" style="mso-endnote-id: edn14;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 7 (26 July 2020) Finding positives in a global crisis<a href="#_edn15" name="_ednref15" style="mso-endnote-id: edn15;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 8 (21 August 2020) Humour for the pandemic<a href="#_edn16" name="_ednref16" style="mso-endnote-id: edn16;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 9 (28 September 2020) Holidays at Home<a href="#_edn17" name="_ednref17" style="mso-endnote-id: edn17;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 10 (10 October 2020) The London Marathon<a href="#_edn18" name="_ednref18" style="mso-endnote-id: edn18;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiii]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 11 (30 October 2020) Hallowe'en<a href="#_edn19" name="_ednref19" style="mso-endnote-id: edn19;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiv]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px;">Part 12 (21 November 2020) Discord and Division</span><a href="#_edn19" name="_ednref19" style="font-size: 13.3333px; mso-endnote-id: edn19;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xv]</span></span></span></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">References/links</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> The Observer 28 November 2021 David Cox <span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">"It's not a twist on Delta as people were expecting but a worrying new thing" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/27/omicrons-full-impact-will-be-felt-in-countries-where-fewer-are-vaccinated</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a> BBC News 28 November 2021 "13 test positive for Omicron after South Africa-Netherlands flights" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59451103</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"> https://belfastinternationalartsfestival.com/event/the-great-irish-songbook/</span></p><div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-test-for-elected-leaders.html</p></div><div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/04/coping-with-contagion-survival-strategy.html</p></div><div id="edn11" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-new-vocabulary.html</p></div><div id="edn12" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref12" name="_edn12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/05/following-science.html</p></div><div id="edn13" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref13" name="_edn13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/06/beautiful-books.html</p></div><div id="edn14" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref14" name="_edn14" style="mso-endnote-id: edn14;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-archaeology-of-stone-circles.html</p></div><div id="edn15" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref15" name="_edn15" style="mso-endnote-id: edn15;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/07/finding-positives-in-global-crisis.html</p></div><div id="edn16" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref16" name="_edn16" style="mso-endnote-id: edn16;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/08/humour-for-pandemic.html</p></div><div id="edn17" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref17" name="_edn17" style="mso-endnote-id: edn17;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/09/holidays-at-home.html</p></div><div id="edn18" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref18" name="_edn18" style="mso-endnote-id: edn18;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiii]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-virtual-london-marathon.html</p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.4667px;"></span></p><div id="edn19" style="mso-element: endnote;"><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref19" name="_edn19" style="mso-endnote-id: edn19;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiv]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-spirits-of-haloween.html</p><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_edn19" name="_ednref19" style="font-size: 13.3333px; mso-endnote-id: edn19;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 15.3333px; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xv]</span></span></span></span></a> https://michaelcovid19.blogspot.com/2020/11/discord-and-division.html</p></div>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-49811608250744122752021-06-30T06:53:00.000-07:002021-06-30T06:53:17.533-07:00Summer books<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> Summer escapes</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's time to list seven of the best books I've read so far this year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Distraction comes no better than being totally involved in a good book. As mid-summer pass-times compete for our attention, reading is surely one of the most positive. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And sometimes a novel can be so absorbing that the urge to tell everybody about it becomes overwhelming, the need to spread the joy through recommendation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Non-fiction titles</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Before revealing recent novels which have impressed, allow me to start with a few other works. My reading year began - unusually and unplanned - with some non-fiction titles. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The first of these was the hilarious <i>"Tall tales and wee stories"</i> written by <i>Billy Connolly</i>. This collection of funny stories and reworked sketches resonated with the onset of a longest lockdown, the one which coincided with the darkest days of the new year. Added poignancy arises from the realisation that the author is dealing with Parkinson's Disease. This challenge was part of his motivation to write the book. As the life-story of a much-loved comedian and actor, its humour provided comfort and plenty of belly laughs in trying times.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Next up came <i>"Diary of a Young Naturalist"</i> by the teenage <i>Dara McAnulty</i>. This book is all about nature-writing, a diary of the four seasons, as well as a portrait of his close-knit family. Its appeal, I suspect, arises not just from the author's beautiful use of language but also because everybody has become even more acutely aware of nature during the pandemic. For one so young and dealing with autism, his power with words and his knowledge of local wildlife and the outdoors are a joyful revelation. His clever references to poets underline his literary influences. A sign of his growing reputation comes with the first in a new monthly column in the Irish Times (26 June 2021), more beautiful words about nature.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Continuing with non-fiction and keeping the standard at the highest level, I was delighted to get a copy of the brilliant <i>"Thirty-two Words for Field"</i> by the linguist and folklorist <i>Manchán Magan</i>. This book is a paean to the richness and diversity of the Irish language. These include not just the many words for different kinds of field but also numerous alternative words for other features. He grabs readers' attention with learned descriptions of the ancient beliefs and folklore behind the vocabulary surrounding place-names natural features archaeological monuments and lots more. He emphasises time after time with plenty of examples how the loss of linguistic words and phrases results in a loss of understanding of the nuances of our past, our heritage. Magan is a genius, by turns fascinating, well informed and regularly amusing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Novels</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The book that I've just finished reading is <i>"Still Life"</i> written by <i>Val McDermid</i>. She is one of our most distinguished authors having won a range of prestigious awards, a leading exponent of the art of crime fiction. She has a huge volume of published work, 16 millions books sold worldwide. She has served as a judge of prestigious book prizes - all of which makes my admission that this book marks my first direct acquaintance with one of her books a bit shameful. My overdue introduction was not disappointed with a pleasing array of characters and very Scottish setting - until, near the end, the drama switches to Ireland. Her linking of locations in Donegal and Dublin almost caused me to collapse when the climax of the action switched to my home town, Omagh. The author's pinpoint accuracy with geography delighted this reader. Regardless of my parochial nostalgia, I have already bought her latest paperback.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The book I read prior to Still Life was <i>"Whereabouts"</i> written by another author new to me <i>Jhumpa Lahiri</i>. It grabbed my attention in a press review (Helen Cullen Irish Times 8 May 2021) describing it with fulsome praise as "an early contender for book of the year." This is a story narrated by an unnamed woman speaking about a year of her life in an unnamed city somewhere in Italy. It consists of a series of vignettes about the minutiae of mundane occurrences at home, outside, in shops and public places - all fairly minimalist. It's an easy to read account about a person whose life appears to involve social distancing in a pre-Covid era. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Whereas Billy Connolly's book is the funniest non-fiction I have read so far this year, my pick for the most humerous novel goes to the Swedish author<i> Jonas Jonasson</i>'s "<i>Sweet Sweet Revenge Ltd</i>." This is an author with whom I am familiar and like a lot. In contrast to what has become the default setting of Scandinavian novel-writing, Nordic Noir, Jonasson deals in the polar opposite of bleak. This story is the latest worthy successor from this author to his brilliant debut "The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The novel which has captivated me more than any other so far this year is the best-selling <i>"Where the Crawdads Sing"</i> written by <i>Delia Owens</i>. It combines the best of nature writing with a suspenseful tale that combines heartache, romance, racial and social division, crime and a trial - along with life-affirming moments. It paints what seems like an accurate description of the climate and ecology of the North Carolina coastal marshlands and you the reader are there observing. Quite a combination of circumstances. This is a story which appeals to the senses. At its core, it is a story of isolation and survival against long odds. This resonates in various ways with the current era. It will also appeal to parents and grandparents of a seven-year-old girl. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">©Michael McSorley 2021</span></p>Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-19374646170260878282021-03-04T04:27:00.005-08:002022-06-08T05:36:00.881-07:00The lore of notable places<p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulster's place-names<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Introduction</span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Place-names are a cultural asset in Ireland, cherished by
its citizens and a source of wonderment for visitors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Attachment to place is embedded genetically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It resonates in the poetry of William Butler
Yeats, WF Marshall and Seamus Heaney.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As one placename expert<a href="#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> (whose name translated means son of a bishop's servant) says</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 36pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“the medieval Irish created
a separate literary genre, the</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Dindshenchas,</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> the lore of notable places </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(composed
in the 10<sup>th</sup> and 11<sup>th</sup> centuries)</span></i>, devoted to
the origins of names of renowned geographical features .....The vast majority
are of Irish language in origin; others derive from English, while a small but
significant number derive from Old Norse....Anglicisation and the Ordnance
Survey’s 19<sup>th</sup> century name standardisation rendered names
unintelligible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result scholarly
work is required to correct forms.”</span></i><i><span face=""HelveticaNeue-Italic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: HelveticaNeue-Italic;"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With four Provinces, 32 counties, 2428 civil
parishes, 60462 townlands, hundreds of towns and villages, never mind the names
of rivers lakes mountains ancient monuments and sacred sites, we possess a cornucopia of place-names. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Governments in Belfast<a href="#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a> and Dublin<a href="#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a> employ specialists to
research, decipher, and translate the island’s toponyms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lost in Translation: Interpreting Ulster’s
Place-names<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With the welcome return of night classes at Queens
University in Belfast 10 months after suspension, I jumped at the opportunity
offered by this 10-week course. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arising
from my surname, I wanted to know more about the influence of the Vikings on
our place-names.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPoZXJMDlzB9e5lqm-hc2NXNK2qLRybJGU_3OqqjuH3hie0byjKcJe6qDw1d8NIyfKSipQJ_sL0kL_8Yg5zJA4-b3J7v8FvO85Opx9ZeP0z8aABsmRuAKtRgM82LbVvxZATULh-Y9Yts/s589/PlacenamesUlsterLongships.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="589" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPoZXJMDlzB9e5lqm-hc2NXNK2qLRybJGU_3OqqjuH3hie0byjKcJe6qDw1d8NIyfKSipQJ_sL0kL_8Yg5zJA4-b3J7v8FvO85Opx9ZeP0z8aABsmRuAKtRgM82LbVvxZATULh-Y9Yts/w400-h224/PlacenamesUlsterLongships.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the first week we learned that </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Old
Norse came to Ireland with the Vikings when they first attacked in 795AD...
Norwegians firstly, later Danes...referred to in Irish as </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Fionnghall </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">meaning</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">fair
foreigner and </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">DubhGall </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">meaning
dark foreigner....” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulster’s largest county</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">contains
that same suffix. </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Donegal,</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Dún na nGall,</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> means</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">the foreigner’s fort or castle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aware of the Lost in Translation theme, the
fact that </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Gall</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> also translates to
standing stone<a href="#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a>
highlights the researchers’ interpretive role. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And just to complicate the issue a little further, Donegal
retains an alternative if lesser-used Gaelic name, </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tír Chonaill,</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Tyrconnell (Conall’s land).
One source<a href="#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a> says that Tyrconnell is
applied to the county’s Irish-speaking Gaeltacht which (relevant to the
Vikings) is primarily coastal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike Donegal, the name Tyrconnell has no explicit
connection to Vikings. The Old Norse word for </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tír</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
(meaning land or country) is land.<a href="#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, the Gaelic noun</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Gall</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> bears no etymological
resemblance to its Old Norse<a href="#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a> equivalent <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">út-lænninge,</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">utlending</i> in modern Norwegian.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Surnames</span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Expanding on the class’s introductory example of </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">DubhGall</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (anglicised as Doyle), other
Norse-related surnames include </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">MacLachlann </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(anglicised
as McLaughlin) which means son of a Dane, and </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">MacDubhghall</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
(McDowell) meaning son of a dark stranger/foreigner. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ballyloughlin</i> County Down<a href="#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is the sole Ulster surname-to-place-name example of potential,
if arguable, with Viking interest that I could find. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My family name is the best example that derives from Old
Norse vocabulary –</span> <span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">sumarliði or sumar lida.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means summer warrior or sailor, a synonym
for Viking.<a href="#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
name survives in both Gaelicised (</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">MacSomhairle</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
McSorley) and in Anglicised forms (Somerled<a href="#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a>). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also exists in modern Iceland where, for
example, Sulrún Sumarlidadottir is a string player on Sigur Ros albums. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The surname appears as a toponym on the Hebridean Isle of
Skye.<i> </i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Somerled Square </i>(the
anglicised version) and</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Ce</span><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">à</span></i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">rnan Shomhairle</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (Scots Gaelic) are the
bilingual names signposted in Portree </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">(Port
an Righ, </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">King’s Port</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">) </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">town
centre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3OKhs2uK2jQZlepbw8jGFOifX_26TMINSYuVgvmJNK9vvx58SXbA9sMTOTjkq-jyC8YTew_Sr8lX-scou6fhRpsjfB2W-rlQcRnKWRp2AlVFUuS2vzptVQXKiW9oancLzq4t50QPFFQ/s1974/2007+August+Scotland+138+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1974" data-original-width="1480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3OKhs2uK2jQZlepbw8jGFOifX_26TMINSYuVgvmJNK9vvx58SXbA9sMTOTjkq-jyC8YTew_Sr8lX-scou6fhRpsjfB2W-rlQcRnKWRp2AlVFUuS2vzptVQXKiW9oancLzq4t50QPFFQ/w150-h200/2007+August+Scotland+138+%25282%2529.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3B1eOTqQW_qtcyJ27Ip1GJ_KWusFXXWseH3lsziCXStctwGurdEWegRXmFqdYU_L3RwLeu5Sv5CStyVlPYu6msjIq55M9qGu6fTLNg7q3EEnBpUZkC2BXYkxpEx9_Urub5uxsZABxL-M/s2048/2007+August+Scotland+139+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3B1eOTqQW_qtcyJ27Ip1GJ_KWusFXXWseH3lsziCXStctwGurdEWegRXmFqdYU_L3RwLeu5Sv5CStyVlPYu6msjIq55M9qGu6fTLNg7q3EEnBpUZkC2BXYkxpEx9_Urub5uxsZABxL-M/w285-h150/2007+August+Scotland+139+%25282%2529.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br /><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And the Domesday Book mentions the Old Norse Sumerlida
from which four settlements in three English counties<a href="#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a> derive their
place-names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are Somerby in
Leicestershire, Somerleytown and Somerton both in Suffolk, and Somersby in
Lincolnshire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no evidence of
Somerled or</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Somhairle</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> in Ulster
place-names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is, however, another place-name connection. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Historian Robert Bell explains that McSorley’s
travelled to Ulster from Scotland.<a href="#_edn12" name="_ednref12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He adds that most originate from Clan Donald
MacSorleys who came as galloglasses between the 13<sup>th</sup> and late 16<sup>th</sup>
centuries. They were one of the earliest such families to settle in Ulster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Galloglasses were heavily-armed mercenary
soldiers</span>, <span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">originally Hebridean (Gaelic-Norse). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Galloglass derives from two Scots Gaelic words - </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">gall </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(foreigner) and </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">óglach </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(young warrior-servant).<a href="#_edn13" name="_ednref13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiii]</span></span></span></span></a></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ballyalloly</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or</span><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Baile
an Gallóglaigh</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">lies
between Carryduff and Comber, County Down less than six miles from my house. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the word galloglass “implies Norse
origin, they (foreign soldiers) are more likely to have come from the
Norse-influenced areas in the Hebrides and Gaelic Scotland.<a href="#_edn14" name="_ednref14" style="mso-endnote-id: edn14;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiv]</span></span></span></span></a>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulster place-names of Norse origin</span></u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Three examples were presented in class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have added details including Gaelic
equivalents:- <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Strangford</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
Lough derives from the Old Norse <i>Strangr Fjörðr </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">meaning</span> strong sea-inlet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Irish Gaelic name is </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Loch Cuan, </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">literally meaning Harbour Lough,
arguably a synonym for strong sea-inlet; <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rathlin
Island</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> derives from the Old Norse <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rechru</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My inconclusive efforts
to uncover its meaning are appended.<a href="#_edn15" name="_ednref15" style="mso-endnote-id: edn15;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xv]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Annals of Ulster uses the Norse name when
describing <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">the first recorded site of
a Viking raid in Ireland</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">in 795
AD as </span>the “burning by the heathens.<a href="#_edn16" name="_ednref16" style="mso-endnote-id: edn16;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xvi]</span></span></span></span></a>” The Gaelic derivative
from Rechru is </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Reachlainn</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, meaning “indented/rugged
island<a href="#_edn17" name="_ednref17" style="mso-endnote-id: edn17;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xvii]</span></span></span></span></a>”; and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Carlingford</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> is
derived from the Old Norse<i> Kerlingfjorðr<a href="#_edn18" name="_ednref18" style="mso-endnote-id: edn18;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xviii]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i>
meaning narrow sea-inlet of the hag. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
translates into Irish as </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Loch Cairlinn</span></i><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Irish
word for hag,</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
Cailleach, </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">is similar but different</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
research finds no English meaning for the lake’s name (</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Cair)</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, although its Gaelic suffix </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">linn </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">translates as lake/pool. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coincidentally, Dublin’s original Gaelic name
is </span><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">DubhLinn</span></i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> literally
deep pool. The Annals of Ulster recorded that in 841AD the Vikings had a
stronghold (</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">longphort)
</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">there and built the first town<a href="#_edn19" name="_ednref19" style="mso-endnote-id: edn19;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xix]</span></span></span></span></a>
(WoodQuay).<a href="#_edn20" name="_ednref20" style="mso-endnote-id: edn20;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xx]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Old Norse
place-names – more examples<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Provincial name, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ulster</i>,
is an Old Norse derivative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Historian Jonathon
Bardon explains that Ulster’s rulers were called the </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" lang="GA" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Ulaidh</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was a tribal name, he says, recorded as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Voluntii</i> about 150AD by Ptolemy of Alexandria (Egypt) in his
geography of Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m intrigued by
the apparent morphing of the Latin Voluntii to Ulaidh (never mind the concept
of Ulster Volunteers).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Vikings named the land of the </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" lang="GA" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Ulaidh</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" lang="GA" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Uladzstir</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">,
mixing their pronunciation with the Irish word </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">t<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">í</span>r</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">,
meaning land or country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the
Normans and English invaded in the twelfth century, they adopted the Viking
version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Bardon explains,<a href="#_edn21" name="_ednref21" style="mso-endnote-id: edn21;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxi]</span></span></span></span></a> Uladztir became
anglicised to Ulster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is endorsed by
Patrick McKay who concludes that the form Uladztir originates in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Norse</i>.<a href="#_edn22" name="_ednref22" style="mso-endnote-id: edn22;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxii]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whereas the Norse-derived surname</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> MacSomhairle</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> transliterates to form
place-names, </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Uladh</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> reverses
that process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surnames like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McCullagh </i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> McAnulty</i> borrow<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Uladzstir</i>
to produce </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Mac Con Uladh.</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ulster’s Norse place-names survive in some surnames
and vice versa.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Between Hilltown and Kilkeel</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> County<span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">
Down sits the townland of</span><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""> Stang (</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">An
Stang</span></i><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> in Irish</span></i><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">)</span></i><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Stang derives from</span><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">the Old Norse word <i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">stöng </span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">meaning</span><a href="#_edn23" name="_ednref23" style="mso-endnote-id: edn23;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxiii]</span></span></span></span></a><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""> </span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">a measure of land such as a rood or
an acre. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Old Norse
dictionary defines <span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">stöng as a
pole/staff</span><i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">.</span></i><a href="#_edn24" name="_ednref24" style="mso-endnote-id: edn24;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxiv]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A Tyrone place-name uses the
same prefix Stang as a noun with a Gaelic adjective suffixed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Stangmore</i> (</span><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">An</span></i><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Stang
mór</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, a big piece of land</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">)</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, lies outside
Dungannon, County Tyrone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No <i>Stangbeg</i> exists in Ulster.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The word stadium is one English
translation listed for Stang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes
Stangmore Park, the home ground of Dungannon Swifts Football Club more
interesting, serendipitous perhaps. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
modern Irish word for stadium is </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">staid<a href="#_edn25" name="_ednref25" style="mso-endnote-id: edn25;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxv]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">which,</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">because it
sounds like an English derivative, makes its appeal less noir than the Nordic </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Stang</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One wonders about connections
of inland Stang and Stangmore to the Vikings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A topic for further investigation – maybe
using archaeology. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Archaeological
evidence</span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">No pun intended, but I harbour
hopes of discovering an Ulster place-name referencing that quintessential object,
a Viking longship, perhaps buried somewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m sure I have read or heard about such a discovery aided by place-name
evidence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">long fhada</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (literally ship long) is the Gaelic term, the sole
toponymic reference I could find is <i>Annalong</i> (</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Áth na long<a href="#_edn26" name="_ednref26" style="mso-endnote-id: edn26;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxvi]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">– ford of the ships), on the County Down coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Another, which raises my
hopes, incorporates the same maritime noun -</span><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">
Baile an Longfoirt, </span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">anglicised as</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <i>Ballylumford</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It occupies a strategic site on Islandmagee
peninsula in County Antrim. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Translated from
Irish, its English meaning is<a href="#_edn27" name="_ednref27" style="mso-endnote-id: edn27;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxvii]</span></span></span></span></a>
town or townland of the fortress, stronghold, or camp. Fortuitously this fits
with the location’s characteristics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
prefix </span><i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Long</span></i><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (ship), mysteriously, isn’t specified
definitionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Placenameni’s descriptive of<i>
Ballylumford</i> makes conjectural observations about temporary camps of 9<sup>th</sup>
century Viking raiders, the position of the peninsula exposed to attacks by
Danes and Scots – alas with nothing evidential to confirm possibilities, like mummified
ships.<a href="#_edn28" name="_ednref28" style="mso-endnote-id: edn28;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxviii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">When Covid-19 invaded </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">DudhGall-</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">like last March,<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> the course I was attending on Ulster
Archaeology terminated after 8 enthralling classes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had learned about a Viking burial site at
Larne and that the summer sailors undertook more extensive settlement in Ireland’s
south-east. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ó’Mainnín<a href="#_edn29" name="_ednref29" style="mso-endnote-id: edn29;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxix]</span></span></span></span></a>
says that the Vikings coined roughly 60 place-names in Ireland, including <i>Ueða-Fjörðr
(Waterford), Ueigs-Fjörðr (Wexford), </i>and<i> Uikingrló (Wicklow).<a href="#_edn30" name="_ednref30" style="mso-endnote-id: edn30;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxx]</span></b></span></span></span></a>
</i>Smyth<a href="#_edn31" name="_ednref31" style="mso-endnote-id: edn31;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxi]</span></span></span></span></a> adds the Old Norse <i>Hlýmrek</i>
(Limerick) on the west coast arguing that Nordic influence on Ireland’s
place-names was more widespread than is currently held.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another academic<a href="#_edn32" name="_ednref32" style="mso-endnote-id: edn32;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxii]</span></span></span></span></a> observes that “only
two place-names in Northern Ireland are derived from Old Norse:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Larne</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ulfreks<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Fjörðr</span></i> –
fjord of Ulfrek - and Strangford.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“in the 10<sup>th</sup> and
11<sup>th</sup> centuries Ulfreksfjordr was the centre of Viking activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is seen from Viking burial sites and
artefacts found in this area..... <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snorri
Sturluson<a href="#_edn33" name="_ednref33" style="mso-endnote-id: edn33;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxiii]</span></span></span></span></a>
(1178-1241 Norwegian poet, historian and politician in the Althing) mentions
Ulfreksfjordr in his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heimskringla </i>as
the place where Connor the King of Ireland defeated the Orkney Vikings under
the leadership of Einar in battle in 1018.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A Norwegian relation<a href="#_edn34" name="_ednref34" style="mso-endnote-id: edn34;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxiv]</span></span></span></span></a> advises that Ulfrek is
not a name (Ulrik is), adding that frekk means cheeky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Larne comes from the Irish word </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Latharna</span></i><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">meaning descendants of </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Lathar</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> who<a href="#_edn35" name="_ednref35" style="mso-endnote-id: edn35;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxv]</span></span></span></span></a> was one of 25 children
of the pre-Christian king </span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Úgaine Mór</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Latharna</span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> nor
Larne nor Ugaine bear any apparent etymological similarity to the Old Norse
Ulfreksfjordr.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Drawing from Smyth’s case that “Scandinavian rural
settlement in Ireland was more extensive than is currently assumed,<a href="#_edn36" name="_ednref36" style="mso-endnote-id: edn36;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxvi]</span></span></span></span></a>” this essay has
searched Ulster for additional candidates. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Norse-derived Ulster place-names,
nevertheless, still seem to share a rarity value similar to that of our Norse surnames.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Larne stretches that characteristic to the
extreme by concealing Ulfreksfjordr for no known reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lost?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Larne, however,<a href="#_edn37" name="_ednref37" style="mso-endnote-id: edn37;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxvii]</span></span></span></span></a> is “a relatively
recent name.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How recent is, tantalisingly,
left undefined. In the words of the bishop's servant's son, it is “shrouded in an impenetrable fog of unintelligibility<a href="#_edn38" name="_ednref38" style="mso-endnote-id: edn38;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxviii]</span></span></span></span></a>” - perhaps lost in
translation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I’m tempted to offer <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sumarlida<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">fjorðr</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> as an
alternative.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">©Michael McSorley 2021</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Bibliography</span></u><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;"><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> Dónall
MacGiolla Easpaig “Ireland’s Heritage of Geographical Names” Vienna 2009</p>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Northern Ireland Place-names Project based at Queens University Belfast
www.placenamesni.org</p>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Placenames Branch Dept of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>www.logainm.ie</p>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a>
Donegal https://www.logainm.ie/en/100013</p>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: FR;"> <span lang="FR">Tyr Connell https://www.logainm.ie/en/1166821?s=T%c3%adr+Chonaill</span></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a>
Country/<span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook;">tír</span> https://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old_Norse_Dictionary_E2N.shtm#f</p>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Foreigner</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old_Norse_Dictionary_E2N.shtm#f</span><span style="font-family: GaelicSchoolbook;"></span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn8" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ballyloughlin, Maghera Co Down. Neither <a href="http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=17399">http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=17399</a>
nor <a href="https://www.logainm.ie/en/66586">https://www.logainm.ie/en/66586</a>
endorse a Danish Viking link.</p>
</div>
<div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a>
“The name Somhairle and its clan” H Palsson, from “So Many People, Longages
& Tonges,” Edinburgh 1981.</p>
</div>
<div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/somerled.html">http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/somerled.html</a> <br /></p></div>
<div id="edn11" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names</p>
</div>
<div id="edn12" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref12" name="_edn12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Robert Bell “The Book of Ulster Surnames.” p 182. 1988</p>
</div>
<div id="edn13" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref13" name="_edn13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Collins English Dictionary millennium edition p 627</p>
</div>
<div id="edn14" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref14" name="_edn14" style="mso-endnote-id: edn14;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiv]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ballyalloly http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=6868</p>
</div>
<div id="edn15" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref15" name="_edn15" style="mso-endnote-id: edn15;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xv]</span></span></span></span></a>
ON dictionary search reveals options: e.g. Rejk=bay, reykr=smoke, rekkr=warrior
</p>
</div>
<div id="edn16" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref16" name="_edn16" style="mso-endnote-id: edn16;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xvi]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Annals of Ulster https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100001A/text365.html</p>
</div>
<div id="edn17" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref17" name="_edn17" style="mso-endnote-id: edn17;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xvii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Rathlin Island http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=15371</p>
</div>
<div id="edn18" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref18" name="_edn18" style="mso-endnote-id: edn18;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xviii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Kerling ON= hag/old woman https://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old_Norse_Dictionary_N2E.shtm#s</p>
</div>
<div id="edn19" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref19" name="_edn19" style="mso-endnote-id: edn19;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xix]</span></span></span></span></a><span lang="PT" style="mso-ansi-language: PT;"> Dublin
https://www.logainm.ie/Eolas/Data/Brainse/baile-atha-cliath-dublin.pdf</span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn20" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref20" name="_edn20" style="mso-endnote-id: edn20;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xx]</span></span></span></span></a>
Wood Quay Dublin https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/wood-quay-revealing-the-heart-of-viking-dublin.htm</p>
</div>
<div id="edn21" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref21" name="_edn21" style="mso-endnote-id: edn21;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxi]</span></span></span></span></a>
Jonathon Bardon “Place names in the North of Ireland” p 2 NICLR.</p>
</div>
<div id="edn22" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref22" name="_edn22" style="mso-endnote-id: edn22;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Patrick McKay “A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names 1999 p 144 ISI QUB.</p>
</div>
<div id="edn23" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref23" name="_edn23" style="mso-endnote-id: edn23;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxiii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Stang http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=14666</p>
</div>
<div id="edn24" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref24" name="_edn24" style="mso-endnote-id: edn24;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxiv]</span></span></span></span></a>
Stang https://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/Old_Norse_Dictionary_N2E.shtm#s</p>
</div>
<div id="edn25" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref25" name="_edn25" style="mso-endnote-id: edn25;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxv]</span></span></span></span></a>
Stadium https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/stadium</p>
</div>
<div id="edn26" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref26" name="_edn26" style="mso-endnote-id: edn26;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxvi]</span></span></span></span></a>Annalong
https://www.logainm.ie/en/130004?s=Annalong</p>
</div>
<div id="edn27" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref27" name="_edn27" style="mso-endnote-id: edn27;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxvii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ballylumford<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=16796</p>
</div>
<div id="edn28" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref28" name="_edn28" style="mso-endnote-id: edn28;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxviii]</span></span></span></span></a>Viking
Ships <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm</p>
</div>
<div id="edn29" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref29" name="_edn29" style="mso-endnote-id: edn29;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxix]</span></span></span></span></a>Mícheál
Ó’Mainnín 2017 “Annexing Irish Names to the English Tongue: language contact
and the Anglicisation of Irish place-names” Paul Walsh Memorial Lecture
Maynooth University</p>
</div>
<div id="edn30" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref30" name="_edn30" style="mso-endnote-id: edn30;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxx]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ibid Ó’Mainnín 2017: p6 - meanings - <i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ueða-Fjörðr (ram
or windy fjord), Ueigs-Fjörðr (fjord of the water-logged island or piece of
land), Uikingrló (meadow of the Vikings).</span></i></p>
</div>
<div id="edn31" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref31" name="_edn31" style="mso-endnote-id: edn31;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxi]</span></span></span></span></a>
Limerick William J Smyth History Ireland Mar/Apr 2020 “The Scandinavian Impact,
A Geographical Exploration.” https://www.jstor.org/stable/26915175?seq=1</p>
</div>
<div id="edn32" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref32" name="_edn32" style="mso-endnote-id: edn32;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Sophie Vanherpen May 2016 ”Traces of Vikings in Northern Ireland”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>https://vanherpens.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/traces-of-vikings-in-northern-ireland/?fbclid=IwAR1a42ptQugDscY-2DgMZh8ST5_7JV0CDNW4_Zy9O2RzhT0RTaQo6tIIQm4</p>
</div>
<div id="edn33" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref33" name="_edn33" style="mso-endnote-id: edn33;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxiii]</span></span></span></span></a><span lang="NO-BOK" style="mso-ansi-language: NO-BOK;"> Sturluson
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Snorri-Sturluson</span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn34" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref34" name="_edn34" style="mso-endnote-id: edn34;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxiv]</span></span></span></span></a>
Merete Olsen from Åsgårdsstrand on west coast of Oslofjord, wife of my nephew
Greg Barnes</p>
</div>
<div id="edn35" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref35" name="_edn35" style="mso-endnote-id: edn35;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxv]</span></span></span></span></a><span lang="NO-BOK" style="mso-ansi-language: NO-BOK;"> Larne
http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=16730</span></p>
</div>
<div id="edn36" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref36" name="_edn36" style="mso-endnote-id: edn36;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxvi]</span></span></span></span></a>
William J Smyth History Ireland ibid 2020 “The Scandinavian Impact, A
Geographical Exploration.” </p>
</div>
<div id="edn37" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref37" name="_edn37" style="mso-endnote-id: edn37;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxvii]</span></span></span></span></a><span lang="ES-TRAD" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;"> Ibid.
http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=16730</span></p>
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<div id="edn38" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><a href="#_ednref38" name="_edn38" style="mso-endnote-id: edn38;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xxxviii]</span></span></span></span></a>Ibid
Dónall MacGiolla Easpaig “Ireland’s Heritage of Geographical Names” 2009</p>
</div>
</div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-42884592919500864922019-07-30T12:41:00.000-07:002019-07-30T12:42:29.456-07:00Imagining Belfast - Cultural Strategy<i><u>Background</u></i><br />
<br />
<i>Earlier this month, I was made aware that Belfast City Council had published a draft strategy for the arts and culture. "A City Imagining - Cultural Strategy 2020-2030."</i><br />
<i>The municipality was inviting the general public to join the discussion, to react to its report and to submit comments and suggestions.</i><br />
<i>This sounded like an opportunity to be grasped, not to be missed.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Before reading the Council's document, I was immediately struck by the invitation's timing - to consider the role of culture in a region during a month when manifestation of a culture based on a seventeenth-century battle delights many and alienates others. </i><br />
<i>I recollect also how, in another context thirty-five years previously, we saw culture as a way to bring people together in a provincial town, Omagh, using music drama and art (e.g. establishing an annual Arts Festival) to demonstrate that normal life continues despite the distraction of the Troubles. Those efforts might not have solved anything, but we learned about the beneficial power of culture when negative events can disrupt life.</i><br />
<br />
<i>A couple of days passed before realisation dawned that in two days the Council's deadline for receiving comments would loom large. My strategy, therefore, was to spend one day reading and thinking about the 50-page consultation document; thence another day to compose something that might be of use to the report's authors when they write the final strategy.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Reading the report, I was at first disappointed at its refusal to define its operative word - culture; but on second thoughts concluded that this was local diplomacy at work in an organisation which is sensitive to sectarian issues. Perhaps my response could assist by defining what the arts are and what culture can achieve.</i><br />
<i>I was also struck by the apparent lack of empiricism and case-studies that any report needs as an evidence-base for its policies and proposals. Once again, I decided to suggest examples from the recent work of the Ulster Orchestra to support the objectives and explicitly stated priorities of the City Council - to endorse and encourage the Council in its positive efforts.</i><br />
<br />
<i>On the deadline (10 July 2019) a couple of hours before closing time and a bank holiday weekend, I submitted this two-page response.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">General observations </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">on Belfast City Council’s 10 year culture strategy</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This welcome strategy for the arts and
culture must recognise our city’s role as regional capital. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Belfast’s immediate catchment does not end at
its municipal boundaries. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, its
practical catchment includes the Council District’s population as well as that
of the Greater Belfast area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its
neighbouring Council Districts are part of its arts catchment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, the city’s draw extends further
when major cultural events are promoted only in the region’s capital.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Where the strategy properly emphasises “the
transformative power of culture,” it must conclude its logic by explaining the
specific relevance to Belfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
city’s process of transforming from the scourge of sectarian strife to peace
requires explicit reference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
strategy, therefore, must acknowledge directly the roles of the arts in social
integration, in promoting civic pride locally, the positive impact of the arts on
the city’s external image and reputation, and their economic benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only do the arts enrich lives but they
bring people together, they project a positive image of our creative ability,
and they boost our economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Belfast
craves for these lasting benefits to create sustainable transformation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because arts events tend to take place in
neutral venues, they unify the local community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This applies in BCC-owned venues like the Waterfront Hall and the Ulster
Hall, to theatres like the Grand Opera House, the Lyric, the MAC, the SSE Arena,
to cinemas and many smaller arts venues like the Black Box within BCC’s
administrative boundaries. It also applies to the wonderful portfolio of events
and festivals that happen throughout the year, all of which add to Belfast’s
critical mass of culture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The arts demonstrate the creative capacity of
our people engaged in positive endeavours, nurturing cultural talent which
attracts visitors as well as local people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The strategy is important also in promoting the commercial value (with revenue
and employment consequences) of marketing Belfast for cultural tourism along
with our infrastructure of visitor attractions (natural and man-made), quality
accommodation, entertainment and restaurants. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While the document’s enthusiastic aspirations
for Belfast are pleasing, more detail and commitments would strengthen its
impact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times, the draft strategy
reads as if it knows more than it is prepared to reveal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An appraiser might ask, for example, about
its evidence-base, the datasets and empirical research provide the foundation
for its policies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To put the draft strategy’s objectives into
effect (in its own words “action is a responsibility”), a plan for
implementation together with timescales, costs, delivery organisations and
monitoring will be essential. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That will
include, for example, defining criteria which BCC will use to determine
cultural investment priorities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">May I, therefore, endorse the draft strategy by suggesting
examples to fill its gaps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This draws on
experience of being a subscriber, patron and board member of the Ulster Orchestra
(UO).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It demonstrates how Northern
Ireland’s professional symphony orchestra provides working examples that accord
with the strategy’s broad aims. The examples follow the report’s own themes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Active citizenship</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The practical benefits of working within the community
are evident from numerous examples of the UO’s largely unheralded Learning and
Community Engagement projects. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since its
inception over 50 years ago, the orchestra has provided expertise to develop
music education outside its conventional platform of the concert hall. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In more recent years, it has established a comprehensive
programme of community outreach within and outside Belfast. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its enormous schedule involves musicians and
staff developing projects not only in schools and youth clubs, but also in
other venues such as care homes, community associations, sports clubs and prisons.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Place making</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">BCC’s Ulster Hall has always been known as the home of
the UO, not least because of its centrality and internationally-recognised
acoustic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the orchestra develops its
programmes, it is planning to cement its presence in Belfast with the
establishment of a new facility to house rehearsal space and a base for its ever-expanding
outreach work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alternative options are
being appraised, one being the restoration of a listed building, the other a
new build on a regeneration site.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New Approaches</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The UO loves innovation and pushing musical boundaries.
It has, for example, intensified collaborative work to positive effect in
recent years by moving beyond the classical repertoire with music concerts
across genres. Last year the orchestra worked with the local R&B musician Davy
Watson culminating in a sell-out concert in the Ulster Hall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discussions have taken place with an
internationally-renowned operatic trio for another collaborative project; the
growth in popularity of the annual Lush concert in the SSE Arena exemplifies
the orchestra’s musical versatility; and collaborative projects with writers
have become a part of the orchestra’s development of Derry/Londonderry as a
cultural hub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Building on the innovative appointment of Rafael Payare’s
5-year tenure as Chief Conductor, audiences in Belfast will soon discover the
different skills of its new Chief Conductor, Daniele Rustioni from Italy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the first time that the orchestra will
have had an Opera-specializing maestro in charge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This rising star can expect to produce mutual
benefits for the orchestra’s work and for partners as Northern Ireland Opera
and the Belfast Philharmonic Choir grow in stature. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our Place in the World and Lift Off</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Ulster Orchestra is outward-looking. Apart from a
track-record of appointing three foreign Chief Conductors in a row (from the
USA, Venezuela, and Italy), the inclusion of musicians from abroad (such as the
current leader and associate leader), the Orchestra’s MD hails from New
Zealand. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the musicians and staff
come from Northern Ireland as well as from Great Britain and Ireland.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last year the orchestra hosted the annual conference of
the Association of British Orchestras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The event which received substantial publicity was attended by delegates
from across Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One reason was the
fact that the orchestra is a leading partner in the European project, EO2 Lab.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Looking outside Belfast, the orchestra has expanded
substantially its concert programming in towns and villages across the region.
Apart from the work to develop its presence in the North-west, concerts around
the region improve the orchestra’s popular appeal as well as its networks and
reach.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The orchestra is performing at the London Proms in August
2019, it has previously appeared in concert at the National Concert Hall in
Dublin, and plans are in hand to arrange a return concert in Amsterdam’s
Concertgebouw.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Against this background and track-record, the orchestra
would appear to be a prime candidate for inclusion in the strategy’s UNESCO
2023 City of Music project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise and
for the economic reasons noted above, the strategy’s aims to prioritise “the
development of cultural tourism” and to “invest in our cultural and creative
sectors” resonate with the mission of the Ulster Orchestra.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Partnership Working</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Ulster Orchestra operates in close co-operation with
a long list of partners. These include funders (Arts Council, Belfast City
Council, the BBC, sponsors and trusts, the public), other arts providers
(exemplified above), the community and voluntary sector, a half dozen European
orchestras in the EO2 Lab consortium, NI Screen, the Musicians Union, record
labels and the audiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As instanced
by the significant expansion of its educational and outreach work, by collaborative
cross-genre projects, and by joint working with other arts bodies here, the UO
provides ample case studies as proof of the necessity for partnership working.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I assume that Belfast City Council will now be considering the responses submitted. In due course, a final strategy with details of projects, timetables and resources required can be expected. This is an exciting space to be watched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<br />
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<br />
<br />Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-60053300058585313692018-11-28T00:33:00.000-08:002018-11-28T00:33:45.467-08:00Books of 2018<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As people agonise over what gifts to buy for family and
friends at Christmas, the opportunity arises to suggest some tips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what better topic is there to discuss
than the wonderful world of books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The national broadsheets whet their readers’ appetites
beginning in the final weekend of November as writers and other luminaries
recommend their selections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I admit to
being open to suggestion, depending on the topic, author and with repeated
citing by respected reviewers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The end of November also coincides with Book Week at
least in the UK where the Reading Agency has published a report by the think
tank Demos extolling the benefits of reading. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It argues that “reading can transform British
society<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a>”
and that it combats loneliness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To celebrate this year's Book Week, BBC Northern Ireland produced a live Sunday afternoon concert featuring books read by two well known broadcasters - everything from Roald Dahl to Miss Marple - and music themes played by the Ulster Orchestra. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, by your leave, let me pick the best of this year’s personal
reading endeavours. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first books I read in 2018 followed pre-Christmas
recommendations of expert contributors to The Times and Observer
newspapers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, having read
Robert Harris’s novel “Conclave” last year, I was intrigued by the prospect of
his latest “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Munich</i></b>.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This novel is
set in the German city and recounts the events of four seminal days in
September 1938.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story centres on the
key roles of two former best friends, one on Chamberlain’s side the other on
Hitler’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a proper thriller which
casts a spotlight on a critical episode in twentieth century history.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My next book is a total contrast both in
content and in presentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It arose
from an end of year review<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a>
which listed it with loving praise (literally) as graphic novel of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Driving short distances</i></b>” by Joff
Winterhart is an everyday story about a failed university student being given a
begrudging start in his work-life by a somewhat surly more senior man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tale of mundane ordinariness includes
much seemingly aimless driving about in his car and meeting his friends.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first book I read that was published in
2018 was “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anatomy of a Scandal</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">”</i>
written by Sarah Vaughan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Courtroom
dramas well-depicted as is this one grab my attention – possibly the result of
years spent as an advocate-cum witness in tribunals and Public Inquiries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This impact applies especially when, as is
this book’s theme, the story addresses a topical theme, in this case it being
about rape. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The issue has been newsworthy
in both parts of Ireland recently with courtroom rules and procedures being
scrutinised for fairness. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Books can also be topical because their
subject resonates with current events, sometimes in more ways than one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the world has been marking the centenary
of the armistice at the end of World War I, a pair on novels relating to the
1939-45 conflict impressed me enormously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The German Girl</b>”</i> written by Armando Lucas Correa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set both in Europe and in the Americas, this
superb book tells a poignant story based on fact about the flight of German
Jews who eventually find some kind of sanctuary in Cuba after being refused
entry elsewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What gives it added
relevance is its parallels with the trials of migrants in today’s world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So in a month when people repeat mantras like
“we will always remember them,” this second and more recent book about World
War II is also a timely read. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is one
means of giving effect to the mantra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like The German Girl, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Tattooist of Auschwitz</b>”</i> by
Heather Morris is based on a true story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In spite of what people might presume as difficult subject matter that
they have heard about before, Morris recounts a life-affirming love story set
against a pernicious backdrop of bellicose race hatred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s no wonder that the fine novel remains at
or near the top of the best sellers lists. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Next is a very different novel written by an
Irish author and set in New York City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Published about eight years ago, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Let the Great World Spin</b></i>” by Colum
McCann is an intricate story with a cast of complex characters from different
backgrounds getting on with complicated lives in the melting pot of America. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the metropolitan location is a central
character. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The author’s scarily
realistic description of a car accident and a clever courtroom drama stood out
in their descriptive power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2009 this
well-crafted story won the US National Book Award (established in 1936).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The prize has an impressive roll-call of
previous winners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would describe
McCann’s book as a paean to NYC.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another novel set in America and which
grabbed my attention is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">History of Wolves</b>”</i> written by Emily
Fridlund.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortlisted for the Man Booker
prize last year, this book has some of the atmosphere of Scandinavian
noir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may be due to the apparent
isolation of its setting in a beautiful landscape of lakes and woods of
northern Minnesota. The central character is a 14 year old girl whose carefree
parents let her fend for herself as she befriends a new family of seemingly
perfect neighbours.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a pleasant contrast to stories which break
hearts with sadness or injustice, the most amusing book I read this year was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
Accidental Tourist</b>”</i> by Anne Tyler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although it was published over twenty years ago, here is an entertaining
tale about an American travel writer who also happens to be a wordsmith and who
is experiencing his own marital difficulties.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A novel which contains elements of humour as
well as some heartbreak and which resonated with my youth growing up over a
shop that sold items including records, televisions, and bikes was the
endearingly eccentric “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Music Shop</i></b>” by Rachel Joyce. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set in the early to mid 1980’s when compact
discs appeared, this is a story about a record seller who is wedded to vinyl
and refuses to stock the new technology. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man ahead of his time, given today’s trend to
big records and great artwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of
that, however, is incidental since the story proper is about an almost doomed
love affair between him and an unexpected visitor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of last year’s most anticipated books
following her runaway début success “The Girl on the Train” was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Into
the Water</b>”</i> by Paula Hawkins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stylistically this is one of those books with
chapters devoted to individual characters rather than annotated by numbers or a
date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the first part, their chapters
are told in the first person, but in part two and in some later chapters
narration changes to the third person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That aside, this book is a chilling whodunit, a dark story with plenty
of twists and suspense. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the issue of style, could one of America’s
top selling novelists be sending out a message to readers’ subconscious?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason I mention this is that a central
character in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Camino Island</b>”</i> by John Grisham tackles this very issue, almost
as an aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lawyer/book-seller who
specializes in investing in valuable first edition works gives advice to an
aspirant young author, essentially his rules for writing fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These include, as he puts it, having no
prologue when chapters one and probably two usually have nothing to do with it,
and because eventually the reader gets slammed back to prologue action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds like the author’s alter ego
perhaps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The best non-fiction book I read this year
was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
Italians</b>”</i> by John Hooper. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having
bought the original on release in hardback as a present for my daughter based on
emphatic reviews both in two papers, I had to get my own copy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this book is fuelled by scores of cracking yarns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A country which millions of middle class
Brits think they know well emerges as a place in which people behave so
bizarrely that you wonder if we are living on the same planet...<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[iii]</span></b></span></span></span></a>”</i>
The other review stated that Hooper <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“provides
context for the question that perplexes visitors: how come that a country that
has produced Berlusconi, bunga bunga parties, the mafia and extraordinary
bureaucracy is still so attractive?”</i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With a month still to go before this year
ends (at the time of writing), the current novel that is engrossing me is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Small
Great Things</b>”</i> by Jodi Picoult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As with some of my other picks, what makes this book important is its
focus on contemporary social issues. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
this case, the main concern is racism, as in black lives matter. The narrative
is convincing, characterisation is strong and the plot unfolds in many
unexpected ways – a proper page turner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know that “Small Great Things” will compete with “The German Girl,” “History
of Wolves,” and “The Music Shop” for my overall picks of the year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other works of fiction read this year and worth
recommending include a couple by Irish authors <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lying in Wait</b></i>” by Liz
Nugent and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">All We Shall Know</b>”</i> by Donal Ryan. To those, I should add <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Caught</b>”</i>
by Harlan Coben and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Snap</b>”</i> by Belinda Bauer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The
latter was long listed for the 2018 Man Booker prize which was won for the
first time by a Northern Ireland author, Anna Burns’s “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Milkman</i>.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">©Michael McSorley 2018</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: NO-BOK;"> </span><a href="https://readingagency.org.uk/news/media/new-report-impact-of-reading.html"><span lang="NO-BOK" style="mso-ansi-language: NO-BOK;">https://readingagency.org.uk/news/media/new-report-impact-of-reading.html</span></a><span lang="NO-BOK" style="mso-ansi-language: NO-BOK;"> November 2018</span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[ii]</span></span></span></span>
Observer Rachel Cooke December 2017</div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a> Richard
Morrison chief culture writer The Times 24 January 2015 “The truth about the
Italians.”</div>
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<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a> John
Kampfner The Observer New Review 25 January 2015 “Sex, gnocci shops and
suspicious minds.”</div>
</div>
</div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-27423005988969115412018-01-30T00:34:00.002-08:002018-01-30T12:09:37.323-08:00Books of the year 2017<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having considered a selection of last year’s films in the
most recent issue, it’s time to look back at some of 2017’s reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most but not all are fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This selection represents the best of those
that have kept me going during the last twelve months.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Holding”
</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">is
a novel which, if set in Scandinavia, would come with the adjective noir
attached.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a thriller set in one of
Europe’s most scenic and least violent places, West Cork, where its author
Graham Norton was raised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His debut
belies any pre-conceptions of the character who hosts the UK’s most popular TV
chat show and the Eurovision Song Contest for the BBC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is an enjoyable read which captures the
atmosphere and topical concerns of modern rural Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So much so, that its reviews from expert book
critics (e.g. The Observer<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> and the Irish Times<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a>) have been positive and favourable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having previously read Robert Harris’s “The
Fear Index” set in the context of the 2007/8 financial crash and having just
finished his most recent novel “Munich” and the lead-in to World War 2, I
confess to being a fan of this author, his style and range of subjects. This
time last year I was pleased with his trip into the inner sanctum of the
Vatican and the election of a new Pope. This event and its arcane process
always grabs the public imagination whatever one’s faith or lack of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Conclave”</i>
reveals a story based on considerable research, so convincing and with so many
twists that it is difficult to put down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was going to say - divinely inspired.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OioiGrz_hyphenhyphenUiZxVv2JNOTLLYPFhTa8ve1lm-nFU1hy5GbQqHY1uLYeOWFUscKruA3bCkGV2VRRNzIcDrcBcbAXDXG4I_E-km2dDb6O8JjtWRSc-EWUJHaBnH77iEbh_lGNx2DH4r1jA/s1600/Book+ConclaveRobertHarris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="695" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OioiGrz_hyphenhyphenUiZxVv2JNOTLLYPFhTa8ve1lm-nFU1hy5GbQqHY1uLYeOWFUscKruA3bCkGV2VRRNzIcDrcBcbAXDXG4I_E-km2dDb6O8JjtWRSc-EWUJHaBnH77iEbh_lGNx2DH4r1jA/s320/Book+ConclaveRobertHarris.jpg" width="205" /></a></span></div>
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</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Much crime fiction both on the screen and in novels
is set in the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must
admit that one of its exponents there had eluded me until last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I read a review of Carl Hiasson’s latest
and fourteenth such book called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Razor
Girl.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The critic Marcel Berlins<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a> began by reminding us
that Hiasson specialises in writing crime thrillers which are funny - adding,
tellingly, that this new book reaches the summit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His stories all seem to be set in Florida and
contain fraudsters, conmen, sexy women, corrupt cops, liars and adulterers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it may jolt the senses to deal with
crime and farce together, it’s stimulating to discover even belatedly a
respected author who is at the top of his game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having made a major impact with her debut novel
“The Miniaturist” set in a Puritanical late seventeenth century Amsterdam,
Jessie Burton’s follow-up <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Muse”</i>
was one I read with great expectation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was happy to discover that it delivered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Essentially a book about twentieth century art and covering a time span
of over thirty years with the Spanish civil war in the background, this is also
a story about love, deception, and many other things including attitudes to
immigrants in 1960’s Britain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8Ps9fXFzzIoA_nfv4jsQn3sfBHVpOYM5t4XkYuuWwSU_KL4uU7H6Pt9OGgh1VTU9YkQJBQK3qwl8N15vf6LnIsWsOnuWuCQ6-x0mFRGWODueCmJOItzqnXcdCw5jkwxwGO74XDX-ChQ/s1600/Book+MuseJessieBurton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL8Ps9fXFzzIoA_nfv4jsQn3sfBHVpOYM5t4XkYuuWwSU_KL4uU7H6Pt9OGgh1VTU9YkQJBQK3qwl8N15vf6LnIsWsOnuWuCQ6-x0mFRGWODueCmJOItzqnXcdCw5jkwxwGO74XDX-ChQ/s320/Book+MuseJessieBurton.jpg" width="197" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the most poignant if harrowing novels
I have read in recent years is the Man Booker 2016 nominated <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“His Bloody Project”</i> written by Graeme
Macrae Burnet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the opening lines on
page one, we know that this tale is about a triple murder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the manner of telling the story through a
mid-Victorian journal, old medical reports and the subsequent trial feels authentic
and unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tale of desperation
suffered by small tenants trying to eke an existence from tiny crofts owned by
uncaring landlords is absorbing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
attention to this book because of its setting in Rosshire in the beautiful
Scottish Highlands where one of our daughters is lucky enough to live. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DrPqrEyXDREiIvBb3_NUden-KPoh9bZJGGsAJU32G4CkTcp6RtIVLbyWNtELaIb4_NGi0HTXTrwFpta2Y-l41Fnwyrn1L61EDmIcbc8xxUoVSexHwbqFgzbrAeJvWbg6a_qs21Q0zXw/s1600/Book+HisBloodyProjectBurnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="705" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DrPqrEyXDREiIvBb3_NUden-KPoh9bZJGGsAJU32G4CkTcp6RtIVLbyWNtELaIb4_NGi0HTXTrwFpta2Y-l41Fnwyrn1L61EDmIcbc8xxUoVSexHwbqFgzbrAeJvWbg6a_qs21Q0zXw/s320/Book+HisBloodyProjectBurnet.jpg" width="208" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I confess to having read almost every legal
thriller written by John Grisham, not least because they are good holiday fare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main attraction of Grisham for me is the
courtroom drama, the ability of lawyers to think quickly and extemporise with
the perfect retort. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of his stories
are set in the southern states and many of his best novels have been turned
into movies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year’s offering, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Whistler”</i> is all about judicial
corruption centring on organised crime and the building of a casino on an
Indian reservation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one of his
best novels, another page-turner. This from the man who manages to write and publish
like clockwork – a hardback in the late autumn and then issued on paperback in
time for the summer holidays, every year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A couple of other compelling crime fiction
authors to mention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No year would be
complete without discovering a new crime fiction author from Scandinavia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year’s such novel was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Ice Beneath Her”</i> written by Camilla
Grebe, Sweden’s leading female crime writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And not omitting Northern Ireland’s contribution to the genre, Brian
McGilloway weighed in with Detective Sergeant Lucy Black’s latest adventure
with “Preserve the Dead.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What gives his
work added interest is that we know the locations quite well.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIOYHCIfamwFzWvr6ljmHDq35nG5j_T0vsOtvj63pUSpqEPIHObKQk03JImRaR0e-X1oguFin28lHcu-0GZcT2wNZQYJuRCo3aJKkEqLBEIjHQBjQLre3dDpqorgTCoxLkAhnO7JNvQs/s1600/Book+BeforeTheFallNoahHawley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="703" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIOYHCIfamwFzWvr6ljmHDq35nG5j_T0vsOtvj63pUSpqEPIHObKQk03JImRaR0e-X1oguFin28lHcu-0GZcT2wNZQYJuRCo3aJKkEqLBEIjHQBjQLre3dDpqorgTCoxLkAhnO7JNvQs/s200/Book+BeforeTheFallNoahHawley.jpg" width="130" /></a><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And two authors, new to me, who write
thriller novels as well as anybody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
creator of the TV series Fargo, Noah Hawley has written the superbly addictive <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Before the Fall” </i>which is well worth
recommending. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Donal Ryan’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Thing about December”</i> introduced me
to one of Ireland’s new authors who are garnering superlative praise for style
of writing.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before I reveal the best novel I read in 2017,
I have to include two superb non-fiction books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Having long being interested in linguistic connections between the
Celtic languages as well as between them and Latin languages, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Through the Looking Glass” </i>by Guy
Deutscher came as a complete revelation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It offers a whole new approach based on international research, by
analysing the impact of different languages on how people think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brilliant is almost an understatement of this
book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDZBPEkUJxOfYAmTMUpqIcHZqTZiqepu3WpVFC8JBsbGYWvcWgzDuOUBewfbj1d5uwKp1hIXxFMLFXQhkkwBR1fTWdEPG477SZw8L5EUoIMuazcQ9YsRMjVgZOEkC12fu8inYKevUhio/s1600/Book+ThroughLookingGlassDeutcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="698" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDZBPEkUJxOfYAmTMUpqIcHZqTZiqepu3WpVFC8JBsbGYWvcWgzDuOUBewfbj1d5uwKp1hIXxFMLFXQhkkwBR1fTWdEPG477SZw8L5EUoIMuazcQ9YsRMjVgZOEkC12fu8inYKevUhio/s320/Book+ThroughLookingGlassDeutcher.jpg" width="206" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other non-fiction work is similarly
monumental. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind”</i> (in less than 500 pages) written by
Yuval Noah Harari has had such an impact in the UK that it has been placed at
or near the top of the best-sellers list for many months, still residing
there (along now with his new book).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its reach is enormous as well as
authoritative, many preconceptions and shibboleths being demolished en route.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Deutcher, it manages to be a compulsive
read despite the weight of the subject – the origins and history of our species
going back into pre-history – by avoiding the danger of becoming an academic
treatise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The best book I read last year is a novel set
in the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been a fan
of Sebastian Barry having read his “The Secret Scripture (2008),” a story of
heart-break set in rural Ireland, subsequently made into a film starring Vanessa
Redgrave as the lead, a long-term patient in a decrepit mental hospital; and
“The Temporary Gentleman” (2014) about the same family and on the topic of war.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At all times the reader can only admire
Barry’s lyrical way with words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even
by those high standards of poignant story-telling and his rich use of English,
his latest offering <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Days Without End”</i>
is exceptional. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His depiction of the
awfulness of violence by the army against the Indians and the subsequent
outrages of the Civil War feel alarmingly real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of this is seen through the eyes of two young immigrant Irish
conscripts whose vernacular, accents and personalities are portrayed with
poetic and sometimes tragic beauty. Just as the saddest music aches the
heartstrings with sonorous beauty, so too the mellifluous use of language by
Sebastian Barry expresses horrors and loving beauty without parallel.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv65P5jSzcgAIOqqP33IAQ9RWQwWO36vam4uGnOG7jQf08wN24_tYaA0K2ydLtI5DtvdPDlvDD0JczI-iqvLz6BvkleMDBVEjo6JYrAxmR76UySn1gMtWPdwWvPO1KX9GkyrD5d7De1Zg/s1600/Book+DaysWithoutEndSebBarry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="260" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv65P5jSzcgAIOqqP33IAQ9RWQwWO36vam4uGnOG7jQf08wN24_tYaA0K2ydLtI5DtvdPDlvDD0JczI-iqvLz6BvkleMDBVEjo6JYrAxmR76UySn1gMtWPdwWvPO1KX9GkyrD5d7De1Zg/s640/Book+DaysWithoutEndSebBarry.jpg" width="416" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So now it’s time to crack on with discovering a
comparably good list for the current year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">©Michael McSorley 2018</span></div>
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<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> Alex
Clark Observer 2 Oct 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/02/holding-graham-norton-review-debut-novel</div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a>
John Boyne Irish Times 30 Sept 2016 https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/graham-norton-wasted-on-tv-john-boyne-reviews-his-new-novel-1.2794026</div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Times Saturday Review 10 Sept 2016</div>
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Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-65681116309480018242017-12-28T02:41:00.000-08:002018-01-30T08:41:31.125-08:00Autumn films 2017<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">January and February tend to the main months for going to
the cinema in this family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Apart from
the escape to the cosy indoors avoiding winter’s darkest days, the turn of the
year coincides with the lead-up to the Oscars season and the attendant release
of many of the year’s best films.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For some reason, however, we altered our cinema-going routine
to an earlier slot than usual. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result, we watched several gems on their
release in the recent autumnal schedule. What made the experiment a success was
the fact that each one was really good, worth writing about and - because of
their autumnal timing, each of them could otherwise have escaped our attention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In no particular order of priority or ranking, here’s a
synopsis of films released in the latter half of 2017 and which merit
recommendation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Victor
and Abdul</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> stars Judy Dench reprising her earlier role in the 1997
film Mrs Brown as Queen Victoria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
about the monarch’s unlikely friendship with an Indian Muslim servant Abdul
Karim, as played by Ali Fazal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story
is based on a real life encounter between the two, featuring several stunning
locations in India and Scotland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
cast includes Simon Callow, Eddie Izzard, Tim Pigott-Smith and Michael Gambon.
An entertaining period drama.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Maudie</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a
film co-funded by the Canadian and Irish film boards and is based on a true
story of the Canadian artist Maud Lewis and set in the bleak winter landscape
of Nova Scotia. Starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke, and directed by Aisling
Walsh, it was filmed in Newfoundland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a very moving story of survival of an artist while battling
arthritis, social conservatism and the climatic elements.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmWMz8XBRoFV0CTtveqQNqgt4zcXCowOtEazJfklspNwkb_jBumuGJN6lUQBjLG1ePJc9X4eThJ9vPo_4QcMF4g-DKAlTd_zUkkO3n-JndxQ5rQyzLXCdb-KP1AK_9_cXUYHKVBkAW1E/s1600/Films+Maudie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmWMz8XBRoFV0CTtveqQNqgt4zcXCowOtEazJfklspNwkb_jBumuGJN6lUQBjLG1ePJc9X4eThJ9vPo_4QcMF4g-DKAlTd_zUkkO3n-JndxQ5rQyzLXCdb-KP1AK_9_cXUYHKVBkAW1E/s320/Films+Maudie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Final
Portrait</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, another film about an artist. This one tells a story
about the Swiss artist Giacometti, played by Jeffrey Rush and the saga of the
process of completing a portrait of an American writer, James Lord (played by
Armie Hammer), who had befriended the great artist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set in Paris in the early 1960’s, days turn
into weeks in the quest for perfection.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Big Sick</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is another true story (something of a coincidental theme
in this selection).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This story throws up
issues of multi-culturalism and prejudice in contemporary America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The self-played male lead Kumail Nanjiani is
an aspirant stand-up comedian from a Pakistani Muslim background. He co-wrote
the story with his American girlfriend Emily Gordon (played by Holly Hunter).
Excellent film.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CGEF1uRDl0bXDBtuF07Jr_rU_1wF-_OCl0jTku6HCwbY6dFfFIA-6hzlrm7FlbNXexkaguf2ISAAw_8zHonKDwhjLRC0s29Nfy98bumwqa1SemmiggMkmZbVpH7r-IKtpIl0SYHZlbk/s1600/Films+BigSick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CGEF1uRDl0bXDBtuF07Jr_rU_1wF-_OCl0jTku6HCwbY6dFfFIA-6hzlrm7FlbNXexkaguf2ISAAw_8zHonKDwhjLRC0s29Nfy98bumwqa1SemmiggMkmZbVpH7r-IKtpIl0SYHZlbk/s320/Films+BigSick.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dunkirk</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> was
released as the big summer blockbuster, an important story being retold for a
modern generation. Together with a big-name cast of actors - Kenneth Branagh,
Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles, Simon Callow and directed by
Christopher Robin - and a big budget, it has been pointed out that this film is
not without subliminal messages of potential parallels with Brexit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gripping tale, great soundtrack by Hans
Zimmer (with Elgar's Enigma for added value).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It does seem to sacrifice dialogue by letting pugilistic action speak
for itself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Film critic Guy Lodge echoes
remarks from French commentators saying that “the decision to foreground the
British military experience above all else, rendering collaborators secondary
and the enemy literally unseen, seems an ungenerous one.”(Observer 171217)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hampstead
</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">presents
Diane Keaton playing an American widow Emily and her chance encounter with a
tramp called Harry Hallowes, played by Brendan Gleeson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film is loosely based on Hallowes and his
claim to squatters’ rights on a patch of ground on Hampstead Heath, leading to
his legal battle against property developers. In the words of one critic, a
“silver years heartwarmer” by Richard Curtis, the man who brought us Notting
Hill (among other credits).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Miss
Sloane</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is a political thriller about Elizabeth Sloane, an
energetic lobbyist in Washington DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is a tale of an intricate web of US congressional hearing about violations of
Senate ethics rules, lobbying to promote a bill to expand background checks on
gun purchases especially by female voters, the protagonist moving job to a
rival lobbying firm taking staff with her and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bravura performance by Jessica Chastain.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<sup><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></sup><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
Between</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is first for me, a film made and set in the Middle East.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s all about three Palestinian women
struggling in different ways against a patriarchal society. Hard to imagine Hollywood telling a story
about prejudice in the contemporary world in this style. Mark Kermode lists this as one of his pick of
best films of the year 2017 (Observer New Review 10 Dec 2017), and I’m with him
on that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvTpEnR1wn8r5Q45GwciddH59MLZDwpwaMWBz7qyaDQDZImh7183x_WKRINMOVSvUa-5wjTnOyI82nF87k7p1Mnu7xoxqvA-UTjqLJ_RzV-qm0Ia4jkhb_XvZSKTBNq9SD9mye1plCpU/s1600/Films+InBetween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvTpEnR1wn8r5Q45GwciddH59MLZDwpwaMWBz7qyaDQDZImh7183x_WKRINMOVSvUa-5wjTnOyI82nF87k7p1Mnu7xoxqvA-UTjqLJ_RzV-qm0Ia4jkhb_XvZSKTBNq9SD9mye1plCpU/s320/Films+InBetween.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The cinema which showed these eight films was the Queens Film
Theatre in Belfast. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A couple of them we
went to see in late summer when weather was unseasonably wet. Spending two
hours or less in the QFT is a convivial way to spend a dull Sunday
afternoon, whatever the season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> To quote Barry Norman the celebrated British film critic who passed away in June - "and why not."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s also a way to support the alma mater and its
art-house cinema celebrating its 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary and a half-century
of independent cinema (coincidentally also the year I began third level
education there).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">©Michael McSorley 2017</span></div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-3119160100957451142017-09-27T23:57:00.000-07:002017-09-27T23:57:50.016-07:00Edinburgh Festival 2017<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Last month I achieved a lifetime’s ambition, courtesy of
my daughter Lynda’s initiative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was to
attend the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What clinched the deal was that the 2017 jamboree in Scotland’s
beautiful capital city marked the 70<sup>th</sup> anniversary of this event, the world’s
biggest arts festival.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The night before I flew to Scotland, Jack Whitehall
presented a television documentary programme<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> about the origin and
history of the Edinburgh Festival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">With the assistance of old film footage and photographs, he
was able to illustrate that its inaugural aims in 1947 were to lift spirits and bring people together
after World War 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">In the more prosaic
official version, the stated intention was to “provide a platform for the
flowering of the human spirit.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The TV documentary also outlined the risks involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These included the organisation of a cultural
extravaganza at a time of hardship, its location in a conservative place, and in a
city which had no facilities like an opera house and no gallery of modern art.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The idea of going to Edinburgh in August had originally
been planted in my head as long ago as 1971.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A group of us had produced a successful late night student Revue as
part of the Belfast’s Queens University Arts Festival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Some people</span> suggested that we should take it
to Edinburgh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">We demurred, unfortunately
in retrospect, and Scotland was spared having to watch our satirical
side-swipes at Northern Ireland’s politics and student life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">A decade later when a different group of us established
an arts festival in our home town of Omagh, we talked about travelling to
Edinburgh to scout for talent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The idea behind an
exploratory visit was prompted by the knowledge that several of our best acts
had made their name at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alas, limp excuses to do with family life and
various irrelevant commitments deprived the Scots of our mercenary intentions.</span></span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Unintentionally,
our objectives in establishing an arts festival chimed with those of Edinburgh -
bringing people together and demonstrating that, despite the Troubles, creativity
is what matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Unknown to us at the time and also like Edinburgh when it was starting, we didn't allow a lack of dedicated arts venues to stifle our ambition.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Stepping off the train from Glasgow on the penultimate
day of this year’s festival, our first engagement was not an arts event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Based on a recommendation from the esteemed
editor of “Exploring Retirement” magazine, we headed straight for afternoon tea
in the heart of the Old Town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Located on
the Royal Mile, the Signet Library at the Colonnades<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a> is as posh as its name
sounds, a long-established and still functioning library which doubles up
cleverly as a tea shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMHfsBSOIfWRGusUEh4iuM6TxOHDsm3fBsYjDHf73bcbvxhQbIVweYjDXIdLm43kGB1UyXPtnsCBrXyaCo2PbOwpUA5rbA2UMt2PaKhuBQxuki-olNvtHk9c4NnwmVySWX7ASgRYtWnGk/s1600/Edinburgh+Colonnades+0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="750" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMHfsBSOIfWRGusUEh4iuM6TxOHDsm3fBsYjDHf73bcbvxhQbIVweYjDXIdLm43kGB1UyXPtnsCBrXyaCo2PbOwpUA5rbA2UMt2PaKhuBQxuki-olNvtHk9c4NnwmVySWX7ASgRYtWnGk/s400/Edinburgh+Colonnades+0001.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">As if to
emphasise its exclusivity, the caterers operate under a warrant from the Queen.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhNUn1gLqZ1c02f6CSgT0PNT0O01yFWRZg5Azm0XHgIk4ZtIxeEtjqqbb-DmmIYU5a7OkPY_vAsONfwrMi8_zY2NSKfTKvDkySA38K8jBzn0j66DpNYKsTDbwI-eThoK69u-8B3Qu9R0/s1600/EdinburghSignetLib0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxhNUn1gLqZ1c02f6CSgT0PNT0O01yFWRZg5Azm0XHgIk4ZtIxeEtjqqbb-DmmIYU5a7OkPY_vAsONfwrMi8_zY2NSKfTKvDkySA38K8jBzn0j66DpNYKsTDbwI-eThoK69u-8B3Qu9R0/s320/EdinburghSignetLib0001.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">We would need the calorific fuel to sustain the first of
two day’s hunger for culture, not to mention queuing and walking to disparate
venues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">All but one of the 6 events we
attended (including the Colonnades visit) had been booked on-line in
advance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">It also transpired that no two consecutive
events were in the same venue, or even nearby, meaning plenty of walking back
and forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The compensation is that
Edinburgh is a stimulating and handsome place to discover on foot.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7h9NqfHz7AYhSMYybsA2zihpvckirbEsrDl9T_1tzdyab2hpZ1mOWHdVHRpHGX57YncNp7aEJrdwrNp6VdYRRDOd15edcMEUzp-yN7SUtiAVMymG4P3NHDku3H754Ldb8khpR-iZmrU/s1600/Edinburgh0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1259" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7h9NqfHz7AYhSMYybsA2zihpvckirbEsrDl9T_1tzdyab2hpZ1mOWHdVHRpHGX57YncNp7aEJrdwrNp6VdYRRDOd15edcMEUzp-yN7SUtiAVMymG4P3NHDku3H754Ldb8khpR-iZmrU/s400/Edinburgh0001.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxd-fGJgY6TNIMll11xbRpf8zB62pc1Bzp8nOqhyyho016eUkQ-3vd5Y29nqGo4sXmwSbTrIf8ap-hkntSZQolydJaIxdaho8bRQgshn1wFy1DRmVXSd1zX0XeivxP24hw-oBWpKhiZo/s1600/Edinburgh0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="450" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxd-fGJgY6TNIMll11xbRpf8zB62pc1Bzp8nOqhyyho016eUkQ-3vd5Y29nqGo4sXmwSbTrIf8ap-hkntSZQolydJaIxdaho8bRQgshn1wFy1DRmVXSd1zX0XeivxP24hw-oBWpKhiZo/s400/Edinburgh0002.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The scale of this festival is best understood by
witnessing it at first hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">So much is happening at the Edinburgh Fringe that the
programme brochure is fatter than the telephone directory for metropolitan area
of Belfast, home to half a million people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">When we were queuing for events in large buildings like the Assembly
Rooms or the Gilded Balloon, we could see other lines of people waiting at
different doors to get into other events taking place at the same time as ours
but in other rooms; and outside the building there were lists of later events
in each of these different rooms, approximately one every 90 minutes for each
and every room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The director of the
Edinburgh Fringe must be a juggler, someone with exceptional skills of organisation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">It’s no wonder that Edinburgh in August resembles Hong
Kong or Barcelona with people bumping into each other in a quest to leave one
performance and find their way to the next show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>En route, it is impossible to miss the street
performers who, this year, numbered 1,200. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The official figures tell the story. Take a deep breath as I avoid using words like mind-boggling, unbelievable, staggering, phenomenal and, the one I loathe most, awesome.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">This year's Edinburgh Festival fringe presented 53,232 performances of 3,398 shows in 300 venues.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Impressive as these figures are, the spirit of festive energy generated in Edinburgh is infectious and a force for good. A record number of people attended events, with an esimated (breathe more deeply) 2.7 million tickets issued. That statistic represents a 9% increase on last year. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">I have it on good authority that the Festival included performances in a swimming pool, a boat, a football ground, a tunnel and a racecourse.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">It featured shows that addressed themes of belonging, identity, grief, Brexit, Trump, fake news, the Syrian conflict, gender and activism.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">The Fringe Festival’s Chief Executive
Shona McCarthy was appointed in March last year<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">She hails from Northern Ireland and was the
Chief Executive of the inaugural UK City of Culture in 2013.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">She summarised the anniversary
eloquently:</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin: 5pt 0cm 0cm 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-weight: normal;">“This has been a very special year for the Fringe as
we celebrated 70 years of defying the norm, 70 years of the greatest melting
pot of arts and culture anywhere on the planet, and 70 years of Edinburgh as an
internationally renowned festival city..... We look forward to another 70 years
of championing the world’s largest platform for creative freedom.”</span></i></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">It’s not only the quantity, but the
quality and variety of events which draws in the appreciative crowds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Our cultural sprint began at the Gilded Balloon with “Borders<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a>,”
a serious thought-provoking play about migrants on the Mediterranean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">It was written by Henry Naylor, former head
writer for “Spitting Image.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Our next stop was the Assembly Rooms
to see “Alex Salmond Unleashed.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Having no expectation what to expect from one
of Scotland’s best known politicians, it was a pleasing surprise to witness him
in a totally unfamiliar guise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">His show
was like a rehearsal for a prospective career as a stand-up comic and chat show
host.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To complete the look, he even had
a 6-piece house band for company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Next
day, I read a newspaper report that he is “in talks” about taking the show on
tour. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed no prompting to share
this scoop with a festival promoter in Belfast.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Event number three was the anarchaic
“Don’t be Lonely and Aurora Nova<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a>,”
a slapstick show performed with mime-artistic physicality by two flexible New
Zealanders Barnie Duncan and Trygve Wakenshawe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">For me to describe it as a skit on office life may be accurate if
po-faced because this undersells the show’s humorously manic impression of life
as skewed and dysfunctional.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Our final event on day one was the
American stand-up comedian Reginald D Hunter’s new show “Some People<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Being the best known and experienced of the
acts we saw, it was no surprise that his performance came across as the most
professional and was staged in the largest venue we visited, the Assembly Hall building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Only a stand-up comedian, however, could get
away with the irony of performing sitting down, and extracting humour from his
love-life’s details and how he came to break his leg in that pursuit.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">On day two, which was the final day of
the Festival, we somehow managed to make a lucky late booking for one of the
year’s hot topics, America’s new President, in a show called Trumpageddon<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghD26du4k9wka5CV-cTYf1BAYmWVHT9qdF1mlTyrMlvK8uS51qNt-hJgLwjZ8HQaL3XhnkS3i2tQ-lV4d8yEVh7mqeZJrUxLZTKp-K2ntOzpcrPa8HCN_24qF4_ZKh1UmQOAr8KfoTA40/s1600/EdinburghFringe0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghD26du4k9wka5CV-cTYf1BAYmWVHT9qdF1mlTyrMlvK8uS51qNt-hJgLwjZ8HQaL3XhnkS3i2tQ-lV4d8yEVh7mqeZJrUxLZTKp-K2ntOzpcrPa8HCN_24qF4_ZKh1UmQOAr8KfoTA40/s400/EdinburghFringe0001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">One thing we noticed about all six venues was
that the interior temperature always felt slightly too high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case, it seemed to help rather than
hinder the performance of exaggerating the obnoxious caricature of a very
sweaty leader of the free world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">He was
unpleasant to watch and listen to, but this was presumably all part of the art
of satirising someone ad absurdum.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">The final act for us was a more
conventional play called "1902"<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a>
about Edinburgh boys, supporters of Hibernian FC, and their collective way of
dealing with the challenges of life for young men (and a young lady).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large;">The setting was the smallest venue we
attended, the appropriate Wee Red Bar, part of Edinburgh College of Art.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The human spirit does indeed flourish in Edinburgh and
what a great tribute this is to the people of Scotland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is because, apart from the Fringe, the
separate Edinburgh International Festival also celebrated its 70<sup>th</sup>
anniversary this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its director is
Fergus Linehan<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a>
who also comes from Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The International
Festival consists of theatre, opera, music, dance, visual arts and more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other festivals that take place in August
include the Military Tattoo, the International Book Festival, the International
Television Festival, and the Art Festival.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">At this point my oxygen pack expires as I stand back, delighted
to know that Edinburgh does indeed warrant its title of Festival City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I hope it doesn’t take another 70 years
before I get invited back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">©Michael McSorley 2017</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b093q637/festival-tales-edinburgh-at-70</div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a> http://www.thesignetlibrary.co.uk/colonnades/</div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a> https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2016/shona-mccarthy-appointed-ceo-of-edinburgh-festival-fringe-society/</div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a> http://michaelmcsorleyculture.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/uk-city-of-culture-2013.html</div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a> https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/borders-by-henry-naylor</div>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/alex-salmond-unleashed">https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/alex-salmond-unleashed</a>
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/aug/13/alex-salmond-unleashed-scotland-first-minister-edinburgh-review</div>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a> https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/831555-trygve-wakenshaw-and-barnie-duncan-different-party/</div>
</div>
<div id="edn8" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a>
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/reginald-d-hunter-some-people-vs-reginald-d-hunter</div>
</div>
<div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trumpageddon">https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/trumpageddon</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/09/taking-donald-trump-edinburgh-fringe</div>
</div>
<div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a> https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/1902</div>
</div>
<div id="edn11" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a> https://www.eif.co.uk/news/2013/fergus-linehan-appointed-incoming-festival-director#.WcEH99Frzcs</div>
</div>
</div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-90270162033802211982017-01-30T00:39:00.000-08:002017-01-30T00:39:02.323-08:00The Art of Photography<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Belonging</span></u><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This year got off to the most pleasing of starts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The spark was the receipt of a number of beautiful old
family photographs which had remained hidden from view for over sixty
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Before the turn of the year, a
remarkable coincidence occurred when on separate occasions, two different
people in entirely different places had alerted me to their existence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Those contacts prompted me to engage in some digging in
social media. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result, I realised
that the son of my late father’s best friend owns a substantial archive of brilliant
photographs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not just that, he has gone
the extra mile <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">by</span> convert<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">ing</span> his late father’s negatives and slides into a
high resolution digital format.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before contacting him directly, I discovered that the
collection provided what could only be described as a snapshot of the social
history of Omagh, my home-town, from the 1950’s onwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">g</span>az<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">ed</span> in wonderment at what looked like
expertly-taken photos. They includ<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">ed</span> all sorts of civic occasions from the spectacular town
carnival complete with brass bands, troupes of gymnast<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">s, trades vehic<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">l</span>es dressed up, and childrens fancy dress:</span> -</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_ujr6nDJ4xz2RRUgVPv1rQUnlcy9GCFLF0kTbEqGgFbDBvx3b2dvgpIjjvbw0Z3MWZ0_QJbrdtiEDLMk6rwyXVdRIeAEC09k2c5aufpWopvoyyq95bzten4UdsWXxbwHnMBdmGC__j4/s1600/Carnival2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_ujr6nDJ4xz2RRUgVPv1rQUnlcy9GCFLF0kTbEqGgFbDBvx3b2dvgpIjjvbw0Z3MWZ0_QJbrdtiEDLMk6rwyXVdRIeAEC09k2c5aufpWopvoyyq95bzten4UdsWXxbwHnMBdmGC__j4/s320/Carnival2.jpg" width="204" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtaHlnFZ3tQqA2EPP6dqKX5N4EHoDa-G5zKliWN0LXrvKK4ZpXoT0UpKEN5jHPhIKev5dPFG9UmBh4VbcEOTFCa0DBMhdGxKtgwBq78u7lr3lCAl5PQ4O-mgn4dYmHujpbkfmpfh05Gw/s1600/Carnival8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtaHlnFZ3tQqA2EPP6dqKX5N4EHoDa-G5zKliWN0LXrvKK4ZpXoT0UpKEN5jHPhIKev5dPFG9UmBh4VbcEOTFCa0DBMhdGxKtgwBq78u7lr3lCAl5PQ4O-mgn4dYmHujpbkfmpfh05Gw/s320/Carnival8.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKUor_5w2XN1yJe9hdyZnpCmO9xYw_0Q4N7obZlI4vATweXMGoqud0MFDChoBoccZPvxXA4xZ1mBCPGpXDWu5-iqLhd7S13NFWOJ9kRzb-V64oF5RqzIT23z2n-PlbyzgCqulw8RXyLI/s1600/Carnival9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKUor_5w2XN1yJe9hdyZnpCmO9xYw_0Q4N7obZlI4vATweXMGoqud0MFDChoBoccZPvxXA4xZ1mBCPGpXDWu5-iqLhd7S13NFWOJ9kRzb-V64oF5RqzIT23z2n-PlbyzgCqulw8RXyLI/s320/Carnival9.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnHq6RX0mMiyqlN8C8q79RJcQ_vQaEtH9QMvkTJKik25zQnHf5qRBFIdMW51hkc3Wm7hJEavxD_Z5jMKkJ8IbLhAoPDUgR5qXTTMz8zx7g0jcdXjcewXuZwcY9SbfbY-5HdoRlPPimEMA/s1600/Carnival010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnHq6RX0mMiyqlN8C8q79RJcQ_vQaEtH9QMvkTJKik25zQnHf5qRBFIdMW51hkc3Wm7hJEavxD_Z5jMKkJ8IbLhAoPDUgR5qXTTMz8zx7g0jcdXjcewXuZwcY9SbfbY-5HdoRlPPimEMA/s320/Carnival010.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XElWK2NG8QQowd7BIyYeWNEye-E6uIoUqif5PxTmUWN_lJjB4gGOoqkDJzPizjjnaNqUPhO_VN_-_8G9JCyQuVk0YQlkbH0JYyRpX0K7y1nSrYD3U4xQ5bDDUygt2aMAC9gagoHTGmo/s1600/Carnival4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XElWK2NG8QQowd7BIyYeWNEye-E6uIoUqif5PxTmUWN_lJjB4gGOoqkDJzPizjjnaNqUPhO_VN_-_8G9JCyQuVk0YQlkbH0JYyRpX0K7y1nSrYD3U4xQ5bDDUygt2aMAC9gagoHTGmo/s320/Carnival4.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">to the annual car hill<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-</span>climb at Syonfin: -</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlI63s6pKpeEinxeL6Z27hUIkeZ4NoDUV6r1FCHg009OQMIT_JhYkRfqVWHwDMUOltSjuOjiiiodxD-CFBitr3kPccPIuiDX6gVaO2Q6tcuegM8s6I-BMltjByZx3jxnErbgRKpRqqVg/s1600/Syonfin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlI63s6pKpeEinxeL6Z27hUIkeZ4NoDUV6r1FCHg009OQMIT_JhYkRfqVWHwDMUOltSjuOjiiiodxD-CFBitr3kPccPIuiDX6gVaO2Q6tcuegM8s6I-BMltjByZx3jxnErbgRKpRqqVg/s320/Syonfin1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tesuJLD158BXtFbWZ8fSgYk2jSC486bACH681poRw1Ju8TS3U1Y5oX74MsI4-8w_UH9mqM_Z2mC67_uUrbAI5IGj6Jv1qr4F6GLUak5a12P5wzVXPFpeL3xbE-PZ4PEUe2Gwf5pCrKc/s1600/Syonfin3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tesuJLD158BXtFbWZ8fSgYk2jSC486bACH681poRw1Ju8TS3U1Y5oX74MsI4-8w_UH9mqM_Z2mC67_uUrbAI5IGj6Jv1qr4F6GLUak5a12P5wzVXPFpeL3xbE-PZ4PEUe2Gwf5pCrKc/s320/Syonfin3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Orange Order parade on 12 July <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">with its immaculately turned-out kilted bagpipers: -</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAQtb3ygDxeC-nuF7u27GcTxiZ-s5NEgJ2ZwmaihxilxHiP-mUCRGuWC_XxtkORF2zctvGSRBaQWE9SLjz3UGwjSZpBLm20t_8H9Kx80feAv4bo3wgyPfJ-51o_kRGYL0E30X_aG6mDE/s1600/Jul12Omagh1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAQtb3ygDxeC-nuF7u27GcTxiZ-s5NEgJ2ZwmaihxilxHiP-mUCRGuWC_XxtkORF2zctvGSRBaQWE9SLjz3UGwjSZpBLm20t_8H9Kx80feAv4bo3wgyPfJ-51o_kRGYL0E30X_aG6mDE/s320/Jul12Omagh1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A</span>ll of these images of 1950's Omagh transported me back to my youth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a participant and spectator at many of
these events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The discovery also sent my
adrenalin into a glorious rush producing a huge sense of anticipation at what
else the archive might contain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Digressing slightly (but just for a paragraph), in some
ways my sneak pe<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">e</span>k at the hidden collection reminded me of a series of books
published annually by our former family doctor after his retirement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His photo books were undertaken as a charity
fund-raising project on behalf of Omagh Rotary Club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In response to an approach from the
industrious medic himself before he published anything, I loaned him a few old
prints </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">dating from the
late 1920’s </span>of my grandparents and of my father as a young sportsman. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These appeared in some of
the earlier volumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having called time
on that project in 2015 after publishing volume number 22<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a>, the good doctor sadly passed
away in the autumn of 2016.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">B</span>y dint of his efforts over two decades, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had been
made aware</span>of the value of photographs
and how the effective collating of images can remind us so vividly of social
change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having decided not to bother the keeper and owner of
these hitherto unknown photographs until after the end of the recent festive
season, I made contact with him earlier this month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few exchanges, he kindly offered to
extract photographs relating to my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With impressive alacrity, he duly sent me almost fifty shots the very
next day. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some were grainy black and
white photos<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">: -</span> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1iOGx6y-jpYqMVukxWFycViGSzEtB07UuYN2Vsx64C9BPT4agfdyU6eWg6VCn4RlUPPOlbf3qkfP2agy2SxwWK8WTOSq7rAsgKTu8Ycd8AX9S97F1j3EB4jhMVrA7TOp1N7vKOCFvpxM/s1600/img481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1iOGx6y-jpYqMVukxWFycViGSzEtB07UuYN2Vsx64C9BPT4agfdyU6eWg6VCn4RlUPPOlbf3qkfP2agy2SxwWK8WTOSq7rAsgKTu8Ycd8AX9S97F1j3EB4jhMVrA7TOp1N7vKOCFvpxM/s320/img481.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picnic at Mullaghmore County Sligo behind the family car, a Mayflower</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">a larger number were colour snaps so clear that they look like
they were taken yesterday on a modern digital device:<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> -</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the current era there is a sense<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> of</span> comfort in
re-establishing contact with the past and the customs of your native place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Without adding to the fashionable hyperbole,
terms like “post-truth era” and “a massive disconnect” between people and their
Governments are regularly cited like code-words to describe the fundamental rationale
for election results which have confounded opinion pollsters in 2016.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The conventional wisdom seems to be that as a
result of the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">interna<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">tion</span></span>al economic crisis of 2008 and global movement of business,
the ruling political system has become an élite which has ignored ordinary
working people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Different forces appear to have contributed to the spirit of alienation and revolt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One is the ultimate disconnection when wars
displace whole populations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another is the
impacts on communities and families caused by major economic shock, such as the
closure of long-established industries. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is political upheaval and social
change on both sides of the Atlantic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To try and make sense of so complex a subject, the
literary author and journalist Fintan O’Toole recently gave a public talk well
away from the hustle and bustle of global power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The venue was the brand new Seamus Heaney
Homeplace arts centre in Bellaghy, a small village in Northern Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As an established author himself, O’Toole was well qualified and subtle enough to
place the global economic and migration crises in a literary context. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In support, he cited Heaney’s second poetry
collection, “Wintering Out.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That poetry collection, he reminded his audience, is deeply
grounded in a sense of belonging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Belonging, he urged, means different things – we belong, we feel
comfortable, we have a sense of ownership, our place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what about incomers, immigrants, making
them welcome, to feel that they belong or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He embarked on something of a Socratic dialogue to ponder what this
sense of belonging means in practice and how might it change post-Brexit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whatever the future holds, the rediscovery of realistic
images from the past warms the heart in a winter of popular discontent with
politics. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It also reinforces personal
pride in parental and grandparental achievements and ipso facto <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">in</span> their contribution
to the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their legacy emanated
from what they faced in the stark years after two international conflagrations and
the most enormous period of social change in human history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>That was to bequeath our generation with
prospects and opportunities, not to squandered, and which are vastly superior
to those which they faced then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1905, my grandfather opened a shop in Omagh selling bicycles as well as sporting guns and ammunition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In subsequent years, the business diversified into other lines, particularly records, televisions, radios, wet batteries, musical instruments<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> and -</span> at Halowe'en, fireworks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This photograph (also from the long-lost archive</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a></span>) was taken at an event to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">celebrate</span> the fiftieth anniversary of the business. It includes staff, family, friends, local dignatories as well as commercial suppliers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">P<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">hotography is a<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> creative</span> art. </span>In the manner of a Rembrandt painting, a shaft of light shines down on my mother </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">as she and my father sit in the middle of the second row. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">H</span>er </span>satin dress gleams for the camera.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">©Michael McSorley 2017</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a>
“Images of Omagh” Dr Haldane Mitchell volumes 1 to 22<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii] </span></span></span></span></a></span></span> Acknowledgement George McDermott (dec'd) and his son Patrick<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""></a></span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></div>
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Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-69659450540320808592016-11-28T05:30:00.002-08:002016-11-28T05:30:15.268-08:00Books of the year<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the time of year for retrospectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything from films of the year, best
theatrical productions, best music releases, best art exhibitions, and not
forgetting the many creative artists who have passed away <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">over the past twelve months</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It has been quite a year in so many ways.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So just before December’s weekend supplements publish
recommendations by a mix of academics, poets, artists and famous citizens about
all kinds of books they have read and recommend, let me list a few good ones
that have kept me going in 2016.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Such was the emphasis of reviews in two national
broadsheets at the start of the year that I simply had to order a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Noise of Time.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Written by the winner of the Man Booker Prize
in 201<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">1</span>, Julian Barnes, this is a fictional account of the life of the great Russian
composer Shostakovich and his survival under the despotism of Stalin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxai62gEseUXqt3uN-CkolT_jqte-qu_ezX3CBeymTBoHEGhqbrRnFbwqmKhA63gmRTrIvijh_8yQxlIjAKtPh4MDUXmp1r_Z_9wUdrmn4pTbFDdxGpQur6_kCQ5O1RIwOOvY-nrALrs/s1600/JulianBarnesNoiseOfTime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxai62gEseUXqt3uN-CkolT_jqte-qu_ezX3CBeymTBoHEGhqbrRnFbwqmKhA63gmRTrIvijh_8yQxlIjAKtPh4MDUXmp1r_Z_9wUdrmn4pTbFDdxGpQur6_kCQ5O1RIwOOvY-nrALrs/s1600/JulianBarnesNoiseOfTime.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This novel paints a different image of the
musical genius than the somewhat more jovial man in Sara Quigley‘s prize-winning
novel about the awful siege of Leningrad, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The
Conductor.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The impact of tyranny,
however, is brilliantly articulated by both authors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One reviewer<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> summarised Barnes’s new
book as </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“...structured
in three parts that come together like a broken chord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a simple but brilliant device.... Out
of the rubble comes a life; out of the noise comes music.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another reviewer<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a> described it with no
equivocation whatsoever as</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“a masterpiece
of biographical fiction.”</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One fascinating non-fiction book to catch my attention
this year was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Lingo”</i> by the Dutch
journalist and multi-linguist Gaston Dorren.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In a year when European integration has been the topic of intensive
debate, this humorous book reminds us of our inextricable cultural connections
by examining fifty or more European languages and dialects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Full of amusing anecdotes, Dorren observes all
kinds of linguistic parallels, including examples of words which English has
borrowed from many of its European neighbours.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Never does a year pass in the modern era without
something original and brilliant coming out of the north-west of our
continent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among others, let me mention
two <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">"Nordic"</span> novels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One represents the
tried and tested genre of crime fiction, noir being the word, so consistently
portrayed by their authors; whereas the other book is a total contrast being funny.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The former is a scary and unnerving story set in a remote
part of Iceland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">titl</span>ed “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I remember you” </i>and written by Yrsa
Sigurdardottir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latter is a moving
testament to ageing called “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hitman Anders”
</i>by Jonas Jonasson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is his
follow-up to the hilarious and best-selling novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Hundred-year-old Man who Climbed out of the Window and
Disappeared.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another gripping novel in a similar vein, in terms of
empathy with issues of ageing, was given to me by a friend at no cost thanks to
the generosity of the year’s World Book Night in April.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This beautiful story, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Last bus to Coffeeville,”</i> is set in the United States. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its author is J Paul Henderson.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Closer to home the next crime thriller novel and a winner of Los Angeles
Book Prize for fiction was recommended to me by my bibliophile wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The
Twelve”</i> by Stuart Neville is a page-turning tale set in a bleakly realistic
Northern Ireland suffering the appalling and violent excesses of the so-called
Troubles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulster noir feels even more
unsettling than its Scandi-equivalent, in this case probably because Neville is
fictionalising events against the reality of recent history.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A special mention has to go to the Irish Times journalist
and commentator Fintan O’Toole. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
finally got around to buying his non-fiction book, published a couple of years
ago, and which was inspired by the encyclopaedic <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“A History of the World in 100 objects”</i> by<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Neil McGregor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3V-RwcLqgfyPEBYrg_tI-8Ybcgh0LWtouIwUcK5Xt7EKyKH7QZAH6SDnFKO3QYdOzOZ5tXAZaGz5QQfhR96xp1he0u9JcOeEjgKjoVPmR52mvtocM8oTypWldLBEciscs8BMKMVPGO4/s1600/HistoryIreland100ObjectsO%2527Toole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3V-RwcLqgfyPEBYrg_tI-8Ybcgh0LWtouIwUcK5Xt7EKyKH7QZAH6SDnFKO3QYdOzOZ5tXAZaGz5QQfhR96xp1he0u9JcOeEjgKjoVPmR52mvtocM8oTypWldLBEciscs8BMKMVPGO4/s1600/HistoryIreland100ObjectsO%2527Toole.jpg" /></a></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">O’Toole’s diligent
research and knowledge have resulted in the very impressive <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“A History of Ireland in 100 Objects.” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These companion pieces are two desirable
objects in their own rite.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The best novel I have read in 2016 is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Alone in Berlin”</i> by Hans Fallada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Originally published in 1947<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a>, it was not translated
and published in English until 1975.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In
some ways, the harrowing narrative parallels the Julian Barnes story about
surviving Soviet tyranny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5W9iBy2-1e5HI5-jYpnv4B9TRjqkcn2A5snPgFo4QcrPFWEa3B9VD03AHPOGw0hd8HCJimLK2LXf3075I3D45LEcF3fxFlRy2hajLAxpn17YeWwNazOhJzqCYX8KKFN4y3IBVFQH9K9k/s1600/AloneInBerlinFallada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5W9iBy2-1e5HI5-jYpnv4B9TRjqkcn2A5snPgFo4QcrPFWEa3B9VD03AHPOGw0hd8HCJimLK2LXf3075I3D45LEcF3fxFlRy2hajLAxpn17YeWwNazOhJzqCYX8KKFN4y3IBVFQH9K9k/s400/AloneInBerlinFallada.jpg" width="257" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fallada, like
Barnes, bases the story on a real-life events, namely that of a German couple (nondescript compared to the Shost<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">a</span>kovich protrayed by Barnes)
trying to stand up to and resist the domestic impacts of Nazi horrors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taken together, such novels illustrate both the
meaningless of labels </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">like right and left </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">to describe</span> authoritarianism; and also that evil flourishes
only when good men sit back and do nothing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, having begun by setting an objective to present
a selection of books that I have read before the professionals publish their
lists in <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">December's</span> weekend supplements, I see that the papers I buy on
Saturday<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a> and Sunday<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a> have already - on this <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">final</span> weekend
of November - embarked on that process. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A</span>nd, in very <span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">thorough</span> style too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">E</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ven if there’s no way I can pip them</span>, I might as well try and join them.</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">©Michael McSorley 2016</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a>
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst The Times Saturday Review 16 Jan 2016</div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Alex Preston The Observer New Review 17 Jan 2016</div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a>
James Buchan The Guardian 7 March 2009 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/07/alone-in-berlin-hans-fallada">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/07/alone-in-berlin-hans-fallada</a></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a> The
Times, 26 November 2016 Saturday Review Books of the Year pp 5-18</div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 27 November 2016 Books of the Year pp34-38</div>
</div>
</div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-43661544627561200422015-03-30T00:12:00.002-07:002015-04-04T07:55:45.072-07:00Wales Ireland and Cornwall – connected by history and culture<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Introduction</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Connections between the people of Wales, Cornwall,
Northern Ireland, Scotland, - the so-called Celtic regions or nations within the UK - and
their links with England have been thrust into the headlines recently.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The BBC has reported that a major study of DNA by experts
at Oxford University reveals that genetically there is not a unique group of
Celtic people living in the UK<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The results are also said to demonstrate that
there is a genetic basis for regional identities in the UK.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Genetics apart, however, it is arguable that geography,
history and culture have interacted to ensure that places like Wales and
Ireland share a good many characteristics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Early spring affords a couple of examples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the sporting arena, March has demonstrated
their dazzling prowess on the fields of rugby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuNtFe1CxcyIwFia8QKiU6v-72SbtpD7KMTUVHq6mt6kc3vLU53UvrLydFy9TgFRpDScjRsHYvmF1BT4XiIQZiWQizAjhtPJ3R-8c6VsCHVzqlpbpcu53gWwOj0quG4NgS4KsLWlI0Qg/s1600/WarburtonO'Connell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuNtFe1CxcyIwFia8QKiU6v-72SbtpD7KMTUVHq6mt6kc3vLU53UvrLydFy9TgFRpDScjRsHYvmF1BT4XiIQZiWQizAjhtPJ3R-8c6VsCHVzqlpbpcu53gWwOj0quG4NgS4KsLWlI0Qg/s1600/WarburtonO'Connell.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Culturally, the countries’ patron saints are celebrated days apart, March
1 and March 17 to be precise.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In music, the common denominator is
internationally-recognised quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Wales
has Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins and Tom Jones; Ireland has Van Morrison, the
Chieftains and James Galway. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In poetry, Dylan
Thomas and Seamus Heaney are two of many accomplished wordsmiths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether sung or spoken, it is apparent that love
of words is a common bond that unites people in Wales and Ireland.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Philology</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why are connections between words and expressions in different
languages so endlessly intriguing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As an
A-level student, I used to marvel at unlikely verbal similarities between Irish
and French.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How could these same words be
so different in “the Queen’s English?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My small store of examples included the English word egg,
which (especially when pronounced) is practically the same in Irish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ubh</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">oeuf</i> in French. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Church in
English is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eaglais</i> in Irish and the
French <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">église</i> has a similar
resonance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Book in English reads as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">leabhar</i> in Irish (where the aspirated <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">b</i> becomes a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">w</i> sound rather than the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">v</i>
it becomes in other contexts) and in French this is exactly what seems to
happen with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">livre.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other examples of Irish and French words that differ from
English include money which is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">airgead</i>
in Irish and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">argent</i> in French (both
also meaning silver).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>A final example is
the English salutation Good Health or cheers, in Irish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sláinte</i> and the similar (but not identical) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">santé</i> in French.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Building on this background, I want to compare some
everyday aspects of Welsh and Irish linguistics including, for good measure,
some sideways glances at Cornish. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
will examine some nouns, followed by a look at grammatical forms where words
can mutate, consonants can be eclipsed, and vowels lengthened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just how much joy and excitement can linguistics
throw at us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To round off, we will
consider a sample of surnames and place-names to exemplify further linguistic and
historical connections between Wales Ireland and also Cornwall.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Vocabulary</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are two families of Celtic languages, representing separate
immigrations.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Goidelic (or Gaelic) branch includes the
Gaelic of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man; the Brythonic (or British)
consists of Welsh, Cornish and Breton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
explanation comes from the man credited as the father of reviving the Cornish
language, Henry Jenner, just over a century ago. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He adds that </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“though
no one who studies both (branches) can fail to be struck by their affinity in
vocabulary, grammar and idiom, the speakers of different branches are no more
mutually intelligible than an Englishman and a German would be...”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps this background rationalises the closeness of
some Welsh and Irish nouns and verbs at the same time as an apparent absence of
connection in many words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The two
language branches differ in ways, one of which is </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the substitution of P for Q in the Brythonic languages which has led to
the labels P and Q Celtic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sound qu
in Goidelic became represented by c; in Brythonic it was replaced by p.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ellis cites the example of the number four which in Irish
is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ceathair</i> and in Cornish is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">peswar</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Four in Welsh is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pedwar</i>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other
P Q examples are the Celtic languages’ word for head: in Irish it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ceann</i>, in Welsh (and in Cornish) it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pen</i>; the English word son in Irish is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mac</i>, and in Welsh and Cornish is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">map</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This illustrates that the P and Q impact can appear at the start and/or
end of nouns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another example is the
English word everyone, which in Irish is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cách</i>
(or gach duine) and in Welsh is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pawb</i>
(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pup</i> in Cornish).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cornwall’s patron saint is St <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Piran</i>. The occasion is marked, as with the Welsh and Irish equivalents' in March (the fifth). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most interestingly, this name is another example of the P/Q differential.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Piran is the Cornish form of the Irish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ciarán</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since Irish (I) is a cousin rather than a sibling of
Welsh (W) and Cornish (C), it is all the more exciting to discover words which
are comparable as they look and sound similar in all three languages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Examples include the following.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The English word Land is<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> tir</i> (W), tyr (C), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tír</i>
(I); wave in English is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ton</i> (W and
C), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tonn</i> (I); river in English is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">avon</i> (W and C), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">abhann</i> (I); weather in English is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">amser</i> (W and C), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">aimsír</i> (I);
the adjective sweet in English is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">melys</i>
(W and C), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">milis</i> (I); and full in
English is<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> llawn</i> (W), lun (C), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lán </i>(I)<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Examples of Welsh words that are spelt differently but
pronounced similarly to Irish equivalents include<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a>:-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the number one is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">un</i> (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">aon</i> (I); </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the
number ten is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deg</i> (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">déag</i> (I); </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the English word for paper is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">papur</i> (W) and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> papéir</i> (I); </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the English adjective narrow is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cul</i> (W) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">caol</i> (Ir); </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">church in English is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">eglwys</i> (W), <i>eglos </i>(C), and
eaglais (I); and </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">the English book is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">leabhar
</i>(I), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">llyfr</i> (W), and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lyver</i> (C).</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also detect similarity in rhythm, if slightly less
similarity in pronunciation in the Welsh and Irish words for the English
adjective cloudy, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gymylog</i> (W) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scamallach</i> (I).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sameness and difference are also evident comparing days
of the week in Welsh (W) and Irish (I).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Sameness
is evident in three - </span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dydd llun</i>
(W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dé Luain</i> (I); Tuesday <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dydd Mawrth</i> (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dé Máirt</i> (I); and Saturday is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dydd
Sadwrn</i> (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dé Sathairn </i>(I).</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In contrast, the other four weekdays are dissimilar in
the two languages - </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dydd Sul</i>
(W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dé Domhnaigh</i> (I); Wednesday is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dydd Mercher</i> (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dé Céadaoin</i> (I); Thursday is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dydd
Iau</i> (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dé Déardaoin</i> (I); and
Friday is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dydd Gwener</i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a> (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dé hAoine </i>(I).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If readers know
of a verifiable explanation for the diurnal difference, such information would be received with one hundred thousand welcomes.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mutation
Aspiration Eclipse Accents</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps it is another example of Welsh and Irish being
cousins rather than brothers/sisters, but the processes of eclipse and
aspiration which happen in Irish appear also in Welsh, if under the more
generic description of linguistic mutation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Whatever the categorisation, the broad phenomenon is common to both
languages.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Welsh place-name Bangor is the same word in English
and Welsh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>However, when you say “in
Bangor”, the name mutates when spoken in Welsh to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ym Mangor</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“In Wales”
spectularly mutates Cymru to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yng Nghymru<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn8" name="_ednref8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Welsh word for a pub is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tafarn</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saying in the pub
and the noun mutates to become <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yn y
dafarn.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>With words like school, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ysgol</i> in Welsh, in the school remains <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yn yr ysgol.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Irish, “in County Tyrone” reads as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">i gcontae Thír Eoghain</i>, with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">c</i> of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">contae</i>
eclipsed by a g and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">T</i> in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tír</i> aspirated with a seibhiú.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Preceeding a vowel-led place-name, some cases
change the Irish<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> i</i> (meaning in) to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hence, “in Holywood” reads <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in Ard
Mhic Nasca</i>; while in some other vowel-led place-names the Irish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">i</i> changes to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">san</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Examples are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">san Iúr</i> in Newry and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">san Ómaigh</i>, in Omagh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being my birthplace, the latter deserves an
honourable mention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The reason for insertion of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">n</i> in these cases is that some place-names are known in Irish as
“the” (say Omagh), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Ómaigh</i> in
Irish; and the vowel in the definite article <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An</i> demands an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">n</i> to
accompany the word in, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">i </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sa </i>becoming<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> in </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">san </i>before somewhere beginning with another vowel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Numbers
(incomparably different words in Welsh and Irish - (W) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">talmau</i> and (I) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">uimhreacha)</i>
can also mutate nouns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Welsh, one
ticket is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">un tocyn</i>, two tickets <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau tocyn</i>; but three reads as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tri thocyn.</i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn9" name="_ednref9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Counting
in Welsh highlights instances of where mutation occurs and where it is
absent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, nothing mutates
from one to nineteen; yet between 20-29, every number mutates the word for ten,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deg</i> in Welsh, to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ddeg.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This produces <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg,</i> which means twenty, or
literally two ten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It continues with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg un</i> 21, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg dau</i> 22, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg tri</i>
23, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg pedwar</i> 24, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg pump </i>25, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg chwech</i> 26, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg
saith</i> 27, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg wyth</i> 28, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau ddeg nau</i> 29.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Inexplicably
(to me) and what makes the process so endearing is the fact that no further
mutation happens in any of the other decades, thirties to nineties inclusive.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mutation
returns for some but not all of the hundreds. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whereas 100 in Welsh is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cant</i>, 200 mutates the noun to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dau
gant, </i>300 mutates it to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tri chant, </i>4
and 500 have no impact on cant (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pedwar
cant</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pum cant</i> respectively),
600 mutates it to<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> chwe chant,</i> and 7 8
and 900 do not mutate cant (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">saith cant,
wyth cant</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">naw cant</i>
respectively).<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn10" name="_ednref10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Irish
contains four types of numerals - cardinal numbers, cardinal numbers with noun,
personal numbers, and ordinal numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Little mutation occurs with cardinal numbers, apart from number one
which changes from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">aon</i> to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a haon</i>, eight which changes from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ocht</i> to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a hocht</i>, eleven becomes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a
haon déag,</i> and twelve which aspirates the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">déag</i> to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a dó dhéag.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cardinal
numbers with a noun sometimes eclipse and occasionally aspirate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>For example, “one year” and “two years” cause
certain nouns’ first letter to be aspirated – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">aon bhliain, dhá bhliain</i>; three four five and six years mutate the
noun-end, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">trí bliana ceithre bliana cúig
bliana sé bliana; </i>whereas seven eight nine and ten years eclipse the noun –
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seacht mbliana ocht mbliana naoi mbliana
deich mbliana.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Welsh
has seven vowels, Irish has five. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>All of
them can be elongated by accentuation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Welsh uses a circumflex in all seven (<i>â, ê, î, ô, û, ŵ, ŷ), </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">whereas Irish employs a fada (long) for its
vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>To illustrate
the importance of an accent, its influence is such that it can change the
meaning of a word – <i>páiste</i> is a child, but <i>paiste</i> is a patch.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Place-names
and surnames</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Place-names and surnames are an important source of
information about linguistic, as well as historical and cultural connections
between Celtic countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On occasions
place-names and surnames interact as corroborative evidence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Surnames can derive from place-names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Gaelic Irish word for Wales is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Bhreatain Bheag</i>, Little Britain in
English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The fourth most common surname
in Ireland is the anglicised name <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Walsh</i>,
or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Breatnach</i> in Irish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means Briton, or literally Welshman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was taken to Ireland by Welsh Cornish and
Cumbrian soldiers during and after the Norman invasion or Ireland.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn11" name="_ednref11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Variants include Walshe, Welsh, Brannagh and
Breathnach.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just as this author’s surname derives from Nordic
invaders<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn12" name="_ednref12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span></span></span></a>, the Shakespearean actor
Kenneth Branagh the accomplished folk musician Máire Breatnach and the
boss of IAG (the parent company of British Airways and Iberia) Willie Walsh - all owe their uninvited visiting antecedents
from Little Britain a deferential nod of acknowledgement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The most popular surname in Wales is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jones</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Less well-known is
the fact that the surname Jones is also found in every Irish county.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As if to corroborate the Walsh example, the
internet surname database explains that Jones’s prevalence in Ireland reflects
the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1170.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_edn13" name="_ednref13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiii]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another example of a surname popular in both countries is
notable for sharing a nominal linguistic root.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In Wales, the name <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hughes</i>
derives from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hu</i> or Huw, meaning fire
or inspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Ireland it derives
from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ó’hAodhe</i> (grandson of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aodh</i>, phonetically in one syllable uee),
and meaning inflammation or fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ó’hAodhe</i> is anglicised to Hughes as well
as Hayes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As well as meaning the same
thing, pronunciation of the Welsh <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huw</i>
and Irish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aodh</i> sounds similar.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Place-names, unsurprisingly, can reflect geographical or
architectural features.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>For example, the
English term for mouth of a river is translated into Welsh as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aber</i> and as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Béal</i> in Irish. Two words with no resemblance whatsoever, apart from their meaning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Hence, cities
such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Abertawe</i> (Swansea) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Béal Feirste</i> (Belfast) express their
estuarine existence unambiguously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Incidentally, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aberfala</i> is the
Cornish for Falmouth, which sits on the River Fal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whereas Aber and Béal have no apparent linguistic
resemblance, other prefixes are uncannily similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Welsh word for island, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ynys</i>, describes the country’s
north-westerly off-shore island, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ynys M</i></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>ô</i></span>n</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No Celtic place-name could be more anglicised
than Anglesey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The Gaelic Irish word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inis</i> describes the situation of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inis Ceithleann</i>, or Kathleen’s island,
Enniskillen the county town of Fermanagh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Interestingly, the same noun <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Enys</i>
appears in Cornish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The noun’s plural is
shown in The Scilly Isles, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Enesek Syllan</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A slightly uncanny if serendipitous
comparison.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Welsh word for a castle (or city) is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Caer</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It is a prefix to several Welsh place-names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examples include <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Caerdydd</i> (Cardiff) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Caerfyrddin</i>
(Carmarthen).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Caer</i> on its own is the Welsh word for the English city of
Chester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The Gaelic Irish equivalent,
and pronounced almost identically is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cathair</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means ringfort or city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>For example, Cahir in County Tipperary
(pronounced care, not cah-hir) was built around a thirteenth century castle,
itself sited on a stone ring-fort.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Cornish surname Pascoe derives from an important festival. It also provides an example of the impact of P and Q Celtic on surnames. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Easter in Cornish is <i>Pask. </i>In Welsh it is <i>Pasg.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I carried the Paschal Candle as an altar boy one year at Easter Sunday's ceremonial procession. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Easter in Irish is </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
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</xml><![endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span class="hps"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-fareast-language: KO; mso-hansi-font-family: Batang;">C</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-fareast-language: KO;">á</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-fareast-language: KO; mso-hansi-font-family: Batang;">isc.</span></span></i> </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Conclusion</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Examining Welsh and Cornish words adds to the intrigue
from the accidental discovery of connections between Irish and French as a youthful
student.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To find, for example, that the
Welsh and Cornish words for church and book are so similar to Irish (and to the
French) stirs the imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>To learn,
at the same time, that other verbs and nouns have no apparent connections, as
in four of the week-days while the other three are alike, baffles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And yet both Welsh and Irish use forms which
create linguistic mutation – what seems like a common Celtic trait.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Visitors to our home nations love the fact that our place-names and surnames look almost unpronounceable yet can be translated into English.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Surnames can reveal historical clues about events like battles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Invasion from Wales to Ireland many hundreds
of years ago is reflected by the prominence of two highlighted surnames.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I recall the BBC's veteran Irish broadcaster Terry Wogan
rationalising Ireland’s successes in the Eurovision Song Contest as being
because Ireland is the only country never to have invaded anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And now I discover that even Wales invaded us
way back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But to find another example of a surname, like Hughes,
which is not a transported name, evolving from the same linguistic root and
independently of each other in both countries speaks to a similarity of
cultural mindset in the two Celtic nations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The explanation for the co-existence of philological similarities
juxtaposed with striking differences seem to attest empirically to the fact of
there being two distinctive branches of Celtic linguistics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Could this be the real origin of the phrase
“mind your Ps and Qs?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Never mind your DNA.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The good news is that everybody knows
what the most important, yet totally dissimilar, terms of endearment mean in Welsh and in Irish -
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Iechyd da</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sláinte. </i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a mark of our internationalist credentials, the closing list shows how the sentiment is expressed elsewhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> German</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Salud. Spanish</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Cin cin. Salute. Italian </span><br />
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<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
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table.MsoNormalTable
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mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Slàinte mhath. Scots Gaelic</span></span><br />
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/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">©Michael
McSorley 2015</span></span>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a>
Nature Journal 19 March 2015 “People of the British Isles Project.”</div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.nature.com/articles/nature14230.epdf?referrer_access_token=qKJBbczycF7E_wblNIFTfNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MiE0_B2kFTYAb64eH_EPxJeiJzg7Mfl6MEBC6p_EUzUhn20X4WGsMhORPh_wQWF0XWfuvis22UqrLNVuhlijqXTxOXx-26amOZUjUE9AICb_6Nw0oQxV-xs8GMPjlYpJzhWu1xIkKXmZ-Cgo8cz4_m&tracking_referrer=www.bbc.co.uk</span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></a>
A Handbook of the Cornish Language. Henry Jenner (2010 reprint of original 1904
texts)</div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Cornish language and its Literature P Berresford Ellis Routledge &
Kegan Paul 1974</div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[v]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ibid. pp6,7</div>
</div>
<div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></a>
Beginner’s Welsh with 2 audio CDs. Heini Gruffudd. Hippocrene Books New York.
2008</div>
</div>
<div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref7" name="_edn7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ibid p 183</div>
</div>
<div id="edn8" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref8" name="_edn8" style="mso-endnote-id: edn8;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[viii]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ibid p 155</div>
</div>
<div id="edn9" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref9" name="_edn9" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ix]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ibid. P 50.</div>
</div>
<div id="edn10" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref10" name="_edn10" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[x]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ibid. p 52.</div>
</div>
<div id="edn11" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref11" name="_edn11" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xi]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="http://www.irishidentity.com/lists"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">www.irishidentity.com/lists</span></a></div>
</div>
<div id="edn12" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref12" name="_edn12" style="mso-endnote-id: edn12;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xii]</span></span></span></span></a> “The
name Somhairle and its clan” H Palsson, from “So Many People, Longages &
Tonges,” Edinburgh 1981.</div>
</div>
<div id="edn13" style="mso-element: endnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ednref13" name="_edn13" style="mso-endnote-id: edn13;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[xiii]</span></span></span></span></a><a href="https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Surnames_in_Wales,_Ireland,_Cornwall_Genealogy,_Isle_of_Man_%28National_Institute%29"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Surnames_in_Wales,_Ireland,_Cornwall_Genealogy,_Isle_of_Man_%28National_Institute%29</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<u><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Acknowledgement</span></u><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">: Maureen Hurndall, Queens University Belfast</span></div>
</div>
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Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-11255425132596888542014-09-29T15:07:00.000-07:002014-09-29T15:07:26.258-07:00Beautiful books<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Weekend newspaper supplements</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The best parts of the weekend newspapers are the reviews.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This fits with Saturday and Sunday as a time to escape
from news and current affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
reviews that appeal to me are those in the supplements of Saturday’s
Times, the same day’s Belfast Telegraph, and Sunday’s Observer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Reviewing has become an art form.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Everything is reviewed and previewed from holidays at
home and abroad, the latest releases in music, films, theatre, art galleries, festivals,
walks to try out, family things to do, wines to buy, and of course books.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Work life balance</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have to admit that before I retired, reading novels was
not my number one pastime. The pursuit was limited to occasions away from the
usual routine such as being on holidays or perhaps at a conference.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Preoccupied with work, raising a family, paying bills,
running marathons, organising community projects – there just were not enough
hours in a day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In retrospect, these excuses for self-deprivation are
feeble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compared to my wife who has
always been a voracious reader – she recently raced her way through the 1300+
page Tolstoy classic War and Peace – I have little claim to being a
bibliophile.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What I did read were the national and local newspapers,
athletics magazines, and easy to read novels by authors like Jeffrey Archer and
John Grisham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Textbooks to do with work
also made an occasional appearance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Books – the hobby</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, however, that has changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A peripheral activity has become a hobby.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having discovered the satisfaction of always having a
book or two on the go, I have become aware of what I was missing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Buoyed by a regular fix of being enthralled
and sometimes overwhelmed by a great narrative, I now set a modest objective to
read a minimum of one book a month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Among
the results is that every year the objective is surpassed, new authors are
discovered, as different styles of writing emerge like wonderful discoveries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no better feeling when being so involved with a
story-line that impatience compels the reader to catch up with the plot and
characters without delay. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The more absorbing
the book, the more I am carried to another world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The experience is similar to that achieved by
beautiful music.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Books add to variety and colour to daily life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each different story creates its own mood and
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every tale presents a new subject
matter and style. Whereas most of my selections are fiction, a number are
factual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the most convincing are
fiction but based on the real world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Books are also a diversion and a distraction from daily
routine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a moot point that burying
the imagination in stimulating literature can benefit participation in
activities like work, volunteering, family events, keeping fit, evening
classes, attending concerts, and even holidaying.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Book choices</span></u></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The big question is how to pick the next book.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I suspect that most people avail of a range of
influences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apart from the weekend supplements,
I rely on recommendations made by friends and family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It is also easy to be seduced by the lure of
titles advertised on and off-line, perhaps best-sellers listings, or by the
very presence of books sitting on bookshelves that catch the eye.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are a few examples selected from my literary liaison.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Book choices - fiction</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the best novels I have read is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Conductor”</i> written by a New
Zealander, and which was the best selling fiction book in New Zealand in 2011. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is a story about the siege of Leningrad which
lasted from 1941 to 1944, Shostakovich and the composition of his gigantic
seventh (or Leningrad) symphony.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bella Bathurst’s review<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> quotes Hitler’s line that
“St Petersburg must be erased from the face of the earth”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She enthused that:-</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“The Conductor reads
like a proper up-all-night-page-turner, but it also goes deeper conveying the
extraordinary life-saving properties of music and hope</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">.”</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5jNhh-IZw5RMucweTGeQ-rPv51kJUfRGBFO3pgcaj8USRtBpPdAtrIFYWcv989o2way10_pu_AhgRnCaHbjxAjMBTKkfAfM52LaWzKSrOK8D4X2lnMZhtwSfXF8S8ij_JBMK8nKIPf0/s1600/ConductorBook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5jNhh-IZw5RMucweTGeQ-rPv51kJUfRGBFO3pgcaj8USRtBpPdAtrIFYWcv989o2way10_pu_AhgRnCaHbjxAjMBTKkfAfM52LaWzKSrOK8D4X2lnMZhtwSfXF8S8ij_JBMK8nKIPf0/s1600/ConductorBook.jpg" height="320" width="193" /></a></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">War is not a subject that I would expect to capture my
interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If, however, the story is
well-written and researched, then novels set in the context of real and awful
conflict can stir and shake the emotions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of this year’s highlights was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Book Thief”</i> by Markus Zusa, a novel recommended to me by my
wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is an innovative and moving story
about World War 2 from the perspective of a German family and a nine-year-old
girl.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A discovery from an earlier year was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Exile” </i>written by Richard North
Patterson (formerly a US trial lawyer including Watergate). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The author had been recommended by a work
friend as a superb exponent of legal thrillers, which he is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The beauty of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Exile</i> was that it combined the suspense of courtroom drama with the
most lucid explanation of the interminable Arab/Israeli conflict.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other stand-out American author (also drawn to my
attention by a friend) is David Baldacci.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like North Patterson, he writes powerful riveting legal political
thrillers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most recent that I have
read is “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">King and Maxwell.”</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the subject of trouble spots, two enjoyable books
deliver very different and unexpected stories of everyday life in modern Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>One is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The
little coffee shop of Kabul”</i> by Deborah Rodriguez.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Bookseller of Kabul”</i> by Asne Seierstad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The former is a novel about the coming
together of five women in the war-torn city; the latter is a non-fictional
journalistic reportage portrait of an Afghan family in the aftermath of the
fall of the Taliban.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before dealing with non-fiction, one particular aspect of
fiction deserves special mention.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Book choices – fiction - Nordic Noir</span></u></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This reader has not been immune to the seemingly
countless novelists from Scandinavia who have invaded our literary attention
like latter-day Vikings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the words of
one journalist<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Crime
fiction has now overtaken Abba and flat-pack furniture as the most influential
Scandinavian export.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Few have not been charmed by Stieg Larsson’s millennium
trilogy, Henning Mankell’s compelling stories of Inspector Kurt Wallander have
been successfully transferred from book to small screen by a number of rival
television companies in Sweden, Norway’s Jo Nesbo is never out of the bestsellers
charts, and others including Iceland’s Arnaldur Indridason and the Swede Lars
Keplar all vie for our attention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The enigmatic atmosphere of illness, death, insanity,
and betrayal has been transformed into the art of Nordic Noir. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was invented for cinema by Ingmar Bergman
half a century ago and has become a twenty-first century literary phenomenon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Never has bleakness been so entrancing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, it was with pleasant surprise that a couple of books
from the other end of the emotional spectrum thrust themselves into my line of
vision earlier this year, courtesy of the Belfast Telegraph<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here were two interesting titles occupying the
upper echelons of the best-sellers lists.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Swedish author Jonas Jonasson has proved that northern
bleakness is by no means the only style for which his nation should be famed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since his approach is the polar opposite of angst, I
describe his two international political stories <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Hundred-year-old Man who Climbed out of the Window and
Disappeared” </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Girl who Saved
the King of Sweden</i>” as nordic blanc (even though the term is not
alliterative). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>They are original, entertaining,
funny, and (for added realism) provide a tour of twentieth century world
history.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Book choices – non-fiction</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Non-fiction can evoke the same strong feelings in readers’
minds especially if the story is narrated by expert journalists.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I attended an event in Belfast a couple of years ago when
an experienced journalist and Channel 4’s international news editor Linsey
Hilsum was interviewed about her experience in reporting from the front-line of
war zones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She had just published a book
called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Sandstorm - Libya in the Time of
Revolution.” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This is an account,
often in harrowing detail, about the history of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime, to
the shocking massacre at Abu Salim prison and continuing through to how the
Libyan people overcame fear and found the strength to rebel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By happy coincidence, a few weeks later, a review by the
Observer<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> critic Chris McGreal confirmed
my favourable impression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He described
Hilsum’s book as a </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“masterful account” from
“an eyewitness to the revolution....</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Hilsum’s disgust shines
through as she recounts how the West embraced Gaddafi...”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another non-fiction book that I was persuaded to buy
based on good reviews was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The 33”</i> by
Jonathan Franklin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This gripping episode
the survival and the eventual rescue of 33 Chilean miners had held the world
transfixed for days on end in the manner of a major fictional drama. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The swift and exclusive reportage of the
author was praised in a review by Robert Crampton<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> in The Times. The
newspaper headlined it as its Book of the Week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In similar vein, reviewer Janine di Giovanni<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> from the Observer praised
the telling of </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“the story of a miner miracle.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Both newspapers clearly love headline puns and transform
book reviews into an art.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On which subject, there is another genre of book that I
would not have considered without newspaper acclamation – the graphic novel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This summer, the Observer’s Rachel Cooke
recommended a couple of “graphic novels of the month” (essentially
comics for adults) that caught my attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One was about cycling, the other about ageing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Words and fine art in perfect harmony. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"<i>Legends of the Tour" </i>by Jam Cleijne is an artistic history of the Tour de France between 1903 and 2013. The Observer's review </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> </span>sums it up perfectly as</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"this exquisite comic book...</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Not only is it a
wonderfully concise history of the Tour, its competitors stoicism and
skulduggery displayed to compelling effect, it is quite ravishing to behold.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCt55ZmWZN8PrJcw9qryPZj8lRA2KsT1RXZ-h0Nx2g0qxqyXd70aPcWEWq1MvYcTUBGTAijICeMCNjfkxxJY2pAPJtIe45pNdSeZH9ddb67WIAm2DP1_oprNDh5cBWzufRHT8ntLJoh8/s1600/JanCleijnesLeTour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCt55ZmWZN8PrJcw9qryPZj8lRA2KsT1RXZ-h0Nx2g0qxqyXd70aPcWEWq1MvYcTUBGTAijICeMCNjfkxxJY2pAPJtIe45pNdSeZH9ddb67WIAm2DP1_oprNDh5cBWzufRHT8ntLJoh8/s1600/JanCleijnesLeTour.jpg" height="400" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cycling
has become such a growth industry that book sales on the subject seem likely to
have probably risen in response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A
friend from my gym has recently recommended a book entitled “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Faster” </i>by the cyclist and Cycling
Weekly journalist Michael Hutchinson.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is about the science and techniques used by
elite cyclists in the quest for microcosmic improvements to race faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It’s waiting in my slipstream, geared up for a hopefully impressive performance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cooke’s
other graphic novel of the month was <i>"Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? A Memoir" </i>written by Roz Chast. <i> </i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chast is a cartoonist in the New Yorker magazine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The review </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a> </span>describes it as </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“a memoir about decrepitude specifically
of her batty parents...her brilliant new book is honest, plangent, and
thoroughly ghoulish....and wake-you-up-your-sleeping-husband hysterical.”</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sounds like another must-have book.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G1jHN7FSzEP8vIQL9oZfHNJBBsY5eO2LXiTRE345jZ-WX8Y4fnRzfYTp95BB2lVZR8obJ-WPWJeKrw-nU7_SyxDFUdZELA_ZaBO94Slo2Ddq_HihyhXAwWGk_fE92YazZuvnoWrUs6I/s1600/RozChastAgeing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4G1jHN7FSzEP8vIQL9oZfHNJBBsY5eO2LXiTRE345jZ-WX8Y4fnRzfYTp95BB2lVZR8obJ-WPWJeKrw-nU7_SyxDFUdZELA_ZaBO94Slo2Ddq_HihyhXAwWGk_fE92YazZuvnoWrUs6I/s1600/RozChastAgeing.jpg" height="640" width="516" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One very special
book stands above all of the rest.</span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two
years ago the keeper of manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin, Bernard Meehan,
published <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Book of Kells.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></i>It features more than 80 actual size
reproductions of pages from the original historic masterpiece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Written in Latin close to 800 A.D., the
original book of Kells is an illuminated version of the four gospels, a
national and international treasure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Belfast Telegraph’s 7 books feature by Waterstone’s
Michael Conaghan called the new book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“surely
unique.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>A full page review in the
Observer<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a> by the acclaimed author
Colm Tóibín headlined Meehan’s book as</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The
medieval treasure that shows God in all his glory”</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Among other insights, he explained that this </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“scholarly new edition
of the Book of Kells reveals why it meant so much to James Joyce.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not only is it a magnificent replica, but the
presentation inside a hard box-cover adds to its gravitas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I suspect that already it has become a
collectors’ item based on receipt of two or more invitations to sell it back.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFp1SFRLXihjwoqHBrq8F7mll-HMAgc6xSWN6E1TF-xN0XqT0BkDsimytTRswPuJuMfV6p8ll2_fND175XFIprAjhd-p-9DKDgW3Q_CFtRILmEChF_9dscsOY_rWQQhWlSBFxeoH8Y9bI/s1600/BookOfKells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFp1SFRLXihjwoqHBrq8F7mll-HMAgc6xSWN6E1TF-xN0XqT0BkDsimytTRswPuJuMfV6p8ll2_fND175XFIprAjhd-p-9DKDgW3Q_CFtRILmEChF_9dscsOY_rWQQhWlSBFxeoH8Y9bI/s1600/BookOfKells.jpg" height="640" width="504" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Writing about reading, I have no words left. I am almost
breathless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Such is the power </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">of great literature, </span>beautiful books.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">©Michael
McSorley 2014</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 15 July 2012 “The symphony that silenced the Nazis”</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer 12 Sept 2010 Vanessa Thorpe “After Wallander a new generation of
Scandinavian detectives takes over”</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Belfast Telegraph weekly Saturday feature “7 books you should own”</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 1 April “In the crucible of Libya’s uprising”</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
Times Review “Light at the end of the tunnel” 19 Feb 2011</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 6 March 2011</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 22 June 2014</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 13 July 2014</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 9 Dec 2012</div>
</div>
</div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-67753769546035106692014-04-30T03:20:00.003-07:002014-04-30T03:20:53.613-07:00Fifteen reasons to watch the London Marathon on TV<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a popular opinion that there is too much sport
on television these days.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many use this as one excuse to deprive themselves of unmissable
chunks of high quality broadcasting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>These people consider that their appetite for televised sport has been
satiated by what they regard as a surfeit of events like the Olympics (summer
and winter games), Match of the Day, and the seemingly endless stream of sport on
satellite TV channels.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These critical citizens, many of whom are retired and leading
exceptionally busy lives, have additional excuses to justify their
self-denial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>They have seen, or even
participated in, events like the London marathon before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They know all there is to know about the
event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If they have not seen it screened live,
then perhaps they might, at best, make do with watching the highlights or perhaps
limit themselves to edited extracts on news bulletins.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They have had enough of the commentary of Steve Cram and
Brendan Foster regurgitating the same clichés year after year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And they are definitely not fans of
the hyperbole represented as “reality TV,” into which genre they place the televised London Marathon.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Their ultimate and killer argument is that they have
better more productive things to do on a Sunday morning.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is, of course an alternative position, one which
challenges their conventional wisdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not
being a member of the dismissive school of thought, this advocate proposes a
number of reasons in support of the counter-argument.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They are listed in no particular order of
preference or importance.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is a privilege to be able to observe any
creative pursuit - artistic as well as sporting - performed at the highest
level. If unable to be a participant or a spectator at the event itself, the next best thing is to watch it live on television</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In the process of marvelling at excellence,
the viewer (of whatever age) can find a role model who will encourage and influence
positive behaviour, possibly subconsciously.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Who can witness athletic prowess and beauty such as that
caught on camera on the streets of London on a sunny April day and not be
inspired to have a go at some kind of outdoor activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The very act of watching runners, even at a
distance through the prism of a television, can inspire the spectator to get up
and go actively.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Such inspiration is a joyful contrast to rapacious
greed in sport (such as professional players’ wages in Premiership football)
and to the nihilism of many other forms of human endeavour, such as the toxic effects
of sectarianism.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Like listening to live music or watching a
gripping new play in the theatre, nothing beats the drama of seeing events unfold
as they actually happen.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Exceptionally, as happened at the Boston
Marathon last year, the spectacle of community celebration and the joy of
living can be overshadowed by evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More
usually, however, the narrative relates to athletic rivalry between Kenyans and
Ethiopians, supplemented with live-affirming stories from ordinary citizens
motivated to participate in memory of ill or deceased relatives or friends.</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">And every year these case-studies are
presented in a new and fresh way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of
us can benefit and learn from occasional reminders of the trials of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their stories can be humbling to hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as the participating athletes discover
their limits of endurance, the tales of the non-professional runners help to
put the viewers’ lives into another perspective.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As for “reality TV,” in actual fact the real
life stories told by charity fund-raisers together with the sight of runners
with all manner of disabilities provide irresistible testament to the value of
providing space and attention to those who are less fortunate than the
majority.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is also a salutary reminder to viewers (especially
those who may be sedentary) that people with all kinds of disabilities can take
part and compete in what the BBC describes as the world’s best marathon.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">With the progress in modern technology, the television
viewer can see the race in perfect definition and from the best of angles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such is the quality of picture, that the contemporary
TV coverage provides a magnificent free conducted tour of the capital city and
its many landmarks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every year the
cityscape is evolving.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Inspiring is an understatement to describe
the spirit and zest of the participants, never mind the welcoming embrace of
Londoners (and the volunteers) for all of the visitors to this great and inclusive city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is an important subliminal message, relevant
nationwide, and beyond.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Those who argue that they have no time to
watch the London marathon need to trust their innate talent and human nature’s
capacity for multi-tasking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
possible to watch the marathon at the same time as having breakfast, texting
family and friends, reading the Sunday papers and taking on a cryptic crossword.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this way all areas of the brain can be
active at the same time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">For those sceptics and cynics who remain
unconvinced at this solid array of axioms, there is always the alternative of
watching the 60 minute highlights programme in the evening after dinner when it
is dark and gardening is not on the agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another option is the BBC i-player.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It may sound slightly paradoxical to say that
whereas there is no compulsion to watching anything on television, there are few
programmes which exalt the generous spirit of humanity and the joy of life so
artistically as the BBC’s coverage of the London Marathon.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Television is the most accessible of cultural
assets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Nobody is excluded. </span>In the same way that
supermarkets lure shoppers with loss-leaders, watching the London Marathon on
Freeview might well lead the reluctant viewer to discover hidden gems among other
televisual delights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These might include
Andrew Graham-Dixon's series "Secret Lives of the Artists," or the London Proms right through
the summer into September.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If none of this convinces you about the artistic virtue and
informative capacity of television, I have an alternative recommendation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Japan’s best-known and prize-winning author Haruki
Murakami, regarded by some as a nihilist and described by the Guardian as
“among the world’s greatest living novelists,”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> has also written a couple
of non-fiction books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>One of them is
about his experience of long-distance running and how it prepares him to be a
great writer as well as a veteran athlete.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Born (and married) in the same years as this aspirant writer, his
words neatly complement the inspiration that derives from watching the London
Marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intriguing title is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What I talk about when I talk about
running.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His is a memoir not only about long distance running, but
just as much about equipping himself for life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As an afterthought, it is also a little about
the coping constructively with process of ageing.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">©Michael
McSorley 2014</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Steven Poole Guardian 27 May 2000</div>
</div>
</div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-37959505162287515112014-03-30T11:42:00.000-07:002014-03-30T11:42:14.957-07:00 The cultural legacy of the Vikings <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Visit London</span></u><br />
<br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">London never loses its lure as the most
eventful of places to visit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This year offers even more reasons for a trip to the
metropolis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Culture, as always, is a big
draw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The most enjoyable exhibitions and
stage shows are those which challenge preconceptions and provoke new ideas.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apart from theatrical attractions like King Lear at the
Olivier directed by Sam Mendes, and art exhibitions such as the 120 Matisse
works at Tate Modern or The National Gallery’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“sumptuously sensual wonderful portraits <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></b></span></span></span></a>”</i>
by Veronese (Magnificence in Renaissance Venice), the event that monopolises my imagination is a major exhibition at the
British Museum.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Vikings:
life and legend”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> tells the story of Viking expansion from
Scandinavia from the eighth<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>century onwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If only because of the permanent mark made by
these summer sailors on the people and place of Britain and Ireland, not to
mention the hyperbole surrounding the show itself <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(“one of the most tantalising cultural highlights of the new season <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></b></span></span></span></a>”),
</i>I also have a particular reason of kinship to see it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The popularity and influence of Scandinavia on our
culture should not surprise anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>For
most of the past decade, our hearts and minds have been witnessing an invasion
of modern Nordic literature and film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps the aura of modern bleakness - Nordic Noir - has taken its inspiration from the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Authors
like Jo Nesbo, Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, Lars Keplar, and Jonas Jonasson;
and television dramas like the crime fiction Wallander, The Killing (starring Sofie
Gråbøl and her famous Faroese jumpers), and continuing with The Bridge and also
the political drama of Borgen, have permeated seamlessly into our deep subconscious.</span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Vikings life and legend</span></u></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Previewing the British Museum’s new exhibition, one expert <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> explains the etymology:-</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The word “Viking” was
originally shorthand for setting oars to water, deriving from "vik",
which was the name for the mouth of a river or fjord. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, in the Icelandic sagas, it became something
like "fara í viking", "go on a viking" which came to mean to set out on a voyage and to take part in anything that might follow –
trade, commerce, raiding, piracy or worse.”</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mirroring recent television documentaries which emphasise
the high artistry of these northern travellers, Adams describes their
engineering talent and artistic genius:-</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Viking
raiders got as far into England as Lichfield in the landlocked Midlands, and
they colonised far into Russian lands along the tributaries of the Volga.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dragon ship Roskilde 6 so dominates this
show that you begin to see its curves almost everywhere in the exhibits that
surround it.... </span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There
was a formidable culture of bling, great rope-like chains of silver and gold;
almost comically outsized buckles and brooches that became status symbols from
Stockholm to Shetland. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some instances
amulets and bracelets doubled as currency...</span></i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Almost
universally, jewellery and armour, as well as the many whalebone artefacts, are
decorated with bold riverine and wave designs...”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRq_AHsq3-GenWRaxsUbzM1X_6Se9G5abjBC4gPEO7Pvdi3URkU60KIx7zTpnWgYwrv7NmGRB8KvPao4n1AcR5LcytsDczRelPQ7-NUtOnBjLFS_vj-2ZQalAqyEt5Pfm-n-k7OXLgHCY/s1600/Three-of-the-Lewis-Chessm-009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRq_AHsq3-GenWRaxsUbzM1X_6Se9G5abjBC4gPEO7Pvdi3URkU60KIx7zTpnWgYwrv7NmGRB8KvPao4n1AcR5LcytsDczRelPQ7-NUtOnBjLFS_vj-2ZQalAqyEt5Pfm-n-k7OXLgHCY/s1600/Three-of-the-Lewis-Chessm-009.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British Museum photo - 3 of the Lewis chessmen, Shetland</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMH0Gb1QcG_1CA6F7LzR547qGUXzi1Ia-X3aDXhIvaRDjkMgzt-UvnaQLPSLFkJmQ-7E1ae_iR0M5an8-sVPN1oL2VPrQ4NEZ-0NPnCULJuVBkLOcc19WGx0kxpxIt2RlWRxxRkby_Z28/s1600/viking-Hunterston-Brooch-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMH0Gb1QcG_1CA6F7LzR547qGUXzi1Ia-X3aDXhIvaRDjkMgzt-UvnaQLPSLFkJmQ-7E1ae_iR0M5an8-sVPN1oL2VPrQ4NEZ-0NPnCULJuVBkLOcc19WGx0kxpxIt2RlWRxxRkby_Z28/s1600/viking-Hunterston-Brooch-001.jpg" height="309" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Museums Scotland photo -<span class="inline wide"><span class="caption" style="width: 448px;"> Hunterston Brooch </span></span><span class="inline wide"><span class="caption" style="width: 448px;"><span class="inline wide"><span class="caption" style="width: 448px;"><span class="inline wide"><span class="caption" style="width: 448px;">Made of gold, silver and amber</span></span></span></span>, Ayrshire. </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="inline wide"><span class="caption" style="width: 448px;"> </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="inline wide"><span class="caption" style="width: 448px;"></span></span><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In parallel with the British Museum’s ability to spotlight their creativity and to expose
wrongful impressions of the Vikings, this essay considers another positive
imprint of Viking culture on our islands - its enduring cultural impact on
place-names and surnames.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Viking place-names - Ireland</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the beginning of the Christian era, the Irish Gaelic
term </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">C</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ú</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">ige Uladh</span></i><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(literally
meaning the fifth of the Ulstermen) was the northern Province of Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Cúig cúigí na hÉireann being all five of the Provinces, or Ireland as a total entity.</span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ulster was divided from the “Fifths” (or
provinces/divisions) of Connacht and Meath by a line running from the Drownes River near
Bundoran in County Donegal to the estuary of the Boyne at Drogheda.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The historian Bardon<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> adds that Ulster’s rulers
were called the </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Ulaidh</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a tribal name recorded as Voluntii
about 150AD by Ptolemy of Alexandria in Egypt in his geography of Ireland.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Irish Tribes<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> website corroborates
Bardon’s account, adding that the capital was </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Eamhain Mhacha</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
Navan Fort. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is one of Ireland’s most
important historic monuments and, as its ancient capital, it was the seat of the
Kings of Ulster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Archaeological
excavations have revealed that the construction of the 40 metre mound dates to
95 BC.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Vikings called the land of the </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Ulaidh</span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Uladzstir</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
mixing their pronunciation with the Irish Gaelic word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">t<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">í</span>r</i>, which means country
or land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the Normans and English
invaded in the twelfth century, they adopted the Viking version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>As Bardon explains, Uladztir became
anglicised to Ulster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Research carried
out at Queens University Belfast <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> corroborates the point,
concluding that the form of the place-name Ulster originates in Norse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Viking surnames - Ireland and Scotland</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The same influence is reflected in various surnames both
in Scotland and in Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These
include McLaughlin (MacLachlannach <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>, son of a Dane), McDowell
(Mac Dubh Ghall, son of a dark stranger/foreigner <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a>), Toner (from the Old
Norse personal name Tomar), McIvor (from the Old Norse personal name Ivarr) and
various others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of those others is this author’s surname.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There are more members of the clan McSorley in Scotland
than live in Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In Ireland,
McSorley is almost exclusive to Ulster and especially to Tyrone <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bell adds that most originate from Clan
Donald MacSorleys who came as galloglasses<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a> between the 13<sup>th</sup>
and late 16<sup>th</sup> centuries – one of the earliest galloglass families to
settle in Ulster <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span></span></span></a>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The adjective galloglass </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">means heavily-armed mercenary soldiers, originally
Hebridian (Gaelic-Norse), from Irish <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gall</i>
(foreigner) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ó</span>glach</i> (young warrior-servant).</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Incidental questions arise about the accuracy in contemporary usage of the the term Ulster Scots. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anglicised as Somerled and Gaelicised as MacSomhairle,
the name derives from the Old Norse, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sumor
lida, summer sailor</i>, a synonym for Viking <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span></span></span></a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An
interesting example of the name’s anglicised version exists in County
Antrim. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The title of Earl of Antrim has been created twice for
members of the MacDonnell family. <span style="color: black;">The
clan, originally of Scottish </span><span style="color: black;">origins, descends from Sorley Boy MacDonnell</span><span style="color: black;">, who established the family in County Antrim.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span>These
summer sailors provided an infrequent example, as I am informed, of Roman
Catholic landed gentry in Ireland or Britain. </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The ancestral
seat of the Earls of Antrim is Glenarm Castle <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[13]</span></span></span></a>,
also the venue for Northern Ireland’s only Scottish Highland Games every July.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The 13<sup>th</sup>
Earl of Antrim’s (1911-1977) full name was Randal St. John <i>Somerled</i> (pronounced by the family as <i>Sorley</i>)
McDonnell. Alexander Randal Mark McDonnell (born 1935) is the 14th Earl of Antrim. </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The heir apparent is his son, Randal Alexander St John McDonnell, Viscount Dunluce<span style="color: black;"> </span>(born 1967). </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The heir apparent's heir
apparent is his son the Hon. Alexander David <i>Somerled</i> McDonnell (b. 2006) <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[14].</span></span></span></a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Viking place-names - Scotland</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To make the trail even more intriguing, the McSorley
surname has direct connections to place-names in both in Scotland and also in
England.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Scottish tourist board describes Portree as the main
town on the Isle of Skye, a bustling port and a thriving cultural centre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like all places in Scotland, place-names are
signed bilingually, in Scots Gaelic and also in English.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Portree’s central hub, its town square, carries the name in
English as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Somerled </i>Square.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Scots Gaelic (pronounced Gallic by the Scots) name is inscribed as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">c<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">eàrnan</span></b> shomhairle</i>,
the square of Sorley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span id="goog_963362758"></span><span id="goog_963362759"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Observing the juxtaposition of the anglicised and
gaelicised versions of the Old Norse sumer lida evokes a sense of the Latin
imperative <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">quod erat demonstrandum</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcNFfTeCVsXjG9v1Q48PD4HqAb3PqgKC6KMLXBmu-LXcXdQ8uR68-7STk1n1ja7elvIQlNZYnefKmX_aCQ6s8x7lI-d-5yxnc5qUJo1pUAlqJTt4AHHGopaaVvCZ6utZmeVCXwkR4p4E/s1600/2007+August+Scotland+141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcNFfTeCVsXjG9v1Q48PD4HqAb3PqgKC6KMLXBmu-LXcXdQ8uR68-7STk1n1ja7elvIQlNZYnefKmX_aCQ6s8x7lI-d-5yxnc5qUJo1pUAlqJTt4AHHGopaaVvCZ6utZmeVCXwkR4p4E/s1600/2007+August+Scotland+141.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eVVnQN-S_bhuvGCt-prxHpYrkRwVAKLhTPU4WI3kM-PMi6rDLEUqcLSil2hpFVY3s8IRj9CQABA68obpQ1C5KsRHu6ienYWrGY16SGsOAecE_PKlSi3eGQLpNdfg5EsyrVE_h8YV4k0/s1600/2007+August+Scotland+145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eVVnQN-S_bhuvGCt-prxHpYrkRwVAKLhTPU4WI3kM-PMi6rDLEUqcLSil2hpFVY3s8IRj9CQABA68obpQ1C5KsRHu6ienYWrGY16SGsOAecE_PKlSi3eGQLpNdfg5EsyrVE_h8YV4k0/s1600/2007+August+Scotland+145.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portree square August 2007</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u>
<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Viking place-names - England</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The most recognizable places in England which bear
Scandinavian names end in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">–by.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15].</span></b></span></span></span></a></i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hoskins also mentions Wigstown in
Leicestershire as being called “Vikings Tun” after a local Danish leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>He goes on to note that Norwegian settlement
of the north-western English counties in the tenth century is apparent from the
numerous <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thwaites </i>of Cumberland and Westmorland.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">More specifically, the concise Oxford English Dictionary
of English place-names explains:-</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The
Scandinavian element in English place-names is very considerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an outcome of the extensive
Scandinavian settlements made in England from the latter half of the ninth
century onwards.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The
Scandinavian place-names in England are really the chief source for our
knowledge of the Scandinavian settlements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They tell us what parts of England were most thickly populated by
Scandinavians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They tell us that the
Scandinavian population in the east of England was on the whole Danish, that in
the north-west chiefly Norwegian.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Against this background, the dictionary gives precise
examples which reflect the anglicised version of the surname McSorley in some
English place-names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Four settlements in
three different counties derive from summer sailor and the name Sumerlida.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They are Somerby (Leicestershire),
Somerleytown (Suffolk), Somersby (Lincolnshire), and Somerton (Suffolk).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The dictionary says that the Somerby entry refers to the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Old
Norse personal name Sumarlioi, also found as Sumerlida in the Domesday
Book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name means summer warrior.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The dictionary’s Somerleytown entry also refers to its
Domesday Book listing which is Sumerledetuna, Sumarlioi’s tun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The Somersby entry, it says, is identical
with Somerby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Somerton entry refers
to it as Somerledetun in 1046, Somerledetuna in the Domesday Book 1086, adding
that it is identical with Somerleytown.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reading this information reinforces the compulsion to visit the
Viking exhibition in London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The story, however, does not end there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Viking surnames –Nordic</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As if to complete a circle. I have also discovered a melodious
connection to a modern-day Nordic version of the surname.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The sleeve notes on the 2008 album <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust” </i>recorded by the Icelandic
music group Sigur Ros, provide the name of one of the string players as Sulrun <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sumarlidadottir</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This talented daughter of a summer sailor also
plays on the 2012 album Valturi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Music
to my ears.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nordic
blanc</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Preconceptions
of Scandinavia are being challenged.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
seems that the summer warriors famed only for being pillagers and rapists
exhibited great talent in engineering, navigation, and the visual arts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jonas Jonasson’s hilarious fictional writing
likewise contrasts with what many see unfairly as an unremitting theme of bleakness
portrayed as Nordic noir in Scandinavian film and literature.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway,
if you have the time and opportunity to visit London, Veronese's 50 masterpieces are on show at the National Gallery until 15 June and the Vikings exhibition in the British Museum runs until 22 June 2014.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">©Michael
McSorley 2014</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">©míceál macsomhairle 2014</span> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
The Times Saturday Review Rachel Campbell-Johnston 22 Mar 2014</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer The New Review Rachel Cooke 29 Dec 2013</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer The New Review Tim Adams 9 March 2014</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Jonathon Bardon “Place names in the North of Ireland” p 2 NICLR.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> http://www.irishtribes.com/articles/2012-06-descendants-of-celtic-tribes-of-ireland.html</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
Patrick McKay “A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names 1999 p 144 ISI QUB.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a>
Padraic O’Farrell “Irish Surnames p 68. 2001</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a>
Robert Bell “The Book of Ulster Surnames.” P 155. 1988.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>
Robert Bell “The Book of Ulster Surnames.” P 182. 1988.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a>
Collins English Dictionary millennium edition p 627<i>.</i></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span></span></span></a>
Edward McLysaght “Guide to Irish Surnames” p 189. Dublin 1964</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span></span></span></a>
“The name Somhairle and its clan” H Palsson, from “So Many People, Longages
& Tonges,” Edinburgh 1981.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-ansi-language: IT;"> <span lang="IT">http://www.glenarmcastle.com/detailed-history.aspx</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span></span></span></a><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;"> Wikipedia</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></span></span></span></a> W
G Hoskins “The Making of the English Landscape” 1970</div>
</div>
</div>
Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334779191626017893.post-89945335513461328722013-12-30T12:55:00.001-08:002014-01-03T07:58:59.506-08:00UK City of Culture 2013<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One
city two names</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So good they named it twice, at least they do so nowadays.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This place with two names has had its praises sung with
rapturous emotion by its most celebrated songwriter – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“a town that I love so well.”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nobody can ever argue with its long-suffering citizens
that Derry-Londonderry won the race to be the first ever <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">UK City of Culture</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>More
importantly, in the course of the last twelve months, it has lived up to the
name by proving how a title, put to good use, can help to change the image and
self-esteem of a place.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">UK and Europe</span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Before
reflecting on what the city has achieved, it’s worth reminding ourselves that
the inspiration for the idea to designate a UK City of Culture emerged from the
success of Liverpool's</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> year as European Capital of Culture</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> in 2008.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">In
1985, Greece’s Minister of Culture the former actress Melina Mercouri</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
(along with her French counterpart Jack Lang</span>)<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> had the idea of designating a Capital
of Culture. Its purpose would be<i> “to bring Europeans closer together by
highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising
awareness of their common history and values.”
</i>Bla bla bla.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Despite
the gobbledegook of euro-speak, Athens emerged as the inspired choice to be
Europe’s inaugural city of culture. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Two
UK and two Irish cities have held the title.
They are, respectively, Glasgow and Liverpool, and Dublin and Cork.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">The
European title is conferred annually. The
Council of Ministers of the European Union formally designates European
Capitals of Culture. More than 40 cities
have been designated so far. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;">Since 1999 when
six cities were chosen, more than one city has been selected each year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">In July 2009, the UK’s Culture Secretary announced a
competition to select the first UK City of Culture. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Such was the interest that 14 cities applied,
with Birmingham, Derry, Norwich and Sheffield </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">
shortlisted. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">It was announced in July
2010 that Derry/Londonderry</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"> had
seen off the competition and that it would be UK City of Culture for 2013.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Unlike the promiscuity of the European designation, the
next UK City of Culture will not explode into action until 2017. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">On 20 Nov 2013, it was announced that Hull
had won the successor award having beaten bids from Dundee, Leicester and
Swansea. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">It has a big act to
follow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">A strong case can be made to claim that the UK title is
16 times more valuable than the European equivalent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">My rationale is that based on the fact that
the UK title has a rarity value, being accorded only once every four
years. By contrast, the EU accolade is
conferred on at least two and sometimes more cities every single year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Lest we forget, Derry has something important in common with the cradle of civilisation itself, Athens. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The cities share the unique distinction as being
the inaugural and sole recipient of an urban cultural honorarium.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Support</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The arts played a significant part in countering the
grimness of the violent division in Northern Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the bad days they brought people together
to support and enjoy constructive activities like amateur dramatics, arts
festivals, and exhibitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nowadays,
the arts provide an outlet for celebrating creativity in a more peaceful
environment.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Public support is the payback for those who have taken
the risk to build new venues and stage events as well as for the talented
performers who enrich our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>If our
second city is good enough to be designated UK City of Culture, it deserves
everybody’s backing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I attended three
events in Derry-Londonderry 2013 – not many in percentage terms, and certainly
not enough.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In retrospect, I have a long list of events I regret
missing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This includes the Return of
Colmcille (directed by the writer of the Olympics opening ceremony Frank
Cottrell Boyce), the visit of the Royal Ballet, the linking of the two cities to
mark the 400<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the city walls with simultaneous music
concerts in the Guildhalls London and Derry, the Poet and Piper concert Seamus Heaney
and Liam O’Flynn a couple of weeks before the Nobel poet’s death, the Field Day
Theatre Company’s performance of Sam Shepherd’s work A Particle of Dread with
the American playwright in attendance, and the closing concert spectacular with
Shaun Davey’s Relief of Derry Symphony featuring the Ulster Orchestra and a
plethora of pipers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The official brochure listed approximately 350 events over
an intensive 12 months of programming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our choices were, by all accounts, among the most popular and well
attended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We had always intended to see
the Turner Prize exhibition and also the Lumière spectacle, both scheduled for
the latter end of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>As
preparation and to get our bearings, we also decided to begin by making a
summer visit during the </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Fleadh</span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Cheoil</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, the festival of music (11-18 August).</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Fleadh</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Cheoil</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> na
hÉireann</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This was a first, not just for Derry, but for Northern
Ireland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Never before had </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Comhaltas</span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Ceoltóirí</span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Éireann</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, the Society of Musicians of Ireland,
agreed in all of its 60 years to stage its flagship event anywhere on the
northern side of the border.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If there were any doubters, they were emphatically proven
wrong as all previous records for visitor numbers at a </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Fleadh</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> were broken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The programme had anticipated 300,000
visitors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In fact, it was announced at
the end of the festive week that 470,000 people had attended events.</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJ-LrMYez512uqx3YsHWVoKAaCI4jfiybKKR3gxlVd_KPw8OQHq3YE8Oouz29J_gDWqF2MF_NLSEy4jFIli0tj3-anSByqmaaRG905h7kIYbvgKKsoXzdsJWG0rqoMsod6i4t6Z9JG6w/s1600/DSCF7066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJ-LrMYez512uqx3YsHWVoKAaCI4jfiybKKR3gxlVd_KPw8OQHq3YE8Oouz29J_gDWqF2MF_NLSEy4jFIli0tj3-anSByqmaaRG905h7kIYbvgKKsoXzdsJWG0rqoMsod6i4t6Z9JG6w/s320/DSCF7066.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Fleadh’s raison d’être is the organising of competitions
for the most talented amateur musicians and singers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Competing is the life-blood of the
festival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>There were visiting
music-makers from faraway places including the USA and New Zealand, as well as from
neighbouring countries like Scotland and England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All were all made to feel a part of this most
lively of festivals, adding an international dimension to proceedings.</span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wugWlCNaXrg8jg5k9hh7-5XQAAy7__oCCfgu4GfGFMKMoTr3m8VzCTrkpB0hyb4dagZoh2R0_cSgU4tnR_5QBPXbzxHa8yam2nRm14CjLbJvhcx71Dvd9wBg_bh14lFfumAXpREEZcc/s1600/DSCF7063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wugWlCNaXrg8jg5k9hh7-5XQAAy7__oCCfgu4GfGFMKMoTr3m8VzCTrkpB0hyb4dagZoh2R0_cSgU4tnR_5QBPXbzxHa8yam2nRm14CjLbJvhcx71Dvd9wBg_bh14lFfumAXpREEZcc/s200/DSCF7063.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And when professional performers join in the proceedings
- stars like singer Cara Dillon, the folk group Dervish, not to mention the
master </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">uileann</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
piper Liam O’Flynn accompanying Seamus Heaney - audiences know that something
extra special is happening.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The nightly coverage of the </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Fleadh</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> on TG4, the small and impressive Galway-based
television station captured the exuberant joy and variety of artistry on
display.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The later fly-on-the-wall
documentary series by BBC NI TV provided insight into the efforts made by
youthful performers competing to qualify in the </span><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: GA;">Fleadh</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, illustrating the enormous effort and
talent required just to earn the right to get there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An advantage of staging the Fleadh Cheoil as part of the
UK City of Culture is that it added Gaelic colour to complement the imported
and international events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I visit the UK’s other celtic regions, such as Northumbria, Scotland, Wales,
Cornwall or the Isle of Man, I expect to hear their folk idioms.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Staging the Fleadh with such
aplomb was an example of Derry playing to one of its own strengths, showing
outsiders its local flavours.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Walking
tour</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My wife and I travelled by train from Belfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This journey reveals the scenic splendour of
the north coast blazing in summer glory as the track routes itself as close as
possible to the pretty beaches and the sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The climax comes in the form of the majestic setting of the cultured city
itself sitting proudly on the banks of the River Foyle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our first task on arriving is to walk about a mile uphill
near the River Foyle and down another road to find the newly regenerated
Ebrington Square.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This property had been
occupied by the Army during the Troubles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It is now regarded as part of “the peace dividend.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The site has been the venue for much artistic activity during
the city’s big year, as host to events like the city’s first ever military
tattoo and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, a free festival of pop music which
attracted enormous crowds.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our walking tour continued with a hike across the modern
and handsome Peace Bridge. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It provides a
practical link for pedestrians across the river linking the Guildhill to
Ebrington Barracks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Crucially, it is
also a metaphorical bridge across the sectarian divide.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other side of the river we arrive at one of the
city’s best known landmarks, the neo-Gothic Guildhall, dazzlingly refurbished and housing
an exhibition telling the story of the city’s history. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We notice that its largest room is today being
used as a concert venue, with a group of folk musicians from the Scottish
Highlands being recorded for television.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy76Jwx7MJWBdUi96nX4W4OOrZckL7G69gUXZ7oXmpo2yuzLMKy0thEPQhZbEkY9-_Zluj4Tfnas59tPHjXnHNzpMQSH6zZcqGTC9N5gJzj_LpzoeFhFO33LoRh2Fvjg-opstd_I0cWIA/s1600/DSCF7043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy76Jwx7MJWBdUi96nX4W4OOrZckL7G69gUXZ7oXmpo2yuzLMKy0thEPQhZbEkY9-_Zluj4Tfnas59tPHjXnHNzpMQSH6zZcqGTC9N5gJzj_LpzoeFhFO33LoRh2Fvjg-opstd_I0cWIA/s320/DSCF7043.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A key feature of a Fleadh Cheoil is the impromptu
performances out in the open air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My
photographs give some impression of the convivial atmosphere created by
musicians of a city en fete, a very public showing of its cultural face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Free entertainment to lighten the effort of a
walking tour.</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMWH3DAiH6LmaikJEH6bBSdW_jTYOiOiqnEjkZr9eNV_DHiUBsfUT4l1BmkFmklatdPS2dxvjVIOVA1aPw0uVcmd4s9CmEYEkGlPCzInBJ5dBjpJHY0wCgcWcxCC1TjUg7lLF6WpXvzs/s1600/DSCF7067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMWH3DAiH6LmaikJEH6bBSdW_jTYOiOiqnEjkZr9eNV_DHiUBsfUT4l1BmkFmklatdPS2dxvjVIOVA1aPw0uVcmd4s9CmEYEkGlPCzInBJ5dBjpJHY0wCgcWcxCC1TjUg7lLF6WpXvzs/s320/DSCF7067.JPG" width="320" /></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
walled city</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch in a restaurant near the Guildhall, endearingly
called the Legenderry, we decide to walk the city walls.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had played down their appearance and scale to my wife
telling her that she might be disappointed having recently trekked around the
enormous walls of Dubrovnik in Croatia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I’m glad I did so because, as I hoped, she
was impressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her surprise was not just because of their preservation, but also because of the
numerous places of interest along the route – such as St Columb’s Church of
Ireland Cathedral and the modern craft village.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These walls are a cultural asset, unique in Northern
Ireland and a real attraction for local people and visitors.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Turner Prize</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On our return to the city a couple of months later, our
familiarity with the geography meant we were able to stride confidently to
Ebrington Barracks to see the much heralded Turner prize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This was the first time the event had ever
been staged outside England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We wanted
to view the exhibits ourselves before the judges’ decision in early November.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given that the art shortlisted for the Turner Prize is
regarded by many as unconventional, perhaps radical, and often intended to
challenge orthodoxies, it was encouraging to observe the large numbers of
people flocking to the gallery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In fact,
about an hour after we arrived, I noticed a sizeable queue outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because the gallery had reached its capacity,
people had to wait for others to leave.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The atmosphere of happiness in the room housing David
Shrigley’s’s tall male sculpture seemed infectious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The artist had invited people to
participate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_TFZW8e7YlKqLlVPAEWgMcSho8T57hVLBiUXeu1djwrrEM0Y5QHn4XWv_GpScxLYkoUkB3mE4gKayJ2yFh4rNKbbnhXEvCdtFiVSVaelJBCTYGMoZ56ZDXKPN3qkCDkyNFxDmBVcaMA/s1600/DSCF7181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_TFZW8e7YlKqLlVPAEWgMcSho8T57hVLBiUXeu1djwrrEM0Y5QHn4XWv_GpScxLYkoUkB3mE4gKayJ2yFh4rNKbbnhXEvCdtFiVSVaelJBCTYGMoZ56ZDXKPN3qkCDkyNFxDmBVcaMA/s320/DSCF7181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The response was
everywhere, as evidenced by the artistic impressions of the naked man lining
the walls, and plenty more people sketching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Everybody appeared to be involved, this was art communicating with the
audience, and all I saw was smiling faces.</span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lumière</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The early edition of the city of culture programme for
the entire year described the 4-night Lumière (28 Nov-1 Dec), as </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“an
event that will illuminate the city’s walls, buildings streets and bridges
using every form of light from the brightest neon and LEDs to huge projections
and fairytale installations using fire and flame.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What struck me was that the city itself became the
exhibit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And what a gorgeous spectacle it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One commentator, however, was displeased that
the city’s street lights, shop lights, festive decorations and traffic distracted
from the dazzle<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>. Her favourite work was by the Polish artist Krzysztof Wodiczko who recorded ordinary people talking about the Troubles. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She commented <i> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>"Impossible to walk away from these stories of bullets and bombs, of neighbours at war, of terrible poverty, of the uselessness of politicians."</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because the event with its 17 installations was a visual
wonder, the best way to portray it is with pictures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>This slideshow with 20 photographs, is
testament to the adage that a picture tells a thousand words:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/lumiere-derry-dazzles-as-light-festival-illuminates-the-citys-buildings-streets-and-bridges-29791303.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/lumiere-derry-dazzles-as-light-festival-illuminates-the-citys-buildings-streets-and-bridges-29791303.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My visit was on the final day of the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apart from the beauty of the art, my lasting
impression was of the sheer volume of people everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It seemed like the entire population of the
city (and far beyond) came out to stroll the streets on a cool but essentially
pleasant winter’s evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There were so
many people crossing the peace bridge - bedecked with French artist Cédric Le Borgne's floating Les Voyageurs - that at one point I thought I would miss
the last train back to Belfast.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUEpRDXCL8t4ZTRixMcqR2hpfLxmLuoICOGoxZF88q6u49c0UMwSTM_qqluxjZCKsBT4wfComnyapaGlFL8bVwlo9B264JKE_B-ocQMUOw1FMChjD3iAUBdqfct_-ApEFJ5o42MgbOmI/s1600/20131201LumiereImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUEpRDXCL8t4ZTRixMcqR2hpfLxmLuoICOGoxZF88q6u49c0UMwSTM_qqluxjZCKsBT4wfComnyapaGlFL8bVwlo9B264JKE_B-ocQMUOw1FMChjD3iAUBdqfct_-ApEFJ5o42MgbOmI/s320/20131201LumiereImage.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">People, as the cliché has it, voted with their feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>As Belfast was being distracted by flagging
protests on the previous day, its smaller sister showed the UK and Ireland how
creativity unites and uplifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Quite a
contrast as the silent majority had come to sample the joy of art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The citizens were warmly welcoming their visitors and embracing the
concept of being the first ever UK city of culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nothing was remotely threatening as local
people, families and visitors marvelled at an enlightening experience.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Legacy</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just like 2012, before and after the Olympic Games in
London, there is a continuing debate about the legacy that the last 12 months will
bequeath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Much of what I have heard is
negative, concentrating on plans to remove the expensive new Venue at the
Ebrington Barracks site and the proposed conversion of the Turner Prize
galleries to offices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There have also
been arguments about issues like financial arrangements and marketing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ignorance, as lawyers say, is no defence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The programme was widely publicised,
brochures published and full details also available on internet sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>There was also a helpful ex-post 30 minute
video published every month to remind us of what was happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The final one, shown below, reflects on
events during December 2013, ending with a short retrospective of the entire
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worth a look:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6LqRDcabrI#t=64"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6LqRDcabrI#t=64</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From my experience in arts promotion, one serendipitous sign of success is a bandwagon effect. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Organisers can sense this when small unintended consequences happen. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One such example is the emotional response of Carly Simon on learning that her anthemic song Let the River Run<i> "has now become a theme song for Derry." </i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Like a little part of the legacy, the song is being re-released worldwide by her record company on New Years Day 2014 with video images of the City of Culture year including the </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lumière, the Fleadh Cheoil, Other Voices and the</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Return of
Colmcille.</span> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I take my cue to judge the culture year from what I observed with my eyes
and ears and other senses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Because the
programme offered so much quality and because the events I attended were
consistently excellent and well-attended, I want to congratulate the organisers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the managerial spats and the rows about the future of
Ebrington Barracks there can be no dispute that the year has been a huge
success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The level of public support and
hotel occupancy provide quantitative evidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never seen so many people at any arts event as the vast throngs
who attended the Lumière - and no wonder.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Numbers, however, are not enough as they tell only a part of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Qualitative evidence of success is seen in
the inestimable public relations success for Derry portraying positive images
day after day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This was a renaissance, a rebirth of
civic pride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Try this quotation from a
prominent local<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>:-</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Derry’s year as UK City
of Culture has been an enormous success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Overwhelmingly...citizens swarmed to embrace almost everything on offer
and reach the end of the year confirmed in the conviction that Derry is an
extra-special place, which it is, a bit.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the issue of management disputes, he lauds the company
established to implement the programme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was, he says </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“a pity that the Culture
Company was subjected to a degree of harassment throughout which threatened, at
times, to disrupt the operation and might have demoralised a less-committed
staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem arose from the
power-grabbing and control-freakery of some council officials backed up by the
Strategic Investment Board, whose inexperience in cultural matters was
dismayingly obvious.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nobody ever seems to define what they mean by legacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>For the objective-setters, it is about
finances, ensuring when the final curtain falls that no loss is bequeathed, a
headache like a hang-over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is an
enormous body of evidence justifying the economic benefits of investment in
culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To take one recent example, an
independent report published in November “</span><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Beyond the Arts: Economic and Wider Impacts of The Lowry
and its Programmes”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> sets out the substantial financial, artistic and social
impact on Salford.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Culture, however, is about so much more than economics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Surely the legacy of a culturiad should
judged against criteria which are primarily cultural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the short term at least, the enduring
impression emblazoned onto the hearts of the audiences who were there will be
of satisfaction, pride and joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
impact of the arts is not ephemeral, not at all transient. The effect of a series of events staged over a full year and which reinforce each other's impact is long-lasting. That is legacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because permanence is
the hallmark cultural activity,
the UK and Europe should not be surprised if and more likely when</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> over a longer time</span>, the
inaugural UK City of Culture produces yet another outstanding musician, writer, actor or
artist for the world to support – inspired by what has happened in 2013.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Already plans are in place for 2014.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This will afford opportunities for people who
did not get to events in 2013 to visit the city in this New Year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>A legacy fund has been created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I read that £2m is coming from the Government
Department responsible for the arts, with an extra £450,000 each from Derry
City Council and the Arts Council, and with more expected from other Government
Departments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Hopefully the private sector will embrace it too.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Events planned include a
maritime festival, an open air Beach Boys concert, and the unmissable Pan Celtic Festival<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The appraisal by the Observer's Ed Vulliamy of the year past is persuasive. Apart from his interviews with key people from the city, his opener states:</span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<div style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“By any standards, this has been an
effervescence of the arts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But beneath
the surface of cultural prestige, the resounding achievement of Derry's year as
city of culture lies in the way it not only refused to airbrush the Troubles
and Bloody Sunday with arty-farty gloss, but engaged in a reckoning with the
recent past, beyond the politicians' patois of reconciliation.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">[6]</span></b></span></span></span></a>”</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because of Northern Ireland’s obsessive preoccupation
with separate cultural identities, legacy resonates in the issue of community
relations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Almost without exception, the
programme implemented by the Chief Executive of Culture Company 2013 brought
people together in the host city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The performers
and audiences went about creating and enjoying the events as one artistic community without
a scintilla of rancorous sectarianism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>As someone from the Lumière event put it:</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“what we always hope
when we do a big festival like this is that people forget the things that
divide them and recognise the things they share, which is everyone out with
their families loving the same stuff, the sense of sharing the public demesne
it not being anybody’s territory, and everybody is welcome, and the safety and
friendliness....”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The city that has two names showed us that it is one
community, and a cultured one at that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Legacy? There you have it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">©Michael
McSorley 2014</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Observer New Review 1 December 2013 page 12-13 Rachel Cooke “Derry looks on the
bright side.”<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/derrys-city-of-culture-song-made-popstar-carly-simon-weep-with-delight-29876587.html</div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> Belfast Telegraph 20 Dec 2013 page 32 Eamonn McCann “Flavoured with music art
and talent the city of culture was mostly a year to marvel over.”</div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>The New Statesman 3 Dec 2013 Julia
Fawcett.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/12/lowry-proof-investing-arts-catalyst-regeneration"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/12/lowry-proof-investing-arts-catalyst-regeneration</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Belfast Telegraph 20 Dec 2013 page 20 Donna
Deeney</span> “Legacy plan to ensure City of Culture stands tall as beacon of
arts<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8334779191626017893#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/29/derry-city-of-culture-reawakened-idealism </div>
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Michael McSorleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06352593190581090069noreply@blogger.com1