JULY 2026 marks an incredibly special date for the organisers, volunteers and pilgrims, past and present of an incredibly special group of people—St Margaret of Scotland Youth Group (SMSYG)—as they celebrate their Golden Jubilee.

KEEPING on the theme of 18th century rogues, perched atop Montpelier Hill in the Dublin Mountains, the Hellfire Club is one of Ireland’s most famous historic ruins.

‘AN IRISHMAN'S heart is nothing but his imagination,’ observed George Bernard Shaw (GBS). In the history of literature, few writers have accumulated more honours than the extraordinary Dubliner.

PRESIDENT Catherine Connolly made her first visit to Britain as she met with Irish community groups from across the country and was welcomed by King Charles in London.

IN A season like no other, the club whose corporate logo is ‘A club like no other,’ again broke new football ground by holding the first ever football history conference specifically dedicated to discussing one club—Celtic FC.

A GLASGOW native now living in Donegal helped coach the Republic of Ireland Veterans Football team to glory at the recent FIFA Super Vets World Championships in Copenhagen.

wonderful man Martin O’Neill and the fight-to-the-end Celtic squad who won the double this season against all the odds, with just about everyone—bar Hibs fans—rooting against us!

A RESTRUCTURING of games has meant that Ceann Creige’s camógs and hurlers have had limited competitive matches to date.

THE Irish navvies who blasted, picked, shovelled and drilled their way through the hard rock of the Scottish Highlands to bring the railway from Fort William to Mallaig in 1907, are being recalled in a series of events to mark the anniversary of the opening of the railway this summer.

‘MOl an óige agus tiocfadh siad,’ sin a deir an seanfhocal i nGaeilge. Seanfhocal a d’úsáid mé anseo thart fán am seo anuraidh toisc go mbíonn sé ar m’intinn achan bliain agus muid ag ullmhú fá choinne Campa Samhraidh Chonradh na Gaeilge Glaschú. Thig linn an seanfhocal sin a úsáid i gcomhthéacs ar bith, is dócha, ach déarfainn go bhfuil sé ríthábhachtach nuair a táthar ag caint maidir le teanga, oidhreacht agus féiniúlacht.

FOR hundreds of years traditional music has been a huge part of Irish culture. With the exception of a period of decline in the 1940s to 1960s driven by the Church exerting control over ‘too much enjoyment’ of the people, it has largely been in a healthy state.

I AM tempted to think that the recent intervention by Dave Scott of Nil By Mouth to demand that police officers declare their membership of various organisations is more about keeping his organisation relevant than it is about challenging the real impact of racism and bigotry in Scotland as it manifests itself in the sphere of policing and justice.

JAMES Connolly's life and legacy was celebrated in both Edinburgh and Glasgow recently via a special commemorative event and a brand new play.

DUNEDIN Connollys and Tír Conaill Harps will be looking to make it two-in-a-row in their respective Senior and Intermediate League Finals, with both teams having been the stand-out performers in their competitions.

GLASGOW'S Irish community joined the parishioners of St Mary of the Assumption in the Calton to commemorate National Famine Memorial Day on Sunday May 17.

LATE last month, the first event for a charity set up in the name of the much-loved traditional musician, Eamonn Nugent, was celebrated, raising in the region of £5000.

NEARLY three decades after a young Kilkenny student decided to start a Gaelic Football Club in Glasgow, generations of players, alumni, family and friends gathered to celebrate the remarkable legacy that decision created.

MALONES in Edinburgh has announced a major £500,000 investment in the venue, building on a strong period of growth for the business and marking the next stage in its expansion near Haymarket.

THIS year’s Edinburgh Mary is Cara Molloy, originally from West Belfast, but now living and studying in Scotland’s capital city. Cara was recently crowned by the Edinburgh Emerald Irish Social Group at Gilmerton Miner’s Club.

THERE'S nothing to beat the company of friends, especially when they’ve been in your life forever and you know, and love, each other like sisters. Four of us took a trip back to Donegal together. We hadn’t been in Gweedore together since we were 17!