Hello and welcome
to this week’s issue of Ireland’s Own. 

We hope that you all had a nice Easter, and now that the clocks have changed, you are getting a chance to enjoy the welcome stretch in the evenings.

In this week’s cover story we feature the fascinating story of Father Joseph Mullooly. Daniel McAteer tells the story of the Longford priest who, while serving in Rome, opened Rome’s hidden past by making one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of the nineteenth century.

Cornelius Clarke concludes his Supernatural Writers of Ireland series with profiles of Thomas Crofton Croker and Patrick Kennedy. In her ‘Literary Trail Through Ireland’ series, this week Mary Angland profiles Irish poet Francis Ledwidge. The Ballad Sheet continues with Eugene Dunphy revealing how an outburst in an English courtroom gave rise to a rousing anthem in ‘God Save Ireland’.

In his ‘Role of the Irish in WW2’ series, Con McGrath tells the story of some people from Sligo who saw service in the Far East. Banagher and its treasured Brontë Connection is celebrated by Eileen Casey. Maxi chats to Irish Country music sensation Mike Denver, who shares the songs that make the soundtrack to his life.

In ‘Playing Your Cards Right’, John Doyle looks at the history of the playing card, while in ‘From Norman Knights to Women in Love’, Gerry Moran explores some of the history of Kilkenny Castle. This week’s original short story is ‘Yellow Is The Colour Of Home’ by Fidelma Beirne.

Paddy Ryan returns with more ‘Poems We Learned At School’, this week analysing ‘The Stolen Child’ by William Butler Yeats. In ‘The Witness Statements’, Eamonn Duggan continues his analysis of Michael Brennan’s statement to the Bureau of Military History.

We have all this for you to enjoy alongside Cassidy Says, Stranger Than Fiction, What’s In A Name?, Dan Conway, Pete’s Pets, Marjorie’s Kitchen, Song Words, Classic Films – Ace In the Hole, Reflective Perspective, Irish Folklore with Eugene Daly, The Donkey by Patrick O’Sullivan, Readers’ Memories, Classic US TV Favourites – Battlestar Galactica, A Little Bit of Ireland Elsewhere – Kennedy, Various Locations; Lilt of Irish Laughter, Pen Friends, Irish Wildlife – Whiting and much more. 

I hope that you enjoy reading this week’s issue, and I will look forward to talking to you again next week. 

Best regards, Seán Nolan, Editor, Ireland’s Own