Can I add my condolences to the family of Cahal Daly, a man who in my experience played an important role in bringing peace to our land.
The BBC also reports today the death of Helen Lewis, one of the North’s few survivors of Auschwitz. I never met her but know many who’s lives she touched as a dancer and a living connection to the darkest period in modern European history.
We have lost all too many this Christmas and new year.
May they all rest in peace.
It’s not often we get free things to give away to our readers, but courtesy of Palgrave Macmillan we have a nice paperback copy of Brian M Walker’s excellent history of partition of the island and how identities shifted in both the north east and the south and west: as most of the territory that [...] read our review »
Coming up to the Halloween holiday, some people might be frightened of the idea of Voices from the Grave – but for others, the chance to hear an oral history of the Troubles from the mouths of two (in)famous protagonists, PUP leader and former UVF member David Ervine, and Brendan “The Dark” Hughes, is not [...] read our review »
Dr Gordon Gillespie, a researcher at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University Belfast, gave a presentation on “Graphic Portrayals: Northern Ireland, Graphic Novels and the Peace Process”, at the Linen Hall Library. Gordon started with a clarification that he was going to talk about graphic novels/comic books, not cartoons, and material that was [...] read our review »
Among many memories of Helen, who was an inspirational mentor to my wife Sheena and many other dancers, is this poem by Michael Longley which he read at the Lyric tribute.
A Linen Handkerchief
Written and presented by Michael Longley for Helen Lewis.
Northern Bohemia’s flax fields and the flax fields
Of Northern Ireland, the linen industry, brought Harry,
Trader in linen handkerchiefs, to Belfast, and then
After Terezin and widowhood and Auschwitz, you.
Odysseus as a girl, your sail a linen handkerchief
On which he embroidered and unpicked hundreds of names
All through the war, but in one corner the flowers
Encircling your initials never came undone.
http://www.hmdni.org/2002_hmd_programme.pdf
willis
A fitting tribute to a remarkable person who when they were very young experienced things no child should ever witness, but unfortunately still do all over he globe.
I have her book which she kindly autographed for me.