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Essays

Lives in black bags. An investigation into the care system

My investigative series for RTÉ’s Drivetime on children in care is now on Soundcloud. This was funded by the Mary Raftery Journalism Fund. An accompanying essay, consisting of oral histories, was published in The Dublin Review 53, and is available here. The Sunday Times published a companion opinion piece.

The Mount Street Club: an oral history

During an earlier era of horrendous unemployment, in 1934, the Mount Street Club was established in Dublin to develop innovative solution to the poverty resulting from unemployment. During the war years it had 6,000 members; they were involved in running a farm in Clondalkin and allotments in Merrion and Sydney Parade, and earned “tallies” for… read more +

On Smithfield horse fair, for the Dublin Review

I’ve an essay-cum-investigation on the Smithfield horse fair in the current (summer) issue of the Dublin Review. It’s not online but can be bought here or in bookshops. One of my previous pieces for the Review, on the slow decline of the Irish language, is online here.