In contrast to other major European cities, Dublin has few rail- or tram- lines. Instead, public transport users mainly rely on an extensive but complicated bus network. This is, however, slow and unreliable, owing to Dublin’s appalling traffic congestion. Moreover, for several key destinations outside the centre, notably Dublin Airport, buses are the only available … Read more
To meet ex-prison officer Sean O’Brien for the first time I drove through a sparse landscape of family homes, outside the town of Clara in County Offaly. Miles of narrow roads ran through cold and wet pasture, bog, and occasional patches of woodland, typical of the Midlands. We had been in touch over the phone,after … Read more
Despite all the controversies in the run-up, and as with the last World Cup in Russia, most people are now looking beyond the politics, and enjoying the feast of football. For many of those attending sporting fixtures, this is akin to performing a religious duty in a secular age. The rest of us generally slouch … Read more
“You have no appointment.” I’d emailed, left messages, and read their mission statement: To free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. No. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m doing it. Walking downtown to the office of The Innocence Project in Manhattan. On my … Read more
This week Cassandra Voices editor Frank Armstrong sat down for a chat with veteran Italian journalist Concetto La Malfa, who has been living in Ireland for almost sixty years. He initially arrived for a two month work placement with Aer Lingus, before embarking on a chequered career that includes founding a magazine for the Italian … Read more
The following is a submission to the Citizens Assembly on Dublin by a former Lord Mayor of Dublin Dermot Lacey, who argues for a new regional approach to Dublin that would include provision for a directly elected mayor with real power and responsibility for the whole city. Regional and Local Government – the other norm … Read more
The 2010 film ‘Inception’ has scorched the innermost parts of my brain. This big screen feast had concepts that lit all the senses. Visually it was seeing things like the city of Paris fold in and on itself. Aurally, Edith Piaf’s Je Ne Regrette Rien twisted and reborn as a time bending plot device and … Read more
During a visit to the Burren in County Clare, Oliver Cromwell’s lieutenant-general Edmund Ludlow wrote of the memorable landscape that it had ‘not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him’. A spell on a yoga retreat might have opened his eyes to the serene natural … Read more
1. Don’t be prepared. 2. Honour both the living and the dead. 3. Be prepared to give offence. 4. And to take offence. 5. Stand your ground. 6. Listen. 7. Express. 8. Accept. 9. Don’t fall into the ground. 10. Be kind. 11. Leave it all behind. 12. Enough said. Feature Image: Daniele Idini We … Read more
Robert Fisk wrote: ‘we journalists try – or should try – to be the first impartial witnesses of history. If we have any reason for our existence, the least must be our ability to report history as it happens so that no one can say: “We didn’t know, no one told us.”[i] To be an … Read more