Category: Oldfilibuster’s Rhyme & Reason

As the mechanics of writing, papermaking, and printing made the written word in the shape of ideas, stories, doctrines, beliefs and theories more widely available, that method of providing information to the growing masses of the literate was harnessed by those religious…

Can you separate a work of literature from the political beliefs of the author? The question relates to three of our most notable Irish authors – Flann O’Brien, William Butler Yeats and George Bernard Shaw. You know what I mean; you love…

The first verse of September 1913 by William Butler Yeats, accurately paints a picture of a country where greed and double standards could co-exist quite comfortably with mindless adherence to religious rules. For over two hundred years, one pervasive organization in Ireland was…

According to Tolstoy’s Karenina principle, the failure of one component results in the failure of the entire exercise. The failure to coordinate overseas military aid and nationwide support for the 1798 and 1916 rebellions is possibly a working example. An earlier discussion…

There is no doubt about it, the workhouse, whose structure was a blot on the Irish landscape, was the most feared and hated institution in the terrified imaginations of the Irish poor. They would do anything to avoid submitting to that hellish…

In The Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smith argued that markets are governed by an ‘invisible hand’ and thus should be subject to minimal government interference, to allow said free markets to facilitate sustained economic growth. Letting the free market be king,…

Sometimes it takes centuries; sometimes it takes decades, but invariably, the legacy of colonialism lingers for too long after its demise; and this we see in the border that separates the six counties of Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland. The…

On September 14th, 1607 Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell left Ireland’s shores for good. The event is commonly known as The Flight of the Earls and those who took part in the flight became known as…

Itchy Feet There is no doubting that Ireland was overrun by two gangs of ‘gurriers’; the Vikings, starting in 795, and the Normans in 1169. While one gang faded into the fabric of Irish society rather than conquering us, the other gang ignited…

How often have we praised someone’s handiwork?  It could be a fine painting, a patchwork quilt, the way they play Chopin’s etudes or the way they pitch a tent.  Aristotle praised the hand as “the instrument for instruments”  – the hand that…

A tandem of post-modernism on the R827 – the young James Joyce and Flann O’Brien gadding about Blackrock If you were a municipal historian you might take a passing interest in what de Selby has to say on the subject of roads,…

We’ve all been spending a whole lot more time at home in recent months. In many ways, our homes may have become our own small country. When we look at the big world picture, we are probably grateful if we have a…