Latest news with #StPatricksDay
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Claire Adam on childhood summers in Ireland: ‘My grandmother from Skibbereen lived to 108'
Tell us about your new novel, Love Forms It's about a mother searching for a daughter she gave up for adoption 40 years ago. The mother, Dawn, is from a middle-class respectable family in Trinidad: she gets pregnant by a tourist at Carnival at the age of 16, and she's shipped off to neighbouring Venezuela to have the baby in secret. It's similar to what must have happened a lot between Ireland and England, actually. And my main character, Dawn, she stays with Catholic nuns in Venezuela – but they're nice nuns! In the Caribbean, religious groups function as unofficial social support networks, since governmental services tend to be pretty thin. You were born in Trinidad to a father from Port of Spain and a mother from Cork, both doctors. Did you grow up with a sense of a dual identity? In Trinidad, we used to see my dad's family every Sunday, and we took turns to host. One week, they'd come to us in the capital city of Port of Spain, and my mother would cook a roast lunch with Yorkshire puddings. The next week, we'd drive to my uncle's house in the hills, where we'd eat ordinary Trinidadian food – roti, curry, macaroni pie, stew chicken. I liked both equally! There's a bit of an Irish presence in Trinidad. My mum had special green napkins which came out every year for her St Patrick's Day lunch. And she made a stack of profiteroles, which had to stay in the freezer until the last minute so that the cream and chocolate wouldn't melt in the heat. We'd come back from school to find all the Irish ladies slightly boozed up and laughing their heads off. My mother would want me to reiterate that this only happened once a year. I feel really at home in both Ireland and Trinidad, and my accent changes to fit as soon as my feet touch the ground! READ MORE What or who made you want to be a writer? Your mother was a bit of a natural scientist who taught you to observe things closely? In Trinidad, we were a bit of a Durrell-type family, with caterpillars and beetles in jars, all around the house. She did loads of really precise botanical drawings of plants, really close, careful study. She's still a working artist – check her out on Instagram. For me the part that stuck was that I know what everything is called in Trinidad! I would be a good nature tour guide. In contrast, I don't know what anything is called in England. I can pick out a few species of tree, but everything else is a mystery. I can't figure out how to grow anything in pots at all – I still can't get used to the temperate climate, with four seasons. I think I always had an idea that I would write one day. It was like a seed I'd tucked away that waited for many years until the conditions were right for it to grow. I had my first child (in my early 30s) and it was like the sudden awareness of my own mortality took hold of me, and I started working like a woman possessed! It's something to do with a fascination with the nature of language. Language as this inexhaustible material, free to use by all, no matter how rich or poor, or where in the world we start from. 'To do all that, and with just words!' Arthur Miller's son said that to him, after seeing or reading one of the plays. Those words pretty much sum it up for me too. You did an MA in creative and life writing at Goldsmiths, London, where you now live. What was the key lesson? Exchanging work with peers and hearing their feedback is really valuable. You learn to see your work more objectively. What are your memories of summers in Ireland and the year you spent here as a teenager? Those summers in Ireland were a highlight of our childhoods. We flew over from Trinidad every three years, like migrating birds, and spent the summer at my grandmother's house near Skibbereen. It was all so exciting. We required thick woollen sweaters – even in July and August, Ireland seemed cold to us, coming from the tropics. We were very taken with strawberries and raspberries, blackberries, even apples – we thought they only existed in books! I remember helping build a big haystack, someone making jam, my sister and I trying to muster the courage to get into the freezing cold lake. Great times. That grandmother lived to 108. We're lucky that her house is still in the family – we all love visiting when we can. My daughter will be over this summer with her friends. And then I came back to live in Cork for a year when I was in my 20s. I worked for a company owned by my uncle and aunts at the time. I loved Cork, and I had a good wander around Ireland during that year, and during the many other summers I've been back. Describe your debut, Golden Child , which won the Desmond Elliott and McKitterick Prizes It's about a family with twin sons in rural Trinidad. The father's trying to do his best for his family but he's an uneducated man of very humble means, in an effectively lawless society. When one of his sons goes missing, he finds himself totally out of his depth and he's faced with a terrible dilemma. It is said to capture Trinidad perfectly. Could you give a sense of the island in a few words? In rainy season, it's very lush and green – a different green than in Ireland. There's a different quality of sunlight in the tropics, blinding at midday. Any unkept land (what we call 'bush') grows fast and uncontrollably. The crazy mix of religions and ethnicities get along together much better than you might expect. Law enforcement doesn't appear to be a priority, and the fact that the society functions as well as it does, is because the vast majority of citizens are really decent people. Both novels, although very different, involve a parent searching for a lost child By strange coincidence, yes! I have no explanation for this. Someone I know commented that while Golden Child is about fathers and sons, Love Forms is about mothers and daughters. It's being developed for film by Sarah Jessica Parker's company? The option was bought by a small production company in LA (MA Productions), and we're all so thrilled that SJP's Pretty Matches Productions is on board as well. Film stuff moves slowly, there are a zillion obstacles, and her supporting the project is fantastic. William Trevor. Photograph: Eric Luke You're a fan of William Trevor and Claire Keegan? Well, years ago now, after I read Foster, I immediately googled Claire Keegan, and I could hardly believe my luck when I saw that she runs writing workshops. I've been to two now, and I've been evangelical ever since. She's a fabulous and generous teacher, as so many of her other students will eagerly attest. I adore William Trevor's stories, too. Back in the good old days I spent a summer hitchhiking around Ireland and I'm almost sure he gave me a lift one time in west Cork. He had a quiet manner, was very reserved about himself, but he listened to me very intently as I blabbered on. I said I wanted to be a writer and he smiled a kind of regretful, knowing smile, and told me the important thing was to just keep at it. Which projects are you working on? I'm messing around with a few ideas. And working on a screenplay set in Trinidad with a couple of friends – it's nice to do something sociable for a change! Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage? Maybe I'll try to visit Tolstoy's house one day. What is the best writing advice you have heard? From Flannery O'Connor: that the meaning of fiction is not abstract meaning but experienced meaning. Who do you admire the most? My endlessly patient husband is a pretty good guy! You are supreme ruler for a day. Which law do you pass or abolish? I will abolish fines for accidentally stopping in the yellow cross-hatched area at intersections. All parking throughout London will be free forevermore! Brian Cox as Logan Roy, and Jeremy Strong as his son Kendall, in series one of Succession. Photograph: Peter Kramer/HBO Which current book, film and podcast would you recommend? I've watched all four seasons of Succession multiple times and I am not ashamed. It's that good. #TeamKendall. I hope people are reading Sakina's Kiss by Vivek Shanbhag. He's an outstanding writer and deserves many readers. I'm looking forward to watching Mountainhead, Jesse Armstrong's new film. Which public event affected you most? Well, I was living in Cork when Diana died. I was in a flat-share near French's Quay and I remember the three of us in the flat were speechless all morning, watching the news loop through the same coverage for hours. The most remarkable place you have visited? I visited my sister in Montreal in the winter once, 30 years ago, and I still haven't got over how cold it was there. I felt like my eyeballs froze! Your most treasured possession? Wherever I go, I travel with our coffee pot. It's a basic Italian moka, the one that goes on the stove top. The handle has fallen off and we've replaced the inside bits dozens of times, but as it's been used numerous times a day for maybe a decade, the coffee tastes really good. I can't do without it. What is the most beautiful book that you own? Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party? I'm probably going off on a tangent, but I'd worry about how all the egos in one room would make it hard work! For a (hopefully) pleasant dinner party where I could just listen and absorb, I'd invite Abdulrazak Gurnah, JM Coetzee and Rohinton Mistry. (By the way, if they see this and do actually fancy dinner, email me!) The best and worst things about where you live? There are great green spaces all around London – nice big parks. The never-ending roadworks are the worst thing – unfortunately I drive quite a lot and they're truly the bane of my existence. What is your favourite quotation? 'Nothing is far, and nothing is near, if one desires. It brought Columbus across the sea in a little boat.' That's Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark . A book to make me laugh? My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes – my mother just lent it to me. A book that might move me to tears? Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Love Forms is published by Faber & Faber
Cosmopolitan
03-06-2025
- Business
- Cosmopolitan
Fans Think Joe Alwyn Knew About Taylor Swift Buying Her Masters
Joe Alwyn is busy minding his business and has been for several years, but people are still out here reading into things! And the latest? Some fans think Joe made a subtle reference to Taylor Swift buying back her Masters knew about it in advance. Why, you ask? Because he posted a shamrock on Instagram back in March, and Taylor purchased her masters from Shamrock Capital for a reported $360 million. The above TikTok has tens of thousands of likes, though to be fair, plenty of people are shutting this line of thinking down. To quote one person: "Or hear me out, Joe Alwyn knew it was St Patricks Day." Either way, there's no denying that everyone is thrilled for Taylor—who announced the news that she purchased her Masters with an emotional letter to fans. "To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty casual about it," she said in part. "To my fans, you know how important this has been to me—so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four albums, calling them Taylor's Versions. The passionate support you showed those albums and the success you found giving The Eras Tour into why I was able to buy back my music. I can't thank you enough for helping to reunite me with this art that I have dedicated my life to, but never owned until now. All I've ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright."
BreakingNews.ie
26-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Public expressed outrage at Conor McGregor's meeting with Donald Trump
Members of the public expressed their anger at Conor McGregor's St Patrick's Day meeting with US president Donald Trump in messages to Taoiseach Micheál Martin. The vast majority of messages were critical of McGregor, with many accusing the UFC fighter of "hijacking our identity". Advertisement Mr Martin met the US president on March 12th, and the Government was blindsided by McGregor's St Patrick's Day trip to the White House, in which he made a number of unfounded claims about immigration into Ireland. Claims McGregor made about crime levels in Dublin were also found to be from a discredited 'study' published by an online gambling company. In messages to the Taoiseach, seen by after a Freedom of Information request, people expressed anger at McGregor's White House appearance. At 10.15pm on March 17th, one email to Mr Martin read: "You did a great job on your recent visit to the White House, congratulations on your diplomacy, but I'm furious with that clown (and I'm being generous) McGregor hijacking our identity." Advertisement The email continued: "He doesn't speak for us, please don't let this go!" In messages to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, members of the public expressed anger over Conor McGregor's White House meeting with Donald Trump. The majority of the emails referred to the legal action in which a jury found McGregor civilly liable in a case taken by a woman who accused him of rape. Nikita Hand, also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín (35), was awarded damages and costs after a three-week trial last year in which the jury found him civilly liable for assault. A judge at the High Court in Dublin later said the jury had 'conclusively determined' that McGregor had raped Ms Hand in the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford on December 9th, 2018 . McGregor is appealing against the outcome. Advertisement A lengthy email addressed to Mr Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris read: "First, the invitation extended to Enoch Burke's family, and now, the carefully orchestrated elevation of Conor McGregor to take centre stage on St Patrick's Day. It is clear now that your meeting with president Trump was deliberately scheduled for the 12th, ensuring that McGregor would be given the international platform on the 17th in your absence. "Allowing him to speak as if he represents us, he insulted not just those of us in Ireland, but the 75+ million people worldwide who hold their Irish heritage close to their hearts. This was not a misstep or unfortunate oversight, it was deliberate, calculated, and a disgrace. I urge you both, Taoiseach and Tánaiste, to draw the line now. To stand up, not just as a diplomat, but as an Irish leader with dignity. I fully understand the necessity of diplomacy, but at what cost?" McGregor does not define Ireland. The author called on the Government to address McGregor's appearance directly with Mr Trump. "McGregor does not define Ireland. Musk does not define Ireland. Trump does not define Ireland. But if we allow these insults to go unchecked, we risk losing control over who gets to represent us. I sincerely hope that you will not let this moment pass without a clear, public statement condemning what has happened. We may be a small country, but we are a proud and dignified one, and that should count for something." Advertisement Another email criticised Mr Martin for not stepping in when Mr Trump praised McGregor during their White House meeting on March 12th. Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: 'I do happen to like your fighter.' 'He's got the best tattoos I've ever seen,' he said, referring to Mr McGregor. 'Conor's great, right. But you have a lot of great Irish fighters actually, great fighters," Mr Trump continued, before moving on to ask the Taoiseach about his father's boxing career. Advertisement Two messages expressed support for McGregor's views on immigration. "Regarding the recent coverage of Conor McGregor's visit to the White House, the three of you have been quick to criticise him, insisting that he does not speak for Ireland. You are wrong. While his visit and remarks were self-initiated, a significant portion of the Irish public agrees with his message far more than agree with any of you, even combined." One person wrote: "Before you dismiss me as just another critic, understand this: I have financially contributed to each of your parties multiple times, up to the maximum €600 per donation, and considerably more to Leo Varadkar before I saw through him. I have stood in social settings with each of you, exchanged words, and am someone you are all comfortable speaking to in your own circles. "The fact that the President of the United States chose to engage with McGregor rather than with career politicians like yourselves should be a wake-up call. Instead of sounding weak, jealous, and desperate in your attempts to discredit him, perhaps you should reflect on why he commands the support of both the Irish people and the US President, while your own standing continues to erode." World President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin 'has go... Read More One person praised Mr Martin and Mr Harris for their response to McGregor's meeting with Mr Trump. "I am particularly proud of the way both you and Simon Harris have responded to what happened yesterday with Conor McGregor- you are right, he does not speak for me. Thank you for being so clear and unequivocal about it." Another person wrote: "I firmly believe that by inviting McGregor to the White House for St Patrick's Day, Donald Trump and his team have deliberately undermined you, the Irish government and more so the Irish public. "While I understand the importance of 'playing politics' there has to come a point where we stop kowtowing to our supposed friends in America especially if they're welcoming our convicted criminals into the White House."
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- RNZ News
Man accused of St Patrick's Day rape in Whakatāne says woman had been ‘flirting' with him
By Hannah Bartlett, Open Justice reporter of The accused rapist, who has interim name suppression, was based in Whakatāne at the time of the incident but is from overseas. Photo: NZME/Open Justice WARNING: This story includes content some readers may find disturbing. A man accused of rape says he was leaving the bathroom after sobering himself up from a night of St Patrick's Day festivities involving drinking and cannabis when he heard a female voice calling out. The woman he thought had been "flirting" and "forward" with him earlier at the pub was calling from the bedroom she shared with her fiance, in a flat that was hosting an "afterparty", he said in the Tauranga District Court this week. The man, who has chosen to give evidence, said he went in and knelt beside her bed. He told her, "I enjoyed getting to know you tonight", and claimed she responded in kind. They began kissing, he said, shared "dirty talk", and she allegedly played with his hair and removed her underwear. He performed oral sex on her and he claims she told him she wanted him to "f*** [her] on the beach", so he proceeded to have sex with her. Then the door opened, the lights came on, and the woman's fiance asked him, "What the f*** is going on?" He said the woman then "wouldn't respond" and just "groaned" when her fiance "nudged" her and said her name. The fiance accused him of having "f***ing raped" the woman. The man replied, "No, it's not what it looks like", and appealed to the woman to "tell him... tell him". But she remained silent, he said in evidence. A flatmate of the couple came in and punched the man in the face, and he said he didn't remember much of the next 24 hours. The man, who has interim name suppression, was based in Whakatāne at the time but is from overseas. He is defending a charge of rape in a trial that began on Monday. In his evidence, he spoke about events leading up to the alleged incident, which the Crown had described as "a polished recitation of a story". The man recalled a night out celebrating St Patrick's Day with good conversation, joking around and dancing. He said it marked the end of what had been a stint of working in Whakatāne and spoke about his positive experiences of exploring New Zealand. In questioning by his lawyer Phil Mitchell, he gave a full account of everything he'd drunk that night, his interactions and observations, and how he came to be found with his pants around his ankles in the woman's bedroom. Crown prosecutor Richard Jenson said the man's account was "perfect and polished". He had "tailored" it to fit the evidence and explain his actions that night, Jenson suggested. "It's not an account of a young man who's been out at the pub and has had a few drinks, and pieced together the details." The trail is being heard in the Tauranga District Court. Photo: Google Maps / Supplied The man gave evidence about his interactions with the woman that night, and how she'd continued to be flirtatious despite his drawing her attention to the engagement ring on her finger. He demonstrated what he claimed she'd done - pulling the ring to the tip of her finger, then pushing it back on as she winked at him. But the woman, who has also given evidence at trial, had no recollection of that, nor much of the evening after about 9pm. She described herself as an "attentive conversationalist", who liked to hold people's gaze, and hands, when she spoke to them. The man said in his evidence she had been "forward" and he had enjoyed her attention. "It's great to have someone flirting with you," he said. "I was single at the time." However, he said he'd struggled to "read the dynamic" given she was engaged. The woman's fiance had invited him, and others, back to their flat. His friends declined the invitation but urged him to go and "have fun", given he had finished his work in New Zealand and was now on holiday. Three of the defendant's friends, who were there that night, were called by the defence to give evidence at the trial. They described flirtatious behaviour between the pair - some specified the woman touching the man on his shoulder, chest and arms, and holding hands. Evidence has also focused on the woman's intoxication levels that night and her vomiting before the alleged incident took place. At the flat, the woman had indicated to her fiance that she needed to vomit. The defendant offered to help. The fiance said she was lying down next to her bed and needed assistance to lift her head to vomit into a bowl the man held. He said it was the most drunk he'd ever seen her, and even with his attempts to keep her hair back, it still ended up with vomit in it. However, the man said she induced herself to vomit; he said it wasn't because she was drunk, it was because she was feeling bloated and afterwards she'd been laughing about it. The man said the woman's behaviour and level of intoxication at the flat were the same as they had been earlier in the night. However, the Crown pointed to text messages the man sent to a friend after the woman vomited. It said how things were "different than he thought", and that she had vomited. The Crown suggested he must have known any "aspirations" he'd had for consensual sex were "out the window". The man disagreed. He said the fiance later went to check on the woman, after she'd left to have a shower, and had come out and said the woman was "fine". The fiance testified that when he went to find her, she was asleep in bed. The defence case is that she later called out to the defendant, and invited him in, after he'd visited the bathroom. However, the Crown said the man had sex with her while she was asleep. "If there was anything remotely consensual and mutual, you would have done the responsible thing and got a condom out that you had in your pocket," Jenson said. "No," the man said. "[It's] another point that shows us that all this was you quickly and stealthily going into her room, doing what you wanted to do, and leaving as quickly as you could," Jenson said The man denied this. The trial continues. If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111. This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dana White provides damning update on Conor McGregor's UFC future
Dana White has provided little cause for optimism regarding a potential UFC return for Conor McGregor. McGregor, 36, hasn't competed in MMA since suffering back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier in 2021, but was on the cusp of a return after agreeing to square off against long-time rival Michael Chandler at UFC 303. Advertisement That was until McGregor broke his toe just two weeks out from the hotly-anticipated headliner, forcing the fight to be called off. The Irishman has since gone quiet on when he was next fighting next, turning his focus to politics after vowing to run for Ireland's presidency in March. And now, White has confirmed that McGregor is further away from a UFC comeback than ever. 'He's not fighting anytime soon,' White said in a streetside interview with Adam Glyn. 'I haven't talked to him in a minute. But I don't know.' McGregor has become increasingly vocal about issues out of the Octagon and embarked on a much-publicised visit to the White House on St Patrick's Day to air grievances over immigration in Ireland, pleading for help from the US. It comes after a civil-court jury found he had raped a woman in Dublin in 2018. McGregor, who denied a claim that he 'brutally raped and battered' the woman, said he would appeal the verdict, which required him to pay over £200,000 in damages.
