Tens of thousands of young Irish American men and women between 18 and 26 may have the opportunity to spend up to ten free days in Ireland learning about Irish culture and history – if a proposed government initiative gets off the ground.
Month: February 2015
Boston Irish Tourism Association has released its 2015 schedule of St. Patrick’s Day parades in Massachusetts. This year the state’s parade season begins on Saturday, March 7 with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cape Cod, and ends with the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Sunday, March 22, 2015.
VISITORS FROM IRELAND and beyond have been flocking to Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery after watching the documentary One Million Dubliners.
The cemetery is the last resting place of the likes of Michael Collins, as well as over 1.5 million other people. The feature documentary, directed by Aoife Kelleher, went on general release in cinemas in October.
The fascinating and touching story of the history of the huge cemetery – which was built in 1832 and is the last resting place of figures from Irish history including Michael Collins – also introduced people to the late historian Shane MacThomais (pictured).
MacThomais passed away in March, just as filming was coming to an end, and his interactions with visitors and thoughts on life and death have connected with many viewers.
Check out the trailer here:
A UK tv network, Channel 4, are planning to air a Shameless-style sitcom based on the Great Famine.
Speaking to the Irish Times, screenwriter Hugh Travers revealed that he is writing the sitcom, Hungry, following an open commission by Channel 4, which allows him to write “any idea I wanted”.
“Well, they say ‘comedy equals tragedy plus time,” Mr Travers says.
“I don’t want to do anything that denies the suffering that people went through, but Ireland has always been good at black humour.
“We’re kind of thinking of it as Shameless in famine Ireland.”
During the Great Famine, approximately 1M people died of starvation between 1845 and 1852 and a further 1.5M people emigrated.
The announcement of Hungry has sparked outrage.
Many social media users have condemened the series, calling it “thoroughly disgraceful” and asking “what exactly is funny about the starvation of millions?”