Ireland
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Many people view Halloween as a festival centered on the eerie and frightening, where people dress up in scary costumes to give others a good scare. What I find even more curious is the tradition of “trick-or-treating.” On any other day, we warn our children not to take candy from strangers, but on October 31,…
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It’s October, which means it’s time once again for the annual Rocktober festivities! This year, I’m kicking things off with a touch of the risqué—something to please both the eyes and the ears. For the first episode, we’ll be celebrating two of Ireland’s greatest rock legends: Gary Moore and Phil Lynott. Sadly, both were taken…
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I never got the whole Jane Austen hype. I find her stories boring and there is nothing I can identify with. However the fact that there is a Limerick connection to her I do find intriguing. And I believe if she had lived in Limerick her stories may have been a lot more exiting, but…
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World War II officially started on 3 September 1939. The Nazis wasted very little time in committing their first mass murder during the war. It was only hours after the war was declared. The S.S. Athenia was commanded by Captain James Cook. He left Glasgow for Montreal via Liverpool and Belfast. She carried 1,103 passengers,…
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(First published September 2, 2018, and updated March 23, 2024) The position of Ireland during World War II was a bit of a tricky one. A lot of people actually were pro-German, not so much because they agreed with the German policies but more because they were at war with Britain, and there was still…
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(Originally posted November 2016) On the morning of October 3rd, 1975, Dr. Tiede Herrema was driving from his home in Castletroy, County Limerick, to a meeting at the Ferenka steel plant in Annacotty when he was abducted by two Irish republicans, Marion Coyle and Eddie Gallagher. Herrema had been sent by the parent company in…
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Nothing can stop you, no matter what. Your beauty is breathtaking, but there is a dark side too. Some are in awe, when they look at your majestic flow towards the ocean. They try to comprehend the power you possess. Other realize that power and know that it can bring life and also end it.…
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“Le Dernier Métro” (The Last Metro) is a 1980 French film directed by François Truffaut. It is a poignant drama set in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II. The film captures the struggles of a Jewish theater owner and his wife as they attempt to keep their theater running amidst the horrors of occupation and…
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On the night of May 31, 1941, during the height of World War II, the city of Dublin, capital of neutral Ireland, was shaken by an unexpected and deadly event: a German Luftwaffe air raid that killed 28 people and left nearly 100 injured. This bombing, which occurred in the North Strand area, has remained…
History of Sorts 