1960s Ireland

A Brief History of My Father

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In 1960 when I was seven, before TV, Radio Éireann was our window on the worId. I understood the gist of rumblings on the news over breakfast in the kitchen. The Congo. It used to be called the Belgian Congo now it was just the Congo. My father intimated, buttering a piece of toast at … Read more

The Most Natural Thing in the World (I)

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Build me a cabin in Utah Marry me a wife, catch rainbow trout Have a bunch of kids who call me “Pa” That must be what it’s all about That must be what it’s all about Bob Dylan, ‘Sign On The Window’, from New Morning (1970) When I was eighteen, during a summer spent working … Read more