Hello and welcome
to this week’s issue of Ireland’s Own.
We are in the middle of the Lenten season and this week we tell the story of Trócaire. Many of us willl recall the children bringing home the Trócaire Box from school, or picking one up in the local church, and placing it on the centre of the kitchen table. For fifty years, through the support of the people of ireland, Trócaire has changed the lives of tens of millions of people all over the world, writes Miriam Donohoe.
John Casey, the Limerick-born founder of Modern Geometry is profiled by Cian Manning, while in the potato and its very humble beginning, Nicky Rossiter traces the history of the humble ‘spud’.
In her ‘Ireland’s Myths And Legends’ series, Gemma Grant tells the story of ‘Cú Chulainn wins the Champion’s Potion’. In his ‘Role of the Irish in WW2’ series, Con McGrath profiles John D. Donovan, a Professor at Boston College, who was awarded the Légion d’Honneur for his wartime services to France.
The Ha’penny Bridge, when opened on 19 May, 1816, was the first dedicated footbridge over the river Liffey and also the first iron bridge in Ireland. Harry Warren takes a walk through the history of this famous landmark.
Paddy Ryan remembers poet Agnes Burns’ time in Ireland,while though best remembered now as one of the designers of the Palace of Westminister, Augustus Welby Pugin’s Irish buildings in County Wexford, Killarney and Maynooth, are among his best, writes Paula Redmond.
Our original short story is ‘Sibling Rivalry’, by Sinead Huskisson, while the Classic Film is ‘Breakfast at Pluto’ starring Cillian Murphy.
On an incredibly stormy evening in December 1942, a terrible tragedy befell Cork Harbour when two launch boats tragically collided with the propellers of the Irish Poplar resulting in the deaths of five men, writes Ray Cleere.
We have all this for you to enjoy alongside your regular Ireland’s Own favourites including Cassidy Says, Dan Conway’s Corner, Pete’s Pets, Gardening Advice, jokes, songs, puzzles, pen pals and much more. I hope that you enjoy this week’s issue and I will look forward to talking to you all again next week.
Best wishes,
Seán Nolan, Editor, Ireland’s Own
