I have a small, energetic dog that has never grown up – a puppy in a four year-old’s body. To me, he represents so much: our escapes into the countryside during lockdowns; the stress of training him only for him to revert again and again; the relaxing nights lounging on the sofa as he curls …
Read more “Book Review: Ireland’s Animals, Niall Mac Coitir”
I recently discovered that my 1 year-old daughter had already chosen a favourite book, one she has undoubtedly picked for the colourful flaps and dynamic pictures of dinosaurs. When I ask what she’d like to read, she has no hesitation, through pointing and screaming, which one it is. I only hope this is a sign …
Read more “Book Review: A smaller social history of ancient Ireland, P.W. Joyce”
Every year, for as long as I can remember, I’ve witnessed the celebrations around the 12th July in Northern Ireland in a state somewhere between bewilderment and discomfort. But for me, after visiting the Battle of the Boyne visitor centre, I feel like some part of me has fallen into place, like a piece of …
Some historians are born academics, their work is thorough, detailed, and completely incomprehensible. But there are a rare few, of whom we will have all heard of (e.g. Tom Holland, Anthony Beevor), who manage to bridge that great divide, turning facts into narrative, bringing history to life through a colourful string of characters. Barry Cunliffe’s …
Archaeology can often feel as dry and dead as the very artifacts it unearths. Debates around dating methodologies (I feel there should be an obligatory joke about Tinder here), discoveries of inane objects of little to no importance, or merely terminology so densely formulated in ‘isms’ and ‘tions’ that no lay-person has a hope of …
I can’t count the times I’ve prayed for a lecture to end early. We have all heard the dull, monotonous tone of a lecturer, droning through facts we could have simply looked up on Wikipedia or ChatGPT. Instead, we are imprisoned, listening for a whole hour or more, when all we want to do is …
Read more “Book Review: The Oldest Irish Tradition, Kenneth Jackson”
“This – ahem – this is the most important challenge we face in our century. The most important. Without the freedom to say what we believe, what have we? However, if left unguarded, we risk losing everything. Is that what you want? To lose everything? No. We need to regulate it. Freedom must be protected, …
Image Credit: Gary Fields What a brilliant wall. I mean look at the structural simplicity of those blocks, strung together like soldiers in formation. It’s just remarkable how each concrete pillar towers over the landscape. Mike, a final year architecture student, breathed a sigh of relief. He’d finally found something he could understand. All the …
Published 20th August 2016 by Daniel Kirkpatrick When I meet people for the first time they nearly always ask that infamous question – ‘So what is it that you do?’- yet with almost complete consistency, as soon as I mention the words ‘international conflict analysis’ they immediately switch off or else quickly change the topic. I don’t …
Read more “‘Conflict analysis’ – Who cares? I do and so should you”
Published 8th May 2015 by Daniel Kirkpatrick Recently I found myself once again caught up in another game of Settlers of Catan, arguing with the other players, battling to be the first to those elusive 10 points. Despite another sweet victory, I found myself reflecting on what makes up a good strategy, what is the most important …
