2014
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Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Thursday tipple: Peter’s Pub, Johnson Place
It’s a distinctive name for a pub in Dublin – not a surname in the possessive case or an adjectival definite article (e.g. The Hairy Lemon), but a possessive case first name. Peter’s pub: owned by three generations of Peters … Continue reading
The Thursday tipple: JJ Smyth’s, Aungier Street
JJ Smyth’s exterior spells confidence: recently painted walls of contrasting colours; large, national flags almost draping the building; a large plaque commemorating famous Irish poet and lyricist Sir Thomas Moore, who was born here. When I open the door, my … Continue reading
Picture perfect
There’s even a word for it: deltiology. Though many of my friends believe I’m more of an archaeologist. I’m a collector (or student) of postcards and plague relatives and friends with requests to send me a picture memento of wherever … Continue reading
Spectator centre stage
It’s Saturday morning in the Abbey Theatre and the foyer is beginning to bustle. People are buying tickets. Staff are preparing for the matinee performance of Othello on its final day of performance. A dozen of us are arriving for … Continue reading
Cable guy
First, the declaration of self-interest: the author is a friend, a fellow writers’ group member, a personal inspiration in how to persist with the pen. ‘Tony’ – Michael Thurlow to me – was a cable guy and this chronicle offers … Continue reading
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New story published
‘The Driver’ has been published in The Galway Review: http://thegalwayreview.com/2015/09/04/stephen-dineen-the-driver/
Open season soon
If you’re finalising your plans for a weekend in Dublin, try and centre it on mid-October. For one weekend every year, some of the capital’s finest buildings, old and new, open their doors to the public for free, to provide … Continue reading
The royal treatment
If having a gallery of modern art is a pre-requisite for a modern city, James Butler will be resting easily in his grave. In 2012, 63,642 people graced the doors of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). Butler, 1st … Continue reading
‘Papal Games’ – an article published in ‘Lakelands – Past and Present’ (December 2014)
In time, references to ‘the Pope’s Children’ in the annals of Lakelands Close might refer to those of us born in the early ’80s, conceived amidst the euphoria that gripped the parents of the Close and beyond resulting from John … Continue reading
Ireland's Eye 