Ireland

‘I’m not British, I’m Britirish’

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A Northern writer’s view on Brexit, borders and bars

Rosemary Jenkinson | IRISH TIMES

Brexit is manna from heaven to a satirical writer and I’ve had great fun with it in plays like Michelle and Arlene. On the serious side though, it’s thrown up huge uncertainty over the future of the Irish Border.

I grew up a Protestant in Belfast with my mum, dad and brother, but we often travelled across the border. We spent summers with my cousins on Achill Island as my Aunt Moira was a Southern Irish Catholic and loved it there. Once, when we went on holiday to Brittany, we were asked by a Breton where we were from. I expected Dad to say Northern Ireland, but he said Ireland instead which met with delight. It was at that moment I understood that leaving the “Northern” out could be socially advantageous.

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Reflecting on the life and music of Shane MacGowan

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Shane MacGowan will be honored at the National Concert Hall on January 15th, with a long line of celebrities eagerly anticipating this momentous event. On Monday night, the NCH rolls out the red carpet to celebrate MacGowan’s 60th birthday. He lived hard, but the songs he wrote hit home. Considering his life of excess, it is amazing he has lived as long as he has. An enigma. A God among men. Even if he doesn’t outlive Kieth Richards, it is clear his songs will continue to capture the hearts of music lovers long after Shane is gone [ . . . ] More at: Reflecting on the life and music of Shane MacGowan

Lisa Hannigan on Damien Rice: “He didn’t want me in his band anymore, so I left”

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On the Róisín Meets podcast and Lisa Hannigan is the first guest. She plays three songs from her third album, At Swim, and explains why being fired by Damien Rice was for the best

“He didn’t want me in his band anymore, so I left. I know when I’m not wanted!” laughs Lisa Hannigan, describing the end of her working relationship with Damien Rice.

“It was slightly brutal, but absolutely for the best,” she told Róisín Ingle, presenter of the Róisín Meets podcast.

Hannigan met Rice during Fresher’s Week when they were both at Trinity College. He was looking for a singer and she got the job. The pair played their first gig at Whelan’s, throughout which she stood petrified, three feet from the mic, her head down and thumbs through the hooks of her skirt.

She inched her way closer to the mic over the years and, for a time, the pair enjoyed the success of Rice’s debut album O. By the time they parted ways in 2007 however, it had become a “very, very difficult working situation,” she said.

“You know it wasn’t altogether pleasant. I wasn’t very happy – I’m sure people can relate to that – but you mightn’t actually resign. You don’t realise how hot the water is until you get out and so being fired ended up just being the best thing.” [ . . . ]
– Read Full Story at THE IRISH TIMES