Today’s sentence: “Battle through the foggy shroud, oh you wise fish of Saints, flee the earthly spires of this city of the damned and the pious faithful.” Inspiration and Observation.Have you ever heard of the 'Goldie Fish'? Surely you must have. It leaps over Shandon Tower, and it is one of the most iconic Cork... Continue Reading →
Today’s sentence: “The jostle stone stood mute to passersby, sentinel to the forgotten gateway of the silent workshop, which echoed no more with the ancient blacksmith's song.” How did I arrive at the sentence above?While passing Collins Barracks, Cork this morning, I noticed a fine jostle stone standing guard where someone, or something, has breached... Continue Reading →
Thursday, 24th April 2025. Today’s sentence: “Shimmering like a starling’s wing, the puddles of the pockmarked garage forecourt were the only brightness in a forlorn day.” How did I arrive at the sentence above?Well, it started in a garage forecourt on the most miserable of wet days in Ireland. The iridescence of the slick of... Continue Reading →
A thought, driven by rain, in a car park.It's not often that a Nobel Laureate and a Norrie spark a idea to coalesce from the firmament and strike one square in the brain. It must have been driven by the rain, as I sat in the carpark. A Moveable Feast. "Sometimes when I was started... Continue Reading →
Pig-Headed Determination and Storytelling. There’s a certain type of camaraderie that emerges in the trenches of writing; especially when history, military interests, and storytelling collide. Stephen Callaghan, a well-respected military historian (and someone I greatly admire) offered a few kind words of support recently on my writing journey. In reply, I shared a quote that... Continue Reading →
'Under the Mountain' is the working title of adventure book. Its genre could be best assigned to High Fantasy. I completely forgot to up date this page in December with my very good news. I was successful in getting Chapter One of this book published. I am very glad to say that I didn't forget... Continue Reading →
Something in the Water.
There must be something in the water that nourishes writers on this Great Island of ours, as it has such an abundance of them. Perhaps, as the Lee flows along, it gathers stories from its many tributaries and courses, tumbling them in its stream as it flows ever onward on its journey to the Atlantic. Or maybe it’s the nature of living on the harbour, where for centuries ships have sailed and sheltered as the flow of commerce from across the nation has funnelled goods and people to its quaysides; then onward to new horizons waiting out past Roches point.
Something draws them to come to rest, like so many grains of sand, onto the shores of Cobh. This never-resting, ever-changing harbour has borne witness to the heartache of the emigrant and the excitement of unknown adventures for those drawn to a life on the ocean. Cobh’s every corner is etched with history and the endless search for fresh possibilities seems to stimulate the creativity of the local writers. They wait like Heaney at his desk, ‘Between my finger and my thumb, The squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it.’, and what a range of stories our local writers unearth in their digging.
The Island.
Angels voices soaring to roll off the ceilings curves,numb hands pressed against grieving ones,roaring winds pulling at the aged stones,no threat to peace or pain inside the vault,sharing the seeping warmth of love departed.
The lintels still carry chisel strikes,left by rough hands that toiled,a hundred years of rain have yet,to find their way inside,each stone as tight together as the families,who sit in hushed mourning rows beneath,
Ruins of Houses
In the shattered ruins of abandoned houses,Lie secret notes on scraps of paper,
Tucked beneath the mossy stones,Silent questions to be buried under falling needles,
Hopes and fears unanswered in the rough pine forest,
The cairn of broken plates and white clay pipes,
The thick round pot rims, orange and smooth,
Marking the commitment to the woodlice,
Of the lonely pain.
Words.
The words were sent out of the window and into the world,Spiralling nouns danced on the breeze and prose rose on light airs,Gusting gales could not the verbs shake loose from bonds of rhyme,The poets thoughts set loose upon the wind and free.
Wind.
Seek the high and lonely places,let the roar of wind push electronic chatter from your ears,and drag a tear from an eye that was dry too long.Breathe deep.
Paper Never Refused Ink! 
Recent Comments