WHEN someone says: “I’m going home,” or “I’m heading over by,” I think there’s a universal understanding of what that means. It means going to a place where open arms and open fires await; with a heat that never fails to send you into a soft slumber. Where you head out on a beach walk and are warned: “The wind’ll blow the head aff ye.” A place where even a stroll across the fields, 40 shades of green, cut or wild, welcome you back with familiarity and knowing.

TWO NEW documentaries are set to excite and entertain audiences in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the next two months.

TÍR Conaill Harps were crowned Intermediate Championship winners on a blustery afternoon in Glasgow, overcoming testing weather conditions and a determined Glasgow Gaels side to secure a deserved 0-09 to 0-06 victory. The win meant that Harps secured an impressive Intermediate double, adding to their earlier league triumph over Stirling Carrigans. Tír Conaill made a dream start, taking the lead inside two minutes, but Gaels quickly responded with two fine points of their own,

HIBS haven’t beaten anyone since the away League Cup win against Livingston back in August and have fallen out of the top six—it’s been a frustrating few weeks for fans of Edinburgh’s green and white.

FOR the third time this season, Glasgow Gaels and Dunedin Connollys went head to head in what has become one of Scottish GAA’s most fiercely contested rivalries and once again, nothing could separate the sides in normal time. With Storm Amy swirling overhead, conditions were far from ideal in the Scottish Senior Men’s Championship. Playing with a strong wind at their backs, the Gaels made the most of the advantage in the opening half, racing into a 1-05 to 0-01 lead. However,

IT'S BEEN an up and down month for Dundee United since our last report.

GLASGOW Gaels recently won the inaugural U15s Scottish Championship after a victory over Dunedin Connollys at Cambuslang Rugby Club.

“MICHAEL Nicholson shrugged his shoulders.” Unfortunately, that statement is the most noteworthy recent event for Celtic. It came during a meeting between club representatives and supporters, as fan protests were halted by a meeting arranged to provide some answers to the wider support’s most pressing concern.

THIS month, I sat down with the King of Glasgow, the guru of the city’s live entertainment and hospitality sector—not to mention one of the funniest guys you’ll ever meet—Donald MacLeod. I asked him about his 40 years of work in the industry, his fight to save hospitality and of course his love of Ireland. Here’s what he had to say.

I AWAITED the publication of this book with great anticipation as my mother’s people hail from the mountainous region of Sliabh Beagh, near where the three counties of Monaghan, Fermanagh and Tyrone meet.

THE All-Ireland Fleadh took place in the beautiful town of Wexford at the start of August and, as ever, scores of musicians from Scotland were taking part in some form. Many musicians, singers and storytellers from Scotland were competing, having qualified from the All-Britain Fleadh in June. It was clear, though, from early on Friday that this was going to be a fleadh to remember as the results just kept on coming.

AT THE heart of any great book is the ability to tell as good story with characters who are believable and that we identify with. Critics often sight male writers such as Frank O’Connor and Sean O’Faolain as being literary giants in this Irish tradition. Yet in terms of book sales and global recognition, Maeve Binchy has been at the forefront this tradition.

THE latest book by regular contributor to The Irish Voice, Hugh Dougherty, tells of his time on the platform and in the driving cab of Western SMT buses as a Glasgow University student from 1969 to 1972.

BROGANS Bar at 75 Dame Street, in the heart of Dublin, is today famed for housing the largest collection of Guinness memorabilia outside the brewery. However, in the 1880s, when it was known as Swanns, the pub was infamous as a meeting place of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).

THE summer is a period of change in many consulates and embassies around the world, and it is no different here in Edinburgh.

HIBERNIAN FC celebrated its 150th anniversary in fantastic fashion at the start of last month with a number of events to mark the milestone.

THE rumble of two stomachs demand that lunch be taken and where better than our scheduled stop at Mullaghmore Harbour? On the everlasting entry road, we pass three identical cobs leaning over the stone wall at the perimeter of their field, there are rabbits ahead and we park by seagulls at the water’s edge.

I’M writing these words in the last days of August. Here in rural Ireland, it’s a time to get busy with those summer jobs that get the home place prepared for the dark winter months.

THE recent Irish Roots programme at the Govanhill International Festival and Carnival—which formed part of the Glasgow 850 celebrations—proved to be a huge success.

BHUEL, a chairde, is deas a bheith ar ais libh tar éis an tsamhraidh. Tá súil agam gur bhain sibh sult as an samhradh! Tá muid ag druidim le tús théarma nua ranganna Gaeilge agus gníomhaíochtaí eile de chuid Chonradh na Gaeilge Glaschú go luath, i mí Mheán Fómhair—féach thíos le haghaidh tuilleadh sonraí fúthu seo—Chuir seo scéal nuachta ón samhradh i gcuimhne dom.