A big thank you to Clutag Press for the prompt dispatch of A Shiver, a collection of nine new poems by Seamus Heaney, and to the Post Office without whose excellent service my order wouldn’t have made it in time to be included in the allocation. I’ve probably used up all my luck in the process.. but it’s worth it. Whoo-hoo!
Short answer: very little, other than he enjoyed the environs of Hillsborough Castle, enjoyed working with the local politicians, and has Gerry Adams to thank for Bobby his dog. Peter Mandelson’s book The Third Man has captured media headlines in recent weeks as the Times serialised the most juicy bits. But what did he have [...] read our review »
This is article was first published in Fortnight magazine back in February 2003. Chris Farrington is now a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellow funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences’ in the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin. Although the circumstances it describes has changed radically and [...] read our review »