Maeve Brennan: Ireland’s greatest forgotten writer

“Home is a place in the mind. When it is empty it frets. It is fretful with memory, faces and places and times gone by. Beloved images rise up in disobedience and make a mirror for emptiness." The above quote is from Maeve Brennan's novella The Visitor and was my first introduction to her. I...

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Homelessness and life on the periphery in Parked

In 2011 an independent Irish film entitled Parked debuted to somewhat mixed reviews and little attention. While many critics praised the strong performances in the film its plot and pacing received a mixed response. It won awards and was well reviewed at several international film festivals but it didn't seem to get much attention at...

A look at youth culture in Irish film and television: 2003-2017

In 2016-17 I completed an MA in English, specialising in Irish Writing and Film, at University College Cork. As part of the course everyone in my class was required to set up and regularly update a blog. The idea of the blog initially filled my classmates and I with dread as blogging was completely uncharted territory for...

Dark summer: trauma and grief in Ari Aster’s Midsommar

In this article I will look at how Ari Aster’s 2019 folk-horror film Midsommar explores the effects repressed grief and trauma. I went to see the film in July and found it to be one of the most intriguing and deeply disturbing films that I have ever seen. First of all, I would strongly encourage...

Thrones and Roses: The history behind Game of Thrones, part 2

In a series of articles I will look at the links between Games of Thrones and the Wars of the Roses, pointing to the real life inspirations for several of the key characters in the series. For this study I will be looking solely at how these events and characters are portrayed in the HBO series rather...

Thrones and Roses: The history behind Game of Thrones, part 1

With season 8 of HBO's Game of Thrones underway I thought I'd take a look at some of the historical events and figures that provided inspiration for the series. Although Game of Thrones is set in a distinctly fictional fantasy sphere, many aspects of the world portrayed in the series are reminiscent of medieval Europe. George R.R....

A reassessment of ‘Poor Polidori’: a look at the life and times of John William Polidori

“ 'We will each write a ghost story', said Lord Byron, and his proposition was acceded to. There were four of us” (Shelley, Author's Introduction, 7). The above quote is from Mary Shelley's introduction to her 1818 novel Frankenstein and refers to the fateful night in the summer of 1816 where Lord Byron ordered the guests gathered at...

Picnic at Hanging Rock: The story of Marion Quade

In the late summer of 2018, RTÉ 2 aired the Australian set period drama Picnic at Hanging Rock. An adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel of the same name, the six-part series tells the story of the disappearance of three school girls and their teacher in 1900 Australia. This is the second major screen adaptation...

Picnic at Hanging Rock: “Purity and refinement, the Appleyard promise.” Part Two, conduct and confinement

In the late summer of 2018, RTÉ 2 aired the Australian set period drama Picnic at Hanging Rock. An adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel of the same name, the six-part series tells the story of the disappearance of three school girls and their teacher in 1900 Australia. This is the second major screen adaptation...