THE screen adaption of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet is widely tipped to win several Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards Ceremony in LA. The movie’s success follows hotly on the heels of Cillian Murphy’s Oscar for Best Actor in Oppenheimer (2024) and Kenneth Branagh’s Golden Statute for Belfast (2021). Irish writers and actors have excelled at the Academy Awards in recent years.

LONG before the fictional exploits of Dumas’ Three Musketeers, the fishing village of Rush, County Dublin, produced its own trio of real life adventurers whose story rivals any Hollywood epic. At the centre of it stood Luke Ryan, an Irish privateer and smuggler whose audacious career during the American War of Independence made him one of the most notorious raiders ever to prowl British waters.

AS HIBERNIAN FC entered the second half of the club’s 150th anniversary season an important landmark took place. January 20, 2026 marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Michael Whelehan, who—along with Canon Edward Joseph Hannan—co-founded the club on the August 6, 1875.

I HAVE been spending a lot of time around older people this past while and I’m never disappointed with their company, their humour nor their ability to embrace the modern times that are in it. I was down at the Shamrock Lunch Club in St Columbkille’s before Christmas and the craic was great. A grand lunch of homemade soup, sandwiches and all the cakes and pastries you could eat, some good music, dancing, and best of all, storytelling.

CONTRIBUTORS to The Irish Voice share with us their personal highlights and standout performances at this year’s Celtic Connections Festival. TRUE AND BOLD: A NIGHT FOR DICK GAUGHAN Glasgow Royal Concert Hall January 18, 2026 GAUGHAN was a giant of traditional music. His album Handful of Earth is rated as one of the best folk albums ever, but he is now unable to perform after suffering a stroke in 2016, which affected his dexterity and memory. This show was hugely significa

GLASGOW Irish Bands and Gigs makes its return to the pages of The Irish Voice, bringing us an interview with Darren Devereux, who along with Shane Quinn make up the band Sciante Blues.

I LOVE to hear of fierce, strong women, especially ones who can multitask like a superhero—women with a good few strings to their bow. Well, I can tell you something with great certainty, that in finding Margaret Skinnider, (Ní Scineadóra, Máighréad, 1893-1971) I found one hell of a woman.

IRELAND is famous for its relaxed attitude and warm welcome, making it the ultimate slow-travel destination. A holiday in the Emerald Isle is a laid-back adventure, filled with fun experiences, stunning scenery and the chance to connect with people, culture and traditions handed down through generations.

IN THE spring of 1766, Dublin found itself captivated by one of the most sensational criminal cases of the 18th century. Four sailors, Peter McKinley, an Irish boatswain; George Gidley, a Yorkshire-born cook; Richard St Quentin, an Englishman; and Andreas Zekerman, a Dutch seaman, stood accused of murder and mutiny on the high seas, crimes that struck at the heart of maritime law. Their trial and execution would echo through Irish folklore, but the events that placed them the

WE ARE approaching one of the most special times of the year, Christmas. Despite the stress the season can bring I hope your home is warm, cosy and full of Christmas cheer.

IN THESE often stressful times, it can be difficult to leave your worries behind and have a good time, but if there is ever an ideal time for this then it has to be Christmas. Sure, didn’t even Ebenezer Scrooge the original Christmas grinch eventually abandon his love of money and embrace the spirit of Christmas.

AS I watched my daughter, Eva, take part in her last blitz of the season with Glasgow Gaels at Toryglen Regional Football Centre in the shadow of Hampden Park, I allowed myself some time to reflect on what was a year of milestones for us as a family in GAA terms. 2025 marked her first foray into the world of Gaelic Football, initially training with the Gaels under the watchful eye of their highly skilled and dedicated coaches before moving onto playing in blitzes. She loves t

WHEN it comes to Yuletide, Ireland is the best place to reside and when it comes to capturing the festive spirit no one does it better than Irish writers.

LONG before the age of instant messaging, online shopping, or next-day delivery, Christmas in Ireland carried a quiet magic of its own. But for countless families across the country, nothing compared to the thrill of receiving a parcel from the US, a tangible, festive connection to loved ones who had crossed the Atlantic in search of a better life.

IN 1816, landscape painter John Knox, travelled the 10 miles or so from Glasgow, to paint the Clyde from Faifley and Duntocher—two small settlements which were part of the parish of Old Kilpatrick. It was an early autumn scene, a rolling wooded hillside with a textile mill in the distance. It was pleasant, green and largely unoccupied. By the mid 1840s it was an entirely different picture.

IRISH literature has a long tradition of producing writers who capture the mood of the times that we live in. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is a classic searing satire of Georgian Britain’s greed and moral bankruptcy. In every era writers have emerged from Erin’s shores as voices who have been able to chronicle the experiences of a generation and articulate their concerns.

WHEN you think of Belfast, there’s always a sense of grandiosity attached to it—be that in its famous sons and daughters, its buildings and even in the famed ship built there, The Titanic.

DUBLIN is truly a city of two names, Dubh Linn and Áth Cliath, each reflecting a distinct part of its ancient past. The English name ‘Dublin’ derives from the Gaelic ‘Dubh Linn,’ meaning ‘Black Pool,’ itself adapted from the Viking Dyflin. The name refers to the dark tidal pool where the River Poddle met the River Liffey, a spot that now forms part of the gardens of Dublin Castle.

I HAVE a great pal, Mick Doc, who regularly makes reference to his Catholic pals—including myself—as ‘Good Romans,’obviously coming from the fuller term ‘Roman Catholics.’ But I’m not sure Mick knows, because I didn’t, that this term originated in the 16th century and was initially used by Protestants to differentiate the Church they had separated from.

A KEEN eye for relationship dynamics is central to a good plot. It drives the story and hooks the reader. Blend family dynamics with a hint of intrigue and you have the makings of a page-turner. For the past two decades Derry-born Maggie O’Farrell (above) has mastered the art of writing about family relationships whilst spinning a good yarn.