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Post by Séamus on Jul 8, 2022 4:01:19 GMT
I only became aware of British SAS hero and foundation member (and sportsman) Blair Paddy Mayne when recently reading about a BBC series and a book review- actually about a critical biography of his rival which leaves the Down man as the real war hero ('david stirling the phoney major' Gavin Mortimer, review by author himself). Historically unappreciated he may have been,but not neglected by any means- there was an image one sculpture in the North featured. Actually I thought another news story about an Irish protestant held even more symbolic for our times... "The chapel where the Bronte sisters were baptised and where their father Patrick preached has been hit by vandals. The 400year-old building pivotal to the lives of the siblings had stone copings and roof slates thrown to the ground and smashed last month while timber roof supports were pulled from their placements" international express june22 Like Shakespeare, Dickens and Joyce,the family have become a symbol of western literature and society. Being a family perhaps makes them more so. It's hard not to see an analogy in the stone and wood being torn apart. Rev Patrick was able to find repose from his grief by returning to Ireland; particularly in the light of major world leaders putting in their five euro cents about a court ruling which had little to do with them, it's doubtful whether there'll be any corners of the world to genuinely hide from troubles today. Interesting. I am grateful to be informed about this. Thank you/ And thank you for something else, too. I see you are putting more white space/paragraph breaks in your recent posts—and this really HELPS my tired old eyes. I don't have a mobile and reading long blocks of text from a desktop computer isn't easy for me (also at least one other person at least lurking here, I know, who lamented to me privately about it.) Maybe if one is younger, raised on the internet with mobiles, it's not so bad. But old codger's like me really appreciate it and it increases my likelihood of deeply registering what people are saying. Which is why, for the internet (not for books) I always use loads of white space and paragraph breaks. : - ) I notice the full screen is very different (still don't use an actual computer myself).
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Post by rogerbuck on Aug 13, 2022 22:14:07 GMT
Thanks for this Séamus — and I see your continuing use of paragraph breaks. Really helps me! : - )
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Post by Séamus on Aug 20, 2022 4:22:50 GMT
"The legend was an Irish pilot called Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane. Over the next two years the fame of this dashing young airman would spread across the globe. His aerial acts of derring-do prompted comparisons with fictional pilot Biggles and Finucane's handsome features adorned the covers of Life magazine and featured in the New Yorker...heralded in the press as The Flying Gael and The Flying Shamrock,Terror of the Nazis,he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order by George VI.. the romance of the story was enhanced by the fact that was walking out with literally the girl next door, Jean Woolford. [documentary producer]Gerry compares them with the Beckhams" (James Rampton reviews Spitfire Paddy)
An image of a War poster which includes him is shown also. As a significant anniversary of Diana Spencer's death approaches a few intriguing things come to mind- how some heroes disappear inexplicably from the public memory within a few years while others never seem to die. And the public fascination with people who die young- Brendan was 21 when the Germans finally shot him down,the subsequent acclaim he received was probably given to few of the fallen. Anne Frank and the Princess of Wales are often added to lists of the greatest women eever,despite not really changing the course history even insignificantly. JF.Kennedy often polled as his country's greatest president, something that possibly wouldn't be considered had he lived to serve for eight years.
"Let Englishmen for England fight,it's nearly time they started-o, I gave to him a quick goodbye and there and then departed-o" ( modern day ballad The Recruiting Sargent.) And the rather amazing occurrence that two Southern Irish men- Finucane and Kitchener- springing from republican and anti-British situations- became the faces of the British military in their respective world wars.
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Post by Séamus on Nov 15, 2022 3:03:17 GMT
Yesterday my mother asked whether there existed a statue of Malachy with the collar of gold. Wasn't familiar with the rhyme and she wasn't familiar with it's origin- they used it as a skipping tune not realising that it was written as a serious poem by Thomas Moore and there was confusing identification between the sainted bishop and a high king. I could only discover a golden collar itself and the modern sculpture posted by Mr Maolsheachlann on irishpapist of King Mael Sheachnaill MacDomhnaill who seems to be the same man. Hard to image a collar, even of false gold lasting on an outdoor sculpture I suppose.
Just before this I'd come across The Martyrdom of St Livinus by Peter Paul Rubens. His name was originally added to the Litany of Irish Saints (i know one priest that has a pre-60s Irish altar manual) but, like Dympna and another missionary martyr named Romuald, was dropped since, positive evidence of their being Irish obviously lacking. At any rate his historical importance to the Dutch is highlighted in Rubens' depiction of Livinus having his tongue extracted surrounded by a lot of movement- clouds, Angels, men and the stallion that often sets off martyrdom paintings so well.
Shows that there's always a lot more probing to do when discussing the greatest historical Irishman.
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Post by cato on Nov 15, 2022 12:58:43 GMT
Yesterday my mother asked whether there existed a statue of Malachy with the collar of gold. Wasn't familiar with the rhyme and she wasn't familiar with it's origin- they used it as a skipping tune not realising that it was written as a serious poem by Thomas Moore and there was confusing identification between the sainted bishop and a high king. I could only discover a golden collar itself and the modern sculpture posted by Mr Maolsheachlann on irishpapist of King Mael Sheachnaill MacDomhnaill who seems to be the same man. Hard to image a collar, even of false gold lasting on an outdoor sculpture I suppose. Just before this I'd come across The Martyrdom of St Livinus by Peter Paul Rubens. His name was originally added to the Litany of Irish Saints (i know one priest that has a pre-60s Irish altar manual) but, like Dympna and another missionary martyr named Romuald, was dropped since, positive evidence of their being Irish obviously lacking. At any rate his historical importance to the Dutch is highlighted in Rubens' depiction of Livinus having his tongue extracted surrounded by a lot of movement- clouds, Angels, men and the stallion that often sets off martyrdom paintings so well. Shows that there's always a lot more probing to do when discussing the greatest historical Irishman. Theres a lovely painting in the National Gallery of Ireland of the episcopal consecration of the mythical St Romuald as archbishop of Dublin.
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Post by Séamus on Dec 1, 2022 0:19:46 GMT
Yesterday my mother asked whether there existed a statue of Malachy with the collar of gold. Wasn't familiar with the rhyme and she wasn't familiar with it's origin- they used it as a skipping tune not realising that it was written as a serious poem by Thomas Moore and there was confusing identification between the sainted bishop and a high king. I could only discover a golden collar itself and the modern sculpture posted by Mr Maolsheachlann on irishpapist of King Mael Sheachnaill MacDomhnaill who seems to be the same man. Hard to image a collar, even of false gold lasting on an outdoor sculpture I suppose. Just before this I'd come across The Martyrdom of St Livinus by Peter Paul Rubens. His name was originally added to the Litany of Irish Saints (i know one priest that has a pre-60s Irish altar manual) but, like Dympna and another missionary martyr named Romuald, was dropped since, positive evidence of their being Irish obviously lacking. At any rate his historical importance to the Dutch is highlighted in Rubens' depiction of Livinus having his tongue extracted surrounded by a lot of movement- clouds, Angels, men and the stallion that often sets off martyrdom paintings so well. Shows that there's always a lot more probing to do when discussing the greatest historical Irishman. Theres a lovely painting in the National Gallery of Ireland of the episcopal consecration of the mythical St Romuald as archbishop of Dublin. I notice that no less than Filipino Lippi painted St Frediano/Frigidan, another casualty of the edited Irish litany, with Paul and two lady saints (split into two canvases). Lippi's usual cultivated scenery is seen in the background, but a streamlined version of it, as the figures dominate the paintings. That this bishop was Irish is more certain, apparently attested to even by Gregory. An article also appeared recently about a living (99) Irishwoman heroine of the World War, Maureen Sweeny of Mayo, whose meteorology training was essential to the D-day invasion. deValera knew and approved of the operation, ostensibly to help America, but obviously of great benefit to Britain also.
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Post by Séamus on Oct 26, 2023 2:58:58 GMT
"It would be a shame, almost a crime, to end and book about St Patrick without a word of praise and gratitude for Ferdomnach. Ferdomnach was a scribe of Armagh who in 807 wrote one of the greatest of mediaeval Irish manuscripts, that known as the book of Armagh, which is now preserved in the Library of Trinity College Dublin. The manuscript contains there groups of documents: 1 the Confession of St Patrick in a curiously shortened form along with [the patrician biographies of]Muirchu,Tirachan, and a number of additions, The Book of the Angel, but not the Epistle [to Coroticus]; 2 a New Testament, the only copy of the NT surviving from early Ireland, for the other great books, the Book of Kells, contain only the Gospels; 3 a number of Sulpicius Severus' writings about St Martin of Tours, Ferdomnach was fortunate enough to edit....you will not fall to admire it. The text [of a 1913 reproduction] shows something of the beauty of Ferdomnach's work"
appendix of Who Was St Patrick?,E.A.Thompson
This sort of work was so vastly important to Ireland and it's contribution to world, that men like Ferdomnach and the Four Masters collectively could easily vie for Greatest Irishman.
Another couple of writers mentioned in Thompson's appendix, while perhaps not considered as the greatest ever, are worth mentioning- "J.B.Bury (of Monaghan) was probably the most learned historian produced by the British Isles in the twentieth century. He know all the European languages except three, and his familiarity with the scholarly literature of Europe was unmatched...his procedure was to set out first a plan narrative of Patrick's life which anyone could read, and to follow it with 140 pages of closely printed pages and even more closely argued notes and appendices in which he justified the conclusions...[the book] seemed to be the last word on Patrick and it effectively killed the study of the saint for a generation"
Just interesting in a different way: "[WWII Germany] drove Ludwig Bieler from his home in Vienna. After suffering much hardship he managed to take refuge in Dublin, to Dublin's gain. He devoted the rest of his life to the study of the text of Patrick and of the later patrician documents...if his work on Patrick was intended as a return to the Irish people for giving him a home and a job in his hour of need, we may say of him what Homer says of one of his Heroes, that he gave gold in return for bronze"
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Post by Séamus on Nov 12, 2023 11:59:40 GMT
I am going to cheat and name several candidates in different categories though....etc ... Greatest soldier Arthur Wellesley who as the Iron Duke defeated Napoleon the Great. If you defeat a colossus what are you? Not content with that he becomes the second Irish holder of the office of prime minister and emancipates the catholics of Britain and Ireland. He also gave his name to the Welly once a part of every rural man's footwear. I've only discovered how many titles were bestowed upon him by European powers- Netherlands,Spain, Portugal- after Waterloo,titles still held by the current Duke of Wellington,who is apparently also a descendant of Arthur Guinness. (A spotlight currently shines on the couple due to important roles given to the Duchess, herself of Germanic royal blood,at the recent coronation and Charles' first opening of the parliament last week;the couple apparently continue the Guinness-family-name brand through philanthropic foundations also)
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eala
Full Member
Posts: 156
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Post by eala on Nov 24, 2023 23:45:14 GMT
James Joyce
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Post by cato on Nov 25, 2023 16:21:17 GMT
A corner boy who wrote smut. To quote a teacher of mine.
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eala
Full Member
Posts: 156
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Post by eala on Nov 26, 2023 10:42:13 GMT
A corner boy who wrote smut. To quote a teacher of mine. Ha ha. Well known in the literary world himself is he?
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Post by cato on Nov 26, 2023 16:21:39 GMT
A corner boy who wrote smut. To quote a teacher of mine. Ha ha. Well known in the literary world himself is he? He's a prominent ,recently retired PP, in the North of Ireland! Not a great judge of literature I recall. Had an enormous collection of westerns but very little else in his library.
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Post by Séamus on Nov 27, 2023 11:02:47 GMT
I certainly respect that choice and his popularity, while being inclined to agree with the authoress who suggested that not every window in the house needs to be broken in order to breathe fresh air.
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Post by cato on Nov 27, 2023 11:28:44 GMT
I certainly respect that choice and his popularity, while being inclined to agree with the authoress who suggested that not every window in the house needs to be broken in order to breathe fresh air. St John xxiii followers should have observed that wise maxim.
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eala
Full Member
Posts: 156
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Post by eala on Nov 29, 2023 19:57:20 GMT
I certainly respect that choice and his popularity, while being inclined to agree with the authoress who suggested that not every window in the house needs to be broken in order to breathe fresh air. Oh it's worse that breaking windows in a house, he's a recurring metaphor of the sea dissolving the city; but then the builder building it anew from the sediment. Rome, Parnell, Lucifer, Adam, Walls street, the temple, Christ. The fall and then the rise, and the fall again the same but different based on earlier pattern. He's right, things get ossified, and corrupted by petrification over time. He's also right that there's need to dissolve to recoagulate ... I think he calls it recaligulate somewhere ha ha
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