A hegemonic, neoliberal logic based upon competition, exploitation, and inequality appears to have largely supplanted democratic principles of community, interdependence, and solidarity. The National Association of Record Labels of Ireland (NARLI) is significant in this context – founded in 2016 to further independent music in Ireland by forging a co-operative, community involved in its production … Read more
In August of 1969 I was driving across Ireland with the late Bearnard Ó Riain, the older brother of a good friend of mine, the late Dinno Ryan. Most of my old friends are now ‘late’. We were going to join others in a mountain-walking weekend. Bearnard had participated in the nineteen-fifties IRA campaign in … Read more
Black Vulture You loom at Madzharovo then at Bosilovo roost at Kalanjevo. Black pilgrim cowl of the air crossing these skies, come, we are prone and torn, numbed, expecting your news. https://soundcloud.com/cassandra-voices/2020-04-13-t02-23-01pm-benkeatinge Cormorants at Dojran Lake The fisher Christs are drying their wings a great white pelican gawps and gives a wide September yawn a … Read more
Before even taking my seat, three times I was warned of the ‘gory content’ in Dylan Tighe’s redubbed rendition of ‘Salò’, or ‘120 Days of Sodom.’ Then announcements made at the start, noting our nearest fire exits, and the two-hour-and-ten minute performance length (sans interval), warned us again that we could leave at any time. … Read more
A Digest For most of us, the stomach is positioned around our middle. In East-Asian cultures, this area is usually considered the seat of the subjective self – the centre, from which we extend outward towards the world. Closer to home, we usually think of ourselves as residing somewhere behind the eyes, perhaps at … Read more
Around four years ago I completed a drawing inspired by a childhood dream featuring a landscape of balloons, floating boats and orange trees. I then shared it on social media and a friend, Sam Clague, messaged me asking if he could use it for an EP he was releasing called ‘Balloons’. I hadn’t considered the … Read more
The cacophony of the city took on a new chorus when the construction of a new corporate imprint on the London skyline began. The whining of earth chewing machines carving out the footing for the new monolith metres into the historic soil, and soon argentine rods sprouted the intention of new growth. It was only … Read more
It came as a surprise when the editor of Cassandra Voices divulged recently that he had never read any works by Jürgen Habermas (1929 – ), who I regard as a strong contender to be the greatest living public intellectual. I put this down to limitations inherent in his generation, so I felt compelled to … Read more
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”57″ gal_title=”No Comment: Dublin Rising”] Dublin’s Dockland, Summer 2019. Photography: Daniele Idini