BEST....MOVIE....IDEA....EVER And in Bandon!
Catherine FitzMaurice from Kilbrogan House just contacted me about an awesome night that is happening as part of the Engage Arts festival over the weekend of Sep 25th.
They are showing the 1925 version of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with, and this is the genius bit, live organ accompaniment by Dr Eric Sweeney who is head of Music at Waterford School of Technology. Not only that, but they are showing it in a church.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Saturday, September 12, 2009
1911 Census full of gems
Margaret Jordan pointed out on Friday in Facebook that the 1911 Census data is now online. Ever since, a bunch of us have been searching and learning. I’ve been looking up O’Neill, ONeill, Neill, Flynn, Meaney, Foley, Doran, Wall and Walls to see which of my ancestors I could identify and send them on to my Mum and Dad.
I was thrilled to find this record of my Granny Mary, her parents and siblings.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Sunday, August 30, 2009
Facebook and You
The stats around Facebook in Ireland are staggering, they are racing towards 1 millions active users here. That just blows my mind. Some are predicting they’ll have more pageviews globally than Google by next year!
Whilst I initially didn’t have much time for it, coming from the open blogging world, bit by bit its value for me has grown. Even at the simplest level, it is the only site where many people I know from school and college ever congregate online.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Friday, August 28, 2009
New Dianne Curtin Web-site
Delighted to see that food writer Dianne Curtin has launched a new web-site. If you are into food, you should check it out. She has news, tips, recipes and podcasts already. Since the site is built on Drupal, I think we can expect lots more features to appear over time.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Phew, nearly missed July
It’s been said by many others too but Twitter is seriously denting my blogging. Why write an entire post when most of the time 140 chars will do?
But what will be remembered and found in years to come? Watching Chris Moyles on “Who Do You Think You Are?” really drove home the importance of historical records. My mother ran into a brick wall with her genealogy research a few years ago once she got into the 19th Century.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, July 27, 2009
We declare our resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation
I woke up this morning to read about Brian Cowen’s “Innovation” Taskforce and have spent since then utterly enraged.
In a time of crisis when men/women of vision and ability need to quickly agree a strategy and execute it with confidence, Brian Cowen assembles 28 people (plus the heads of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, the Higher Education Authority and representatives from the departments of Education and Science, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and Finance).
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, June 29, 2009
West Cork Literary Festival Update
Just in from the people organising the West Cork Literary Festival:
PJ Lynch, one of the most celebrated children’s book illustrators, will give a special Children’s Talk on Monday 6th July, as part of the West Cork Literary Festival. He will also give a Public Interview with Robert Dunbar on the evening of July 6th.
PJ has won numerous awards including the Mother Goose Award, the Christopher Medal, three times, and the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal on two occasions, first for “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey” by Susan Wojciechowski, and again for “When Jessie Came Across the Sea” by Amy Hest.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Monday, June 22, 2009
Ivan asks - Can we feed ourselves?
Deeply important piece by Ivan on food security and our future. Don’t just read it, leave your thoughts too.
The ability of a country to feed itself and have a sustainable agri-business must surely have been a major motivator of Reddy Brennan and his team in Avonmore in the early 1970s. A man of great vision with incredible negotiation skills, he is one of the heroes of Irish industry. Our family will always be grateful to him.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Tuesday, June 16, 2009
We must never forget
Via Twenty. As he said, no words from us necessary.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Systematic Evil
I can’t bear to read the report. It sickens me to think what those evil scum covered up over the years.
I’m not a religious person but I take some comfort in imagining everyone involved in the systematic abuse of children in the 20th century burning in the eternal fires of hell.
Some comfort in imagining every priest, every brother, every nun, every bishop, every arch-bishop, every cardinal, every papal nuncio, every pope who knew anything about what was happening in this country and DID NOTHING, being raped by satan every day for eternity.
Posted by Conor O'Neill on Saturday, May 23, 2009