Kanye and Kim Kardashian follow us to Castlemartyr Resort

Writers and artists are invariably ahead of the curve. The rich and the famous are usually just one step behind. Case in point: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are spending their honeymoon at Castlemartyr Resort, a five-star extravaganza in the south of Ireland. We read about this in today’s Toronto Star. As it happens, I…

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Canada’s Celtic Connection . . . .

That’s the headline on my column in the latest issue (August-September) of Canada’s History magazine. The piece touches on JFK, the “coffin ships” that brought so many immigrants to Canada, and the new statue in Londonderry that matches one in Halifax harbour. It begins as follows: Some years ago, while driving with friends in Canada,…

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300,000 to gather in Ireland . . .

DUBLIN MIXES GUINNESS, JOYCE, AND THE STONE AGE Ireland by Ken McGoogan 300,000 people are set for the Gathering in Ireland. Some will be tracing their ancestors. Others will come to see the monasteries, or to follow in the footsteps of the writer James Joyce. Many will make their way to the Guinness Storehouse, where…

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Ireland’s Islands

Ireland’s Islands. The Aran Isles, the Skelligs, Inishbofin, Tory Island. What, with Irish music all the way? Yup, it was quite the adventure.

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Untitled Post

Did someone mention Irish music? Here’s a 4:30 video I put together featuring the versatile Daniel Payne and Matt Malloy of the Chieftains. Some I shot at the Cliffs of Moher, but most happens at Matt Malloy’s pub in Westport on the west coast of the Emerald Isle. Payne was sailing as a musician with…

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