Rebuilding Lives in Northern Ireland
Jan 12th, 2015 by admin
A picture of the famous ‘Grey Lady Ghost’ has been taken at a “Game of Thrones’ site at the Dark Hedges in Co Antrim. The ‘Grey Lady ‘ is said to haunt the spooky road where a young girl disappeared hundreds of years ago. The Dark Hedges are one of the most photographed natural phenomenon in the north of Ireland.
Jan 11th, 2015 by admin
‘Scalps’ were poles covered with sod and stretched across a ditch which evicted persons used as shelter during the Great Hunger.
Jan 10th, 2015 by admin
World expert on the Great Hunger Dr. Christine Kinealy has criticized RTE Channel 4 for proposing a comedy series based on the The Great Hunger. She said: “The danger of using the comedy format to tell the story is that the characters can become ‘stage Oirish’ and the real heartbreak be absent or marginalized. Instead disease, death, eviction and emigration will be viewed as funny rather than tragic and we will forget that they were preventable.”
Jan 8th, 2015 by admin
On Boa Island on Lough Erne, there are two pre-Christian figures in Caldragh cemetery, the Janus statue and a smaller one ‘The Lusty Man’. Janus is a double-sided figure of two beings carved back to back. This is often referred to when the calendar year has just turned, and we are glancing back even as we go forward. The month of January is named after Janus, the Roman God of gates and doors. Coins and flowers are often placed by the statue for good luck.
Jan 7th, 2015 by admin
On New Years’ Eve 1603, Donal Cam O’Sullivan, after losing ‘The Seven Year’s War,’ set out with 1,000 followers on a 300 mile journey to Leitrim. The weather was fierce with freezing cold and snow; the way was treacherous. They were declared outlaws by the English President of Munster and their only hope of survival was to reach Brian O’Rourke in Leitrim. Famine plagued the land and they had provisions for only one day when they set out. It took two weeks for the journey and only 35 survived.
Jan 6th, 2015 by admin
Jan 6 is a special day in Ireland. The shopping, cooking, cleaning is done and this was the time for the women to gather together and have tea or wine at the local pub while the men tended to the children. This custom is practiced to some extent even today. After this, the decorations are taken down and stored away for another year.
Jan 3rd, 2015 by admin
The ‘Island of Ireland Peace Choir ‘paid a visit to Messines, Belgium, remembering the truce of Christmas Eve 1914. At the crypt of St Niklass the choir sang Silent Night. Both protestant and catholic Ulster units fought side by side at Messines Ridge. This crypt was used during the war for treating the injured. On the eve of the truce one of the patients refused to greet the enemy calling it “dishonorable.” His name was Adolph Hitler. The choir was formed in 1998 by Phil Brennan after the Omagh bombing.
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