Compiled by Dr Cormac Moore

18 November, 2023 01:00

November 20 1923

THOUGH nothing will be done in the matter of the Ulster boundary until after the election, we are assured that at the same time considerable anxiety is felt amongst politicians who are friends of the Six Counties over the question.

This anxiety, it is hardly necessary to say, was discovered by the Northern Whig's expert in revelations. He had a weird and disquieting tale to tell yesterday: -

Some time during last week a Government Departmental Committee sat to discuss what steps should be taken in the future so far as it concerns the Imperial Government.

No fault can be found with the Imperial Government for asking a Departmental Committee to discuss what steps should be taken regarding either the boundary question or the future which of the two concerns the Imperial Government is left doubtful in the text though Mr [Stanley] Baldwin and his colleagues are more concerned with the future than with the boundary for the passing time. But and here are the terrible facts that causes considerable anxiety amongst friends of the Six Counties: -

This committee's activities were kept very strict indeed, so much so that I understand even ministers who should have known about its existence were kept in the dark. Another most important fact, so far as Ulster is concerned, is that the composition of the committee is extremely unsatisfactory. Scarcely a member of it could be described as a real friend of the province.

If the friends of the committee are not friends, they must be enemies. Neutrality is unknown nowadays Crazy bogies which would not delude an intelligent infant elsewhere are paraded before the eyes of the loyalist electorate.

(Irish News editorial deriding the paranoia and conspiracies propagated by Ulster unionists looking to maintain a siege mentality, where no threat existed, to gain electoral advantage.)

A 'Twelfth' Story in Liverpool

With as much pride in his native city as any other son of Belfast, Mr St John Ervine has no great relish for its celebrations of July 12th, says a contributor to the Liverpool Daily Post. He made that quite evident in the story he told, with a rich Belfast brogue, to the Rotarians yesterday.

An American who was in Belfast for a day was amazed at all the processioning and the drum-beating that was going on. What's up? he asked a bystander. It's the Twal'th. he was told. I know it's the Twelfth, but what's all this about? he persisted.

Such ignorance was too much for the fervent Belfastian. For God's sake, man, he burst out, away and read your Bible.

(An amusing anecdote from novelist, playwright and biographer St John Ervine who wrote biographies of James Craig, Edward Carson, Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw, amongst others.)

Visit link:
Crazy Bogies Paraded Before 'Loyalist' Electorate - On this day in ... - The Irish News

Some served as settings for great written works, others hosted renowned authors while they worked on their masterpieces. They might house stunning libraries or celebrate written word traditions with special events. If youre a true bibliophile, consider adding these eight literary destinations to your travel list!

Die-hard book fans will find themselves right at home in Buenos Aires. The Argentinian capital boasts more bookshops nearly 700 than any other city on the planet. El Ateneo Grand Splendid, converted from an old theater, is routinely named one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. The city also organizes an enormous annual book fair, bringing in more than a million readers each year.

Trinity College Library in Dublin

Irelands capital with its long storytelling tradition and definite love of craic produced a total of four literary Nobel laureates: W.B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, and Seamus Heane. You can get to know the men and their works over a few pints during a literary pub crawl. Pay homage to another favorite Dublin son in Merrion Square, where a colorful statue of playwright Oscar Wilde lounges across a large boulder. And make time for a stop at Trinity College to peek at the ancient Book of Kells, the incredible gospel books illustrated by Celtic monks.

Many famous authors have made Edinburgh their home, from Sir Walter Scott to J.K. Rowling who dreamt up Harry Potter. You can learn more about them all at the citys Writers Museum. Edinburgh also hosts festivals and celebrations throughout the year focused on the written word. Perhaps the most famous Burns Night is held January 25. Scots host traditional dinners and toast Scotlands most beloved poet, Robert Burns.

It might be a small Midwestern town, but Iowa City punches above its height when it comes to literary tradition, thanks to the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. Established in 1936, 17 Pulitzer Prize winners have completed the prestigious creative writing program. Star alums include Kurt Vonnegut and Flannery OConnor. Even UNESCO took notice, naming Iowa City one of its Cities of Literature in 2008.

In Istanbul, I was captivated by the history, the daily calls to prayer, and all the books! Used bookshops, or sahaflar, are all over the city. One of the oldest and most popular is Sahaflar ars, not too far from the iconic Grand Bazaar. Writers have gathered here since the 16th century, and today, its still a great place to pick up older tomes and rare finds. The sultans loved their books, too; make sure to wander through the Iznik-tile-laden library if you visit Topkap Palace.

A man in police costume stands outside the Sherlock Holmes Museum

Londons long been known as a star of the global literary scene. Shakespeares original Globe Theatre was built here in 1599 but destroyed by a fire 14 years later. Today, audiences from around the world visit the new Globe, a replica of the historic spot. The Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street is dedicated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyles famous detective. You can step through the space where Dickens wrote Oliver Twist at the museum bearing his name on Doughty Street and also check out the Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey, where many of Londons most loved authors are buried or memorialized.

Many critically acclaimed American authors lived and wrote in New York City and still do! From James Baldwin and Jack Kerouac to Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote, theres no shortage of literary glitterati associated with New York. You can still grab a drink at the White Horse Tavern, frequented by Hunter S. Thompson and where poet Dylan Thomas spent his last night alive. The Chelsea and Algonquin Hotels both played host to author meet-ups and still retain a funky feel. For the ultimate glam bookstore experience, head to Albertine. Housed inside the Payne Whitney mansion, here youll find books in both French and English.

Last but certainly not least, the City of Light has had its share of learned luminaries. A century ago, Paris enjoyed a writing heyday when expats, including Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, all flew to France for its creative and bohemian salon scene. Retrace their steps and pick up some of their work at Shakespeare & Co. the Left Banks legendary bookshop.

Building a trip based on books and the people who penned them can be a terrific way to really get to know the culture, people, and traditions of a place. While they make a great take-home gift or souvenir, make sure to do your reading beforehand, too. Engaging in just a bit of research about a city is one of the best ways to build excitement and boost your confidence as you head to a new destination!

More here:
8 Top Literary Destinations Around The World - TravelAwaits

George Bernard Shaw famously said that you could spell "fish" in English as ghoti; gh as in enough, o as in women and ti as in any of the words ending in tion such as motion. There are 44 sounds in English, which could be represented by our current alphabet with a few hybrid additions. Words could then be spelled phonetically (feneticaly) and phonics would rule. Of course, we would need the political will to do this (Congress could not even adopt the simpler metric system used by the rest of the world), and we know that the most pressing political issue is whether Biden stole the 2020 election from Trump.

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.

Follow these steps to easily submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion to the Arizona Daily Star.

Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!

See the rest here:
Letter: Re: the Nov. 7. article Local opinion: Support those taking ... - Arizona Daily Star

Charlotte McLaughlin, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

17 November, 2023 00:16

A letter written by Joe Lycett to the former home secretary Suella Braverman has been read out at the Royal Albert Hall.

Stephen Fry gave a rendition of the communication, on behalf of Lycett, at the 10th anniversary of Letters Live which is held in association with a charity supporting refugees.

Mrs Bravermans name being mentioned on Thursday night attracted shouts of boos from some in the audience.

Before being ousted as home secretary, the Conservative MP attracted criticism over her comments about rough sleeping being a lifestyle choice, people from the LGBT+ community seeking asylum in the UK and the Metropolitan Polices managing of pro-Palestine protests.

The letter from Lycett, who has identified as pansexual, was previously revealed by the comedian in October.

Fry read it out saying: Dear Home Secretary, I am contacting you on an urgent matter as I was very interested to read your claim that asylum seekers are attempting to abuse the immigration system by pretending to be I too am disgusted by men pretending to be gay and think we should weed out this scourge from our society.

He added a radical plan has been devised that would involve Lycett monitoring applications through setting up a company to help the Government with asylum claims.

The Lycett letter also read: Just because you or your family have benefited from a system doesnt mean that system should not be smashed to bits.

For example I am vehemently against people pretending to be gay simply to achieve a better life, despite that being exactly what I did to progress in showbusiness.

Following Frys rendition, there were cheers and claps from the audience.

Ahead of performances at the event, Choose Loves chief executive Josie Naughton said: We dont believe in deporting people to Rwanda.

The reference to the Governments immigration policy attracted applause.

Earlier this month, Lycett referenced Mrs Bravermans remarks as part of a campaign to raise 50,000, which he reached, for homelessness charity Crisis UK.

Elsewhere, Jodie Whittaker performed a letter sent by fellow Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi to a nine-year-old fan of the BBC science fiction series.

Whittaker had followed Capaldi in playing the Time Lord, known as the Doctor.

Benedict Cumberbatch also dramatically rendered George Bernard Shaws voice as he read out his letter of complaint to the Times about an opera event.

Putting on a voice, Cumberbatch as Shaw objected to a woman wearing a bird on an outfit.

Oscar winner Olivia Colman, Outlander star Tobias Menzies and Sex Education star Gillian Anderson also performed other letters.

Anderson read out American writer Anais Nins letter to a client who was paying her for erotic fiction.

Colman, who starred in an BBC adaption of Great Expectations, read a letter written to the corporation in which childrens author Jackie Morris objected to being asked to pay the licence fee when she had no TV aerial.

The actress also soliloquised aletter of complaint to a funeral parlour by novelist Lydia Davis.

American actor Woody Harrelson, who is performing in the Ulster American at the Riverside Studios in London, read letters from novelists Kurt Vonnegut and John Cheever.

The show supports Choose Love, which help refugees and displaced people.

Excerpt from:
Joe Lycett letter to Suella Braverman read at refugee charity event - The Irish News

The incomparable James Baldwin pronounced with profound simplicity that one writes out of one thing only ones own experience, and from that experience tries to wrench out the last drop, sweet or bitter it can give. How true of the writers craft, even that of a lowly hack! This composition is, after a fashion, the upshot of an association of ideas, events and people relating to the experience of corruption. In the end, it is a story of a nemesis confronting hubris!

A recent essay on the monstrous corruption under the present regime provoked remonstrations from some critics who chastised me for describing the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement steered by Arvind Kejriwal as messianic and a force for good, for ramming through the groundbreaking Lokpal Act in 2013. I was admonished for bestowing a halo on what was a sanctimonious and disingenuous middle-class uprising against political corruption that, in tandem with the infamous Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai and his trumped-up national loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crores to the Exchequer apropos of the 2G spectrum allotment, cleared the way for the alleged but now absolved conductor of Gujarat 2002.

In my critics view, it was ultimately not about fighting corruption but a deep-rooted RSS-backed plot to wrest control of the polity. One should have but didnt smell the rat when Kejriwal roped in Hindutva icons Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar to the IAC fold. Much later, Prashant Bhushan, one of IACs leading lights, conceded that his outfit was propped up by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Ironically, almost all my critics were at one time passionate devotees of Kejriwal and gang. Who wasnt? The entire country was initially suckered into believing the third-rate cops-and-robbers narrative spun by these self-righteous do-gooders. A decade ago, Kejriwal and his cabal with Anna Hazare as bewildered talisman were perceived as starry-eyed idealists on a mission to awaken people to the rot in the system. Despite a host of seasoned professionals and intellectuals in the IAC, it was chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the upstart who usurped the leadership mantle through sheer ingenious guile. To give the devil credit, he was undoubtedly the moving force in the crusade against corruption.

What was unknown at that time was his absolute craving for power. And his unbridled ambition was far from quenched by bringing the venal UPA government to its knees and forcing through the Lokpal Act. Having got a taste of power, albeit without accountability, he lusted for more. Kejriwal realised that the anti-corruption movement had run its course and he needed to migrate to where the real power was to remain relevant in the public sphere.

Advertisement

Advertisement

In late 2012, Kejriwal broke away from Anna Hazare who had, in any case, expended his usefulness as titular head of the anti-corruption campaign. But the rumoured trigger for the parting of ways was the issue of converting the IAC movement into a political entity. Even as the old man faded into insignificance, Kejriwal formed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), determined to exploit the mass public support and goodwill generated by the IAC movement. His instincts were spot on as the new kids on the block emerged ahead of the Congress and BJP with 28 of the 70 Assembly seats in the 2013 Delhi election.

Also read: Arvind Kejriwals Latest Gambit is Politics as Deadly Poker With Deities as Cards

In the 2015 Delhi assembly elections, this fledgling party won a resounding victory, claiming 67 of the 70 seats, decimating the two major political parties. AAP struck a chord among all sections of the masses with its message of a moral political order based on the sovereignty of the people and devolution of powers to the grassroots. It denounced caste and community-based politics and upheld the dignity of the individual and her right to essential goods including free water and subsidised electricity. It purveyed an ideological neutrality that sought to absorb the best in capitalism and socialism. A party comprising academics, lawyers, technocrats, bureaucrats, actors, holy men, et al spoke an audacious democratic idiom that held out hope of a brave new form of governance free of corruption and based on the well-being and collective will of the people.

As it has turned out, AAPs success is based on a big lie! The Bible proclaims that God created man in his own image. Likewise, a powerful leader inevitably moulds his party into a mirror reflection of his personality and character. And when the leader is self-obsessive, the party is subsumed under the sheer weight of his egomaniacal persona. Both AAP and the BJP have been morally crippled by such supermen.

There are striking similarities between Kejriwal and the Vishwaguru. Although the bush shirted and mufflered aam aadmi (common man) is sartorially very different from the dandy accoutred in Maybach shades and flashy kurtas, they share much in common. They are machiavellian realists possessed of an all-consuming lust for power, who refuse to be distracted by considerations of right and wrong. They traffic in falsehoods and are so addicted to lying that exaggeration is their nearest link to the truth. They shamelessly parade religion in the public square for personal benefit, heedless of the damage it does to the secular fabric. They take credit when things are going well but are deft at deflecting blame when anything bombs. The universe is only about them!

Very early in the piece, Kejriwal decided to hitch his lot to self-serving power politics. Autocratic to the core, he went about neutralising anyone who was seen as a competitor or pricked his conscience. Much like the Vishwaguru who, without ado, consigned BJPs veteran leaders L.K. Advani and M.M. Joshi to the margdarshak back burner, Kejriwals first significant move was to banish Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav who represented the conscience of AAP and incessantly reminded him of the moral code that was the raison detre of the party. In another cynical move, he nominated two nonentities a businessman and a CA belonging to his caste to the Rajya Sabha, ignoring luminaries who had slaved for the party, provoking allegations that he had traded the seats.

Perhaps the clearest pointer to Kejriwals metamorphosis into an amoral, power-hungry politician has been his stance on the Lokpal as head of the Delhi government. The Jan Lokpal Bill passed in 2015 by the Delhi assembly has still not been ratified into law the casualty in an unending saga of obfuscation and bitter recrimination between the AAP and the Lieutenant Governor, neither keen on an independent ombudsman. Another indicator of his transformation into a hardened, reprobate leader was his abortive attempt to wrest control of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the state in direct contravention of the IACs sacred credo that anti-corruption units should be independent of the political executive.

Also read: Neither Pro-Hindu nor Anti-Hindu, Kejriwal is a Monetary Genius in Modis Mould

A mans real character is revealed in dire adversity. Long ago, Dante said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who are non-aligned in times of grave crisis. The riots in North-East Delhi in 2020 called Kejriwal out for the diabolically amoral politician that he is. The mayhem over four nightmarish days was an awful exhibition of human depravity, perhaps the worst since the Sikh pogrom in 1984. At this critical time, the chief minister went missing, using the fig leaf that law and order was not his domain. A man who has sought the limelight in every situation, played the artful dodger when his people needed him most for the treacherous reason that any intervention would antagonise the majority community; so he let people die. English revolutionary Thomas Paine had people like Kejriwal in mind when he observed that the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf.

A memorable quotation credited to Kejriwal reads: Power does not corrupt men; fools (and I would add knaves), however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power. The author of the phrase is, in truth, Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Ironically, the Shaw quote that he usurped fits him like a glove. Having betrayed the enormous faith and goodwill of his people, the hubristic preacher on public morality is today running scared, fearful of being sent to jail for alleged corruption. Is it karma catching up?

And yet, in the next election, confronted with a Hobsons choice of deciding between the devil and a bigger devil, the elector might still opt for the devil. Thats how far gone we are in the all-pervasive venality of our politics!

Mathew John is a former civil servant. Views are personal.

Read the original post:
Arvind Kejriwals Fall From Grace - The Wire

One of the most fascinating aspects of artistic creation involves the mysterious origins of inspiration. Some artists claim their works are inspired by an elusive muse, while others claim the subconscious mind is responsible for coming up with ideas. Beyond conventional explanations, however, some artists have fueled their creative sparks from otherworldly sources.

This list considers the eerie and transcendent inspirations that fueled ten remarkable works of art, ranging from modern progressive rock to 20th-century poetry. What links these 10 creations is the assertion by their creators that otherworldly spirits were summoned to collaborate in the act of artistic expression.

Related: 10 Strange Stories From Americas Spiritualist Craze

The Mars Volta devised a story about their fourth album, The Bedlam in Goliath, which might be real or mere fabrication. Allegedly, while on holiday, member Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta purchased a Ouija board that he called the Soothsayer while at a Jerusalem curio shop. The band soon implemented the board into their post-show wind-down process. Soon after, the band was visited nightly by the same spirit called Goliath. The subsequent album, The Bedlam in Goliath, reflects the bands interactions with Goliath.

When the band was recording the new album, the Ouija boards messages turned scary. Not only did the studio flood, but various equipment also malfunctioned. These foreboding events overshadowed the albums creation. An engineer working on the album later expressed concerns about its production, believing the band was attempting to capture something malevolent.

To remove the negative effects of the Ouija board and the associated curse, guitarist and songwriter Rodriguez-Lopez broke the board in half and buried it in a remote location. The band also included traps in the albums songs to reverse the perceived ill fortunes associated with the cursed board.[1]

James Merrill created one of the most ambitious modern poems, The Changing Light at Sandover, by writing a seventeen-thousand-line-long poem with the help of a Ouija board. The spirits Merrill communicated with were described as droll and aesthetic, with a tendency for whimsical speculation.

The poem was created with Merrill acting as the scribe and his lover, David Jackson, serving as the hand. The poems first book, The Book of Ephraim, is organized alphabetically, while the books second volume, Mirabell: Book of Numbers, is arranged numerically. The books third volume, Scripts for the Pageant, is divided into three sections: Yes, &, and No. Merrill incorporated fragments of spirit speech into his poems, blurring the line between reality and fantasy in his poetry.[2]

Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, both renowned poets and novelists, were not only celebrated for their literary contributions but are also remembered for their fascination with the paranormal. Using an overturned brandy glass as a planchette and a ring of letters placed on a table, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes utilized a handmade Ouija board for inspiration. The couples usual spirit guide, Pan, addressed a range of topics, including the spirits favorite poems by each poet, what the couple should name their children, and even what publisher would print Plaths next book.

While some scholars have suggested that Hughes might have suggested the use of a Ouija board, both Hughes and Plath engaged in an interaction with the alleged spirit. In one 1958 journal entry, Plath even described the Ouija experience as more enjoyable than watching a movie.

These interactions with the alleged spirit inspired countless Plath poems, including Ouija and Dialogue over a Ouija Board, which involves a conversation between a couple about channeling and explores the nature of channeling and its impact on real people in a real room. Some scholars have also suggested the Ouija board let Plath temporarily shut out external influences and focus on her inner creative voice.[3]

Jap Herron is a novel that was written by Emily Grant Hutchings, a novelist born in 1870. Published in 1917, Grant Hutchings claimed the novel was the result of channeling Mark Twain from beyond the grave using a Ouija board. Grant Hutchings had corresponded with Twain 15 years earlier. During their exchange of letters, the alleged spirit of Twain gave her advice and wrote in one of her letters, Idiot! Must preserve.

Grant Hutchings and a female friend began receiving messages from Twain in 1915 when playing with the Ouija board at a spiritualist meeting in St. Louis. Experimenting with occult techniques was not uncommon at the time. The novel borrows heavily from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as well as attempts, and by most accounts fails, at humor reminiscent of Twain.

Twains daughter, Clara Clemens, was especially upset by the book and even pursued the matter in court with the publishers, Harper and Brothers, who for over a decade had owned the sole right to Twains works. The case, however, never went to trial because Hutchings agreed to stop publishing the work and destroy any copies that she could locate. As a result, surviving copies of Jap Herron are difficult to find.[4]

An early 20th-century artist, Pearl Curran is best remembered for her alleged interaction with a 17th-century spirit referred to as Patience Worth. Born in 1883, at the age of 13, Curran experienced a nervous collapse and dropped out of school. Then, in 1933, Curran and her friend, Emily Grant Hutchings, began experimenting with a Ouija board. The two claimed to have contacted the spirit of Worth. Currans home soon became a gathering place for people who wanted to witness her interact with Worth through the Ouija board. Curran transcribed Worths messages, sometimes at the rate of 1,500 words an hour.

Under the influence of Worth, Curran wrote several novels, including The Sorry Tale, which was published in 1917. This novel is set during the time of Christ and focuses on one of the thieves who was crucified beside Jesus. Worth also authored poetry, prose, and plays under the alleged inspiration of Worth. After her husbands death, Curran was left to support herself and her children, which caused her to travel around the country providing demonstrations with her Ouija board.

While some people believed Currans claim of divine inspiration, others questioned the authenticity of these writings and whether Currans own creative abilities and subconscious mind were responsible for the work rather than the supernatural. Strangely, Currans writings inspired by Worth displayed an extensive knowledge of historical details, raising the question of how Curran would have possessed such knowledge.[5]

Channeled by Jane Roberts from 1963 to 1984, The Seth Material has significantly influenced many New Age works. In the early 1960s, Roberts and her husband used a Ouija board to research extrasensory perception. The couple, however, soon began receiving coherent messages from a male spirit, Seth.

Later, Seth communicated through Jane while she was in a trance. For over twenty years, Roberts held sessions where she conveyed Seths teachings. From the late 1960s until Roberts died in the 1980s, she offered small psychic classes and public channeling sessions in her home.

The teachings stress that consciousness shapes matter and that individuals create their own reality through their beliefs and expectations. Seth also revealed that he had once lived in a lost civilization, Lumania, and was reborn in the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Seth also allegedly performed paranormal feats, including transforming Robertss hand into an animal paw and appearing occasionally as a tall, robed apparition.[6]

One of the best-known Irish poets and playwrights, William Butler Yeats, is also remembered for his interest in the mystical, along with his literary contributions. Published in 1925, A Vision is a nuanced work that explores metaphysics, spirituality, and the supernatural. The book explores a series of automatic writings and mystical occurrences experienced by Yeats and his wife, Georgie Hyde-Lees.

Using channeling to write the book, Yeats believed that he had tapped into a higher realm of knowledge and transcended ordinary human understanding. A Vision is divided into two parts: the Phases of the Moon and the Mask, with each section presenting a unique perspective on the human journey, historical cycle, and the interplay of opposites in the universe.[7]

In an unpublished 1970 James Bond novel, the author of Take Over: A James Bond Thriller claimed the work was written by the spirit of Ian Fleming six years after Flemings death. The mysterious author, known only as Mrs. A, was the deceased sister of a retired bank officer who lived in Hertfordshire, England. Mrs. A. had dictated the work longhand from the alleged spirit of Ian Fleming. The woman also claimed to write works channeled by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Edgar Wallace, and George Bernard Shaw.

Mr. As presence was first noted in October 1970, when he wrote to Flemings brother, Peter, offering some unusual news about the author. Mr. A. asked to meet Flemings brother, who hesitantly agreed to do so. Despite his skepticism, Flemings brother agreed to read the manuscript, which was written in a tone vastly unlike Ian Flemings other work. Few details are known about the plot other than it involves a poisonous gas that allows users to take over the world.

Flemings brother later grilled Mr. As daughter, who could not recall how many children Flemings brother had, their names, or their gender. Despite his skepticism and deciding Ian Fleming was not involved in writing the work, Peter Fleming remained fascinated with the manuscript and claimed that the author was trustworthy.[8]

The 19th-century work A Dweller on Two Planets is a work about the fabled city of Atlantis. The book was allegedly channeled by Frederick S. Oliver, who claimed he was directed to write it by a spirit called Phylos. Oliver claimed that Phylos began sharing spiritual messages with the man when he was only 17. The channeled writings became such a preoccupation of Olivers that the mans parents planned to even have him treated for approaching imbecility. In 1884, Oliver finally began writing down Phyloss channeled stories.

Even though Oliver completed the book in 1886, A Dweller on Two Planets was first published in 1905 by Fredericks mother following Olivers death. The book is divided into two sections: the first describes Phyloss 11,160 BC Atlantean incarnations, and the second telling is of Phyloss California gold rush incarnation as Walter Pierson.[9]

This five-volume work about the life of Jesus was written in the 1940s by an Italian woman, Maria Valtorta. The poem offers additional narratives about parts of Jesus life that are not described in the Gospels. Valtorta claimed to be the secretary of Jesus and Mary and stated that her poem was divinely inspired by Jesus life, even though the Catholic Church has rejected this claim. Despite its heretical nature, the poem has gained many readers. The work was even included in the Index of Forbidden Books until the index was abolished in the 1960s.

When she was 32, Valtorta was attacked and beaten by a mugger, from which she never fully recovered. After 1933, Valrotra was left unable to leave her bed. After first receiving dictations on Good Friday, 1943, Valtorta handed in 10,000 handwritten pages four years later to Father Romauld Migliorini, who gave them to another religious leader who bound them. The workers were later brought to Cardinal Augustin Bea, S.J., who was the spiritual director of Pope Pius XII. Despite initial confidence in papal approval, the Holy Office condemned the work in 1949, but it was still published in 1956.[10]

Continue reading here:
10 Unusual Works Allegedly Channeled from Beyond the Grave - Listverse

Date Event Outline Start Time Hosted by Ticketing / Booking Saturday 18th November 2023 Lightfest Fireworks & Live Music Carlow Town Hall Car Park hosted by Carlow County Council Join us for an evening of family fun which includes live Music , turning on the Lights , Food Stalls , Facepainting and Live Music concluding with the skies coming to life with an amazing fireworks display 4pm Carlow County Council Eventbrite Sunday 19th November 2023 Dorothy DoLittles Magical Adventure Puppet Show With the help of magic DoLot dust, Dorothy goes on a magical adventure to the land of the DoLots in this beautiful piece by Call Back. 3pm Visual Visual Box Office Tuesday 21st November 2023 Creative Crafts for Adults 11am Carlow Library Email[emailprotected] Come along to Carlow Library and learn how to make your own fabric flower which can be used as a brooch or to accessorise your bag, hat, scarf or jumper 22nd November 2023 25th November 2023 Carlow Little Theatre presents The Steward of Christendom 7.30pm Visual Visual Box Office Carlow Little Theatre Society are delighted to be returning to the stage of the George Bernard Shaw Theatre this coming November, with their production of Sebastian Barrys The Steward Of Christendom, a profoundly moving story of family, love and loss. Sunday 26th November 2023 ABBA FOREVER 2023 TOUR 8.00pm Visual Visual Box Office The smash hit show ABBA FOREVER is returning to VISUAL & The George Bernard Shaw Theatre Carlow this November for one night only! Friday 1st December 2023 George Michael Tribute Live 2023 8pm Visual Visual Box Office George.. The Essential Collection, Promises To Captivate The Audience And Leave Them Wanting More. Saturday 2nd December 2023 Christmas Craft Fun for Kids 7+ 10am Carlow Library Email[emailprotected] Come along to Carlow Library for a Christmas Themed Craft Workshop and create your very own Christmas Snowman Tea Light Saturday 2nd December 2023 Christmas Craft Fun for Kids 7+ 11.15am Carlow Library Email[emailprotected] Come along to Carlow Library for a Christmas Themed Craft Workshop and create your very own Christmas Decorations which will add sparkle to the Christmas Tree Saturday 2nd December 2023 Wibbly Wobbly Wendy does Christmas 11am Bagenalstown Library Email[emailprotected] Come along to Bagenalstown Library to meet Wibbly Wobbly Wendy who is all excited about Christmas for a Christmas Storytime, Optional to wear your Christmas Costume! Saturday 2nd December 2023 Rathvilly GAA Annual Christmas Fair & Fireworks 6pm Rathvilly GAA Rathvilly GAA Facebook Crafts, Music & Fireworks a event not to be missed Saturday 2nd December 2023 Pat & Faye Shortt Knuckle Down 8pm Visual Visual Box Office This father and daughter comedy duo have come together once again and are selling out venues across the country with their new show Knuckle Down. Sunday 3rd December 2023 CRYS Jingle Bell Jog 11.30am Carlow Regional Youth Services Pop Up Races Carlow Regional Youth Service are hosting our popoular Jing Bell Jog. It is on Sunday 3rd December 2023, starting at the Barrow Track @ 11:30 Sunday 3rd December 2023 Cash Returns Show 8pm Visual Visual Box Office Europes no.1 Johnny Cash & June Carter tribute are back Monday 4th December 2023 Creative Christmas Crafts for Adults 11am Carlow Library Email[emailprotected] Come along to Carlow Library and unleash your creativity by creating your very own Christmas Star which will add sparkle to your home or tree Wednesday 6th December 2023 The Exchange Christmas Food, Drink & Craft Fair 2pm-8pm The Exchange, Potato Market , Carlow No Booking Food, Drink & Craft Fair to all the Family Thursday 7th December 2023 Friday 8th December 2023 The Student Exchange Christmas Craft Fair Local Enterprise Office Student Enterprise Programme 11am-3pm The Exchange, Potato Market , Carlow No Booking 2nd Level Schools from Across County Carlow provide a variety of festive crafts and local products and services Thursday 7th December 2023 Phil Coulter Four Score & Then 8pm Visual Visual Box Office Having clocked up a major milestone last year, some commentators may have assumed that his Phil Coulter at Eighty national tour was a sort of lap of honour, a last hurrah for his followers. Wrong! Friday 8th December 2023 enCRe Live In Concert 2023 8pm Visual Visual Box Office Join enCRe as they embark on their first solo concert premiering at the George Bernard Shaw Theatre at VISUAL Carlow Saturday 9th December 2023 Wibbly Wobbly Wendy does Christmas 10.30am Carlow Library Email[emailprotected] Come along to Carlow Library to meet Santa and his Elf, Wibbly Wobbly Wendy for a fun festive morning, Optional to wear your Christmas Costume! Saturday 9th December 2023 Lightfest Tullow Fireworks & Family Event hosted by Carlow County Council in association with St. Patricks GAA TBC Carlow County Council / St. Patricks GAA Tullow Eventbrite Join us for an evening of family fun which includes Music , Food Stalls , Facepainting concluding with the skies coming to life with an amazing fireworks display Sunday 10th December 2023 Thursday 14th December 2023 Bouceland with Santa at the Exchange Various Carlow County Council Eventbrite Visit Santa for Free and enjoy 45 minutes of Bouceland at the Exchange Sunday 10th December 2023 Lightfest Bagenalstown Fireworks & Family Event hosted by BIG & Bagenalstown Area Chamber of Commerce TBC Bagenalstown GAA Grounds Eventbrite Join us for an evening of family fun which includes Music , Food Stalls , Facepainting concluding with the skies coming to life with an amazing fireworks display Wednesday 13th December 2023 Christmas Carol Service 6pm Tullow Library No Booking Come along to Tullow Library for a Miscellany of Christmas Carols with the reknowned Regina Hanley & Friends and raise the roof with Christmas song and enjoy a mince pie! Wedensdat 13th December 2023 Sunday 17th December 2023 Jack and the Beanstalk Various Visual Visual Box Office The team at Striking Productions returns this year to the Kingdom of Barrowvale with this years panto, Jack and the Beanstalk Friday 15th December 2023 Christmas Lunchtime Musical with Carlow College of Music 1pm Carlow Library Email[emailprotected] Come along to Carlow Library and join students of Carlow College of Music for a Christmas Themed Concert which will get that Christmas cheer going! Thursday 21st December 2023 Friday 22nd December 2023 A Christmas Carol 7pm Visual Visual Box Office A Christmas Carol is Aaron Monaghan and Bryan Burroughs playful, physical storytelling, stage adaptation of Charles Dickens much lovednovella.

Excerpt from:
Lightfest kicks off festive season in Carlow - Carlow Nationalist

The Herald-News presents this weeks Pets of the Week. Read the description of each pet to find out about it, including where it can be adopted in Will County.

Send Pets of the Week submissions to news@theheraldnews.com. Photos should be in .jpg file format, 200 dpi and sent as email attachments. Submissions are subject to editing for length, style and grammar and run as space is available.

Tyson is a 3-year-old, 70-pound terrier mix with a huge heart. He loves to play and go on walks. Tyson is outgoing and likes to meet new people. He also is good with other dogs. He needs a home without cats. To meet Tyson, email Dogadoption@nawsus.org. Visit nawsus.org.

Tyson is a 3-year-old, 70-pound terrier mix with a huge heart. He loves to play and go on walks. Tyson is outgoing and likes to meet new people. He is also good with other dogs. He needs a home without cats. To meet Tyson, email Dogadoption@nawsus.org. Visit nawsus.org. (Photo provided by NAWS Humane Society of Illinois)

Marigold is a 5-year-old domestic shorthair that was rescued with her kittens from southern Illinois. Now that her kittens have found forever homes, Marigold needs her happy ending too. She is friendly and has a sweet little meow. She loves to play, and she enjoys being a lap cat. She seeks out attention and enjoys pets. Marigold has done well with other cats and should be fine with kitty siblings if given a proper introduction. To meet Marigold, email Catadoptions@nawsus.org. Visit nawsus.org.

Marigold is a 5-year-old domestic shorthair that was rescued with her kittens from southern Illinois. Now that her kittens have found forever homes, Marigold needs her happy ending too. She is friendly and has a sweet little meow. She loves to play, and she enjoys being a lap cat. She seeks out attention and enjoys pets. Marigold has done well with other cats and should be fine with kitty siblings if given a proper introduction. To meet Marigold, email Catadoptions@nawsus.org. Visit nawsus.org. (Photo provided by NAWS Humane Society of Illinois)

Marlo is a large pit bull/Saint Bernard mix that is goofy and playful. She has tons of energy, loves to play with balls and is very strong. Marlo needs an active and strong owner. Contact the Will County Humane Society at willcountyhumane.com and follow the instructions for the adoption process.

Marlo is a large pit bull/Saint Bernard mix who is goofy and playful. She has tons of energy, loves to play with balls, and is very strong. Marlo needs an active and strong owner. Contact the Will County Humane Society at willcountyhumane.com and follow the instructions for the adoption process. (Photo provided by Sue Newcomb Visual Arts)

Freddy is a domestic shorthaired kitten who came in as a stray with his littermates. He has tested positive for FIV. However, with excellent care, many FIV cats live normal lives. Please give this guy a forever home. Contact the Will County Humane Society at willcountyhumane.com and follow the instructions for the adoption process.

Freddy is a domestic shorthaired kitten who came in as a stray with his littermates. He has tested positive for FIV. However, with excellent care, many FIV cats live normal lives. Please give this guy a forever home. (Photo provided by Sue Newcomb Visual Arts)

Link:
Pets of the Week: Nov. 13, 2023 Shaw Local - Shaw Local

The Cruising Group can often emerge as the backbone of any sailing club, particularly in the winter. Back in the day when the new Howth Yacht Club premises opened in March 1987, fresh concepts were needed to ensure that the large building was well used on a year-round basis. Gary McGuire was the founding-convenor for this then-novel concept (in Howth anyway) of a weekly winter gathering of cruising folk, supported in turn by rallies and cruises-in-company of all lengths in summer.

Today, it continues to thrive, the largest single grouping in the club, and an active user of all aspects of its clubhouse/marina complex. So when you get a request to introduce a speaker to Cruising Group people with this level of enthusiasm and dedication, it merits some thought and more. Certainly this was the case recently when I got the call, from HYCs current convenor Susan Kavanagh and her predecessor Gerry ONeill, to give the word on Limericks lone sailor Pat Lawless.

The son of a world sailor, Pat Lawless of Limerick is part of a remarkably innovative areas unrivalled sailing heritage

He was coming to provide what proved to be a packed house with the full insight to himself, and his familys multi-generational interaction with the sea and particularly its oceans. Almost immediately it was clear that, as everyone already knows a bit - while some know a lot - about Pat, and his involvement with the Golden Globe sailing the Saga 36 Green Rebel, there might be more point on the night to introduce him by giving some attention to his home area and the Limerick sailing scene which shaped his devotion to the oceans.

Pat Lawless solo-sailing his Saga 36 Green Rebel

It was a real light-bulb moment. For the slightest bit of thought suggests that Limerick, combined with the Shannon Estuary below it and Lough Derg above, make up Irelands Number 1 sailing area in terms of significant individual achievement, and in pioneering and innovation, both in sailing itself, and in its organisation.

And this Limerick Roll of Honour is not just history its the here and now. For Id argue that the greatest single achievement in Irish sailing in the 21st Century at both national and international level is still the clear overall victory by Ger ORourke - of Limerick and the Royal Western YC of Ireland at Kilrush in the 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race, for this was very much an individual super-success by a notably determined, failure is not an option owner-skipper.

It rounded out his achievement record with his Cookson 50 Chieftain, which was extensively family cruised oceanic and coastal - between bouts of racing which included a class win in the Sydney-Hobart race, and a second overall in the Transatlantic Race.

Limerick, Youre A Lady Ger ORourkes Chieftain approaching the finish line for total victory in the 2007 Fastnet Race

Its all enhanced by knowing that Ger was introduced to sailing in a very Limerick way. He was chatting with Gary McMahon as they and a group of similar free-thinking spirits gently eased themselves into the weekend with a couple of Thursday night pints in one of those very special pubs which are a Limerick speciality. When everyone dutifully headed for home at a responsible hour, Ger asked Gary if hed see him again the following night.

But Gary said not, as hed be taking his boat down the Estuary to her summer berth. So Ger said hed like to have a go at this sailing game, and could he come too? And that was that the Limerick man who so totally dominated the 2007 Fastnet Race was introduced to sailing by the sea-experienced Limerick acquaintance who - four years after Chieftains mighty Fastnet win - was finally to see the launching at Oldcourt above Baltimore of the fully-restored 56ft ketch Ilen of 1926 vintage, and Conor OBrien and Shannon Estuary fame.

The restored trading ketch Ilen in Greenland in July 2019 under Gary Mac Mahons command. Photo: Gary Mac Mahon

But of course, any discussion of the long history of recreational sailing in Ireland will inevitably attribute its origins partly to the fleet of pleasure boats kept by The Maguire Hugh the Hospitable on Lough Erne in the 16th and early 17th Century, and then come on very strongly with the clearly recorded foundation of the Water Club of the Harbour of Cork in 1720, and agree it was Cork that did it.

But it was a Limerick and Shannonside man who brought it to Cork. Murrough OBrien (1614-1673), 1st Earl of Inchiquin, was an OBrien of Dromoland who somehow emerged from a trail of destruction on the winning side during each phase of the Munster wars in the 1640s. But when his luck finally ran out, he went to France and served with such distinction in the French army that after a successful campaign of conquest into Spain, he was made Governor of Catalonia.

Soldier of fortune and misfortune. Limericks Murrough OBrien brought recreational sailing to Cork Harbour in the 1660s

When the run of luck ran out on that too, he threw in his lot with the exiled Court of Englands King Charles II in the Netherlands, where they were passing the time until Cromwell popped his clogs in England with several activities, including the novel Dutch sport of recreational sailing. OBrien took a special fancy to this, and when Charles II was restored in 1660 and returned to London, OBrien re-collared much of the OBrien land in Ireland and went back there, bringing his sailing interest back with him.

But because he still had so many enemies around the Shannon Estuary, he made his base at Rostellan Castle on the eastern side of Cork Harbour, which conveniently enabled him to have the occasional sail for the pure pleasure of it. Yet when he died in 1673, his will stipulated that he was to be buried in St Marys Cathedral, so they got him back there in the Shannonside city whether they wanted him or not.

Yachts of the 1720-founded Water Club on fleet manoeuvres off Cork as painted by Peter Monamy in 1738. Image: RCYC

Meanwhile back in Rostellan his descendants continued sailing with such increasing interest that when the Water Club was established in 1720, the fourth Earl of Inchiquin Murroughs great-grandson was the founding Admiral. And though in the 1800s the Rostellan Inichiquin OBriens returned to Dromoland Castle as the Thomond branch there had run our of heirs, back in Cork the OBriens continued to be prominent in sailing to such an numerous extent that one branch re-spelled their name as OBryen, with the Cork Harbour-based Henry OBryen becoming Irelands most successful racing skipper in the 1860s, his successes including winning the mould-breaking Dublin Bay to Cork Harbour Race in 1860.

But by that time the Shannon Estuary itself had seen some remarkable flourishes of sailing. A regatta at Kilrush in 1828 which drew in boats and skippers from as far south as west Kerry in the form of Daniel OConnnell, The Liberator, from Derrynane, and his Uncle Maurice from Cahirsiveen, arrived to augment the growing locally-based fleet at Kilrush, and from that the Royal Western Yacht Club of Ireland was formed, a good two years before any sort of club was established at Kingstown in the East Coast.

That said, the Northern Yacht Club on Belfast Lough had been in being since 1820, but by 1838 it had transferred all its focus across channel to the Clyde becoming the wholly Scottish Royal Northern Yacht Club

The Royal Western of Ireland thrived as a moveable feast, with Stations at Kilrush and Tralee. But Kilrush remained the main base, and in 1838 there were eighteen substantial yachts based there, while others were to be found in various estuary anchorages in 1837 the Knight of Glin had taken his south-shore based yacht Rienvella to Galway Bay to contest sailings Galway Plate, and won.

Glin Castle with the Shannon Estuary beyond. In 1837, the Knight of Glin took his yacht Rienvella to Galway Bay and won sailings Galway Plate

But while slowly growing overall prosperity seemed to guarantee a bright future for west coast sailing, the Great Famine of 1845-1848 wiped it out, and just about everything else with it. The pleasure boats were left to rot, or else withdrew to the east coast, and the Royal Western briefly had a life as an east coast club, until the Model Yacht Club emerged from among its few younger members in 1857, and from that emerged the Corinthian-promoting Royal Alfred Yacht Club on Dublin Bay in 1870.

Meanwhile, what was left of the old Royal Western of Ireland was taken over by the buccaneering Scottish entrepreneur John Arnott in Cork to find a new base in Cobh. But even that didnt seem to work, and it was supposedly wound up there in 1870, but many years later it was shown that such was not the case.

Daniel OConnell meanwhile had not lost interest entirely, for before he set out in 1847 for his desperate famine pilgrimage to Rome - from which he did not return alive - he was one of a small group who revived the old Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire as a response to the almost wholly Ascendancy landlord-dominated outlook of the Royal St George YC. That founding meeting took place in Dublin on 4th July 1846, and the choice of American Independence day was no accident.

The Royal Irish Yacht Club, originally founded 1831, was brought back to life on American Independence Day the 4th July in 1846, and its new clubhouse, opened in 1850, is now the worlds oldest intact purpose-designed yacht club

Looking inland from Limerick, recreational sailing had long been a feature of life on the great lakes of the Shannon, and while a predecessor of Lough Ree Yacht Club had existed at Athlone since 1770, in 1835 Lough Derg YC came into being at Dromineer, drawing in sailors from a wide area of Ireland.

The date is of significance, as these days up in Dublin they tend to think of Lough Derg YC as being Royal St George Yacht Club West. But as The George didnt come into being until 1838, it should arguably be more accurately thought of as Lough Derg Yacht Club East.

Squibs in action off Dromineer, where the Lough Derg YC was founded in 1835. Photo: W M Nixon

The next Limerick area breakthrough in sailing came in 1885, with the Americas Cup Challenge by Lt. William Henn RN (Retd) of Paradise House on the north side of the Estuary, along the western shores of the rapidly widening River Fergus as it flows south through and beyond Ennis.

William Henn loved sailing, he loved being at sea, but when he found that the Royal Navy was providing him with very little of either, he resigned in disgust, though always proudly sporting his rank as a Lieutenant.

Galatea, seen here in full racing trim, was the Americas Cup challenger in 1885

Even in Victorian times, the saloon in Galatea was somewhat at variance with full-on racing expectatios

Happily for his interests, hed married a Scottish heiress who shared his love of sailing and living aboard their luxuriously appointed Americas Cup cutter Galatea, which they brought to the Shannon Estuary between sessions of unsuccessful but hugely popular Americas Cup challenging, and extensive Caribbean cruising which made them pioneers in that now-renowned cruising area.

We gave an update on their story here. Its sufficient to say that while the Galatea challenge in 1885 set the sporting and popular tone later emulated by the Royal Ulsters Thomas Lipton in his five AC challenges between 1899 and 1931, one of the reasons Lipton was able to make such good use of his increasing popularity was because, in 1893 and 1895, the Shannon Estuary provided the home base for two more Americas Cup Challenges, but they became embroiled in controversy.

The Earl of Dunraven of Adare in County Limerick, on the River Maigue a few miles upstream of the south shore of the Shannon Estuary, was descended from a shrewd 17th Century County Limerick farmer called Thady Quin. Quin was good at the agricultural business, but he was even better at establishing a dynasty through a family tradition of marrying well, such that by the late 1800s, his direct descendants were living in the enormous new manor house at Adare on a vast acreage, and the current patriarch was Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quinn, the Fourth Earl of Dunraven.

Having exhausted Irelands supply of really useful heiresses, Thady Quins descendants had looked to Wales, and signed on a Miss Wyndham, who came with a very substantial field. It was actually a coal field. In fact, it was about half of the very extensive and extremely valuable coalfield of South Wales.

On the coast beside it was the Wyndhams home place, Dunraven Castle. So though the title of Earl of Dunraven may sound very Irish indeed, it has more basic origins in South Wales, as the Wyndham family had held sway there since 1642. But also with a basis in Wales was a new and enormous income, much of which was poured into expanding and developing the familys Irish estates such that the fourth Earl even used experience acquired in Wales to create a coal mine near Adare at Ballingarry, in which he took a direct personal and technical interest.

The fourth Earl of Dunraven brainy, ambitious, and very very rich

But as it happened, his lively mind and technical expertise caused him to become interested in the Americas Cup, as sailing had become a new and passionate activity for him after being introduced to it at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in what was then Queenstown, and pursuing it further with his friend John Jameson, the whiskey magnate of the Royal St George YC on Dublin Bay.

Being Dunraven, his approach was very technically-based and success-oriented. After extensive research, he decided the Scottish designer G L Watson was the man to create his very advanced new 117ft challenging cutter, to be built on the Clyde by Hendersons. The name was to be Valkyrie II, for of course the Earl was a Wagner fan, and when the contract was signed and the building shed being prepared, she was the only big cutter to Watsons new and brilliant ideas to be under construction.

But when the sporting Price of Wales got to hear of this, he decided it was his duty to provide Valkyrie II with a near-sister to be a training partner before Dunravens boat made her way to America, sailing across the Atlantic as AC challengers were then required to do. So the Prince sent to Portmarnock to his friend Willie Jameson to be the Royal Sailing Master and what wed now call Project manager, and the wonderful yacht that became Britannia was soon under construction beside the very similar Valkyrie II.

Valkyrie (left) in action in the Americas Cup. Although she was designed before the royal cutter Britannia, the new and very fast hull type from GL Watson became known as The Britannia Ideal

Thus although Dunraven was a talented man with much good fortune, when things went pear-shaped for him, they did so big time. Nowadays, the near-perfection of the Britannia Ideal at the time of her construction set a gold standard for yacht design for decades. And because the Prince of Wales was involved, this is the way it is remembered. Yet if life was at all fair, it would be remembered as the Valkyrie Ideal. But fate has decreed that all the two Watson-designed Valkyries of 1893 and 1895 are remembered for is international acrimony, and a sinking incident.

Dunravens excess of enthusiasm and competitive zeal were his undoing in his 1893 Americas Cup challenge, and even more so in his contentious 1895 challenge. He was making them at a time when the Americans were seriously flexing their international sporting and national pride muscles, and if anyone became responsible for losing the 1851-won Americas Cup, he would be given a bottle of Bourbon and a loaded revolver, and left alone to contemplate his fate.

Thus everything conspired against Dunravens two wonderful Watson-designed boats, and when he made a real fuss abut the many spectator steamships crowding Valkyrie III during light weather racing in 1895, it ended with such acrimony that he received the unprecedented snub of being expelled from his Honorary Membership of the New York Yacht Club.

In his massive and definitive history of the Americas Cup, the late Bob Fisher felt that Dunraven had been poorly treated, and in private conversation he was much more firmly of this opinion. But we neednt waste too much sympathy on this sailing son of Shannonside. He soon bounced back with extensive cruising under sail. And he developed numerous technical projects, many of them of a maritime nature, while his Americas Cup challenges are now perhaps best seen as ensuring that in the half Century after America first won the cup, Shannon Estuary-based owners made one third of the nine challenge.

More surprisingly in life afterwards, Dunraven proved adept at high politics. He was a popular and effective co-Chair of the successful Land Commission of 1903, which transformed for the better the nature and structure of Irish country and farming life. Yet he was his own man. When the Great War ended in 1918, he took the enormous profits from his Welsh coal-mining interests and invested a substantial part of the sum in wait for this the design, development and construction of a 500-ton diesel-powered yacht, the largest built at that time, and a fine vessel without anything coal-fired throughout the length and breadth of her.

One of Dunravens many active interests was west Kerry, with Derrynanes natural harbour where he sailed with the ghost of Daniel OConnell, and the eternally fascinating Skellig rocks miniature sea mountains dominating the horizon.

He liked the place so much that he built a holiday cottage there. It really is little more than a cottage, just big enough for small family groups. It was a shrewd move of which his ancestor Thady Quin would have approved, for had he built a substantial holiday home just above the Derrynane beach, his summers would have been over-run by uninvited guests imposing on the Dunraven noblesse oblige.

The place where many sailors histories interacted Derrynanes natural harbour in West Kerry. Photo: W M Nixon

As it is, big cheeses visiting that sublime area were hosted by the new Parknasilla Hotel at Sneem, and when they were sufficiently interesting, Dunraven would extend an invitation to sail out to the Skelligs. Thus Bernard Shaw in the midst of writing St Joan in the middle of a supposed holiday at Parknasilla - was taken to Skellig Michael by the eccentric Earl, and it was worth everyones efforts, as the effect of that extroaordinary place produced some short but very impressive Shavian prose.

Meanwhile, another summer presence at Derrynane was Dunravens near-neighbours from Cahirmoyle at Ardagh, the OBriens of the family of the 1848 Young Ireland activist William Smith OBrien. While the countryside around their fancy Italianate house of Cahirmoyle at Ardagh was decidedly humdrum, they had their own much-loved piece of coastline at Foynes and Foynes Island, and for summer recreation they decamped to Keatings Hotel at Derrynane (now Bridies), a modest place which set the mood of the place where young Conor OBrien (you can find his signature in the Visitors Book) started to learn to sail with the 27ft open ketch-rigged clinker-built whaler Mary Brigid.

First command Conor OBriens sailing was self taught with the 27ft whaler Mary Brigid along the coast from Derrynane

In time, OBrien would mark the establishment of the new Irish Free State with the voyage round the world south of the great capes in his own-designed, Baltimore-built 42ft ketch Saoirse between 1923 and 1925. As Afloat.ie readers are well aware, we are very much in the midst of celebrating that momentous achievement with considerable flourishes. But while it officially began and ended at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dublin Bay on the 20th June 1923 and the 20th June 1925, as far as OBrien was concerned that was purely for the convenience of publicity purposes. He felt on the contrary that all his voyages really began and ended when he sailed from or returned to his mooring off Foynes Island, where he made his last home and died in 1952 at the age of 72.

Conor OBrien in his prime around 1930, as sketched by his new wife Kitty Clausen

Saoirse re-born at Oldcourt on the River Ilen, June 2023 Photo: W M Nixon

Thered been another Limerick area gesture to the new state when the new boats of the 1922-established Shannon One Design Class at Lough Derg YC at Dromineer were transported by various railway links to what nearly all the natives still thought of as Kingstown, as it had been selected as the sailing venue for the 1924 Tailteann Games. The Dublin Bay sailors were muted in their enthusiasm, but the SOD sailors, having made their journey, went at it with gusto for all that Dublin Bay was in a brisk mood.

Their boats were supposedly only una-rigged lake boats. Yet the long, slim and beautifully but lightly-built Shannons wiggled their way in style over the salty waves, and came home with two Gold Medals while the supposedly rugged local Water Wags reputedly had none.

Shannon One Designs as dedicated lake boats at Dromineer on Lough Derg, Yet in 1924 they proved to be able sea boats by winning two Gold Medals at the sailing events of the Tailteann Games in Dublin Bay.

Despite these displays of enthusiasm, the 1930s and 40s became a relatively fallow period for Limerick and Shannon sailing, even though some astute lake sailors had used the opportunity of the Olympic Games in Belgium in 1920 to secure some superbly-built racing keelboats at knockdown prices. And some amateur sailors such as Limerick merchant David Tidmarsh and later fellow Limerick-man Roger Bourke kept the flag flying to provide an Irish Cruising Club presence in the estuary. Then around 1960 the rocketing rise of kit-built dinghy racing saw Killaloe Sailing Club at the south end of Lough Derg becoming a vibrant Enterprise centre, with annual major events there showing that local talents such as Frank Larkin could match it and more with the national stars.

As the series production of fibreglass boats was becoming an international norm, Limericks factory tradition inevitably became involved, and Gerry Nash set up Fastnet Marine in the city to build the notably successful Shipman 28. Primarily this boat was for the export market, but so many were produced that there isnt a sailing port in Ireland that even today still has a significant presence of Shipman 28s.

Shipman 28s may be racing here in Dublin Bay, but they were all built in Limerick

But the main impact on the area came from that State Within A State, Shannon Development, whose quietly-expanded remit for the promotion of prosperity extended all the way from the sea at Kerry Head far upriver to Birr in County Offaly. Its success stemmed from a dedicated and very hard-working team, and when they decided that an integral part of the regions continuing progress would be the re-establishment of Kilrush as a significant sailing centre, they didnt mess about.

They made their group financial controller, sailing enthusiast Brendan Travers, the Project Manager for the massive task of transforming Kilrush into a permanently floating marina, with a mighty barrage and a hefty sea lock. It was indeed a mega-project by the West Coast standards of the day, and inevitably, it over-ran in every direction. But now Kilrush is transformed, even unto the revival of the old Royal Western YC, of which the Glynn family of Kilrush had kept many original documents and artefacts.

Kilrush as it was in the 1890s, with the Shannon Estuarys large tidal range a key factor in port life.

.and Kilrush as it is now, with the sea lock and marina providing peace of mind and space for a good boatyard

Not least of Kilrushs achievements is that it has attracted the international boat-building talent of Steve Morris. From New Zealand, he was enticed to Ireland and Kilrush, in particular by his new Irish wife, who wished to live near her mother.

A substantial doctorate could be written about the longterm role of the Irish mother in enticing international skill to specialist industries in this city, particularly when theyre located in places others might think of as remote. Kilrush is no longer remote in classic yacht and general boat maintenance terms. In Ireland, it is now Classic Boatbuilding Central, with Steve and his team working on an extraordinary variety of jobs, everything from the re-birth of the Dublin Bay 21 Class for Hal Sisk and Fionan de Barra, to a minor but potentially tricky job of sorting out some damage on a relatively new Howth 17, which recently provided a useful excuse for four leading Howth 17 sailors to spend a day trailing the boat to Kilrush so that they could worship at this shrine of master craftsmanship.

The artist in his studio Steve Morris last week in Kilrush, inspecting the restored hull of the Dublin Bay 21 Oola. Photo: Ian Malcolm

The restored stem on Oola the line of the bow on the Dublin Bay 21 was one of renowned designer Alfred Mylnes very best. Photo: Ian Malcolm

Worshipping at the shrine Howth 17 sailors Marc FitzGibbon, Donal Gallagher and Alan Markey savouring the quality of the Kilrush craftsmanship on the DB21 Oola. Photo: Ian Malcolm

Meanwhile, other aspects of the Limerick sailing skills and maritime devotion have continued to manifest themselves. Despite the Covid hiatus, Killaloe Sailing Club have built themselves a fine new clubhouse, while the dinghy sailing interests of the area have also been able to express themselves through the lake-based Cullaun Sailing Club in the heart of County Clare.

Foynes Yacht Club prospers such that it was able to host the 2023 National Championship of Champions sailed in their own fleet of Mermaids, and although Gary Mac Mahon has stood back from the day-to-day running of the Ilen through transferring the superbly restored ship to the Sailing-Into-Wellness organisation, the detailed research he did on Conor OBriens Saoirse has enabled her to be re-built with authenticity in Olcourt near Baltimore by Liam Hegarty as a stylish vessel for West Cork devotee Fred Kinmonth.

Saoirse departs from Dunleary on her great pioneering voyage on June 20th 1923

While all this was working towards fulfilment, before the century turned, Limerick man Pat Lawless set off solo round the world in an International Folkboat - a very pretty little craft, but she wouldnt have been everyones choice for the task he had in mind. So no-one was surprised that, when he eventually returned, it was in a hefty 32ft Seadog ketch. And he has left his two sons Pat Jnr and Peter, with the ambition of being the first Irish sailor to sail solo round the world non-stop, for thats what Limericks Lawless sailing family do.

Thus in national and international sailing terms, Limerick and the Shannon Estuary and the rivers nearby lakes are pace-setters in Irish and global sailing. In fact, every brief examination reveals further layers of achievement and seagoing activity. Theres no doubting theres much more to the Shannonside city than Terry Wogan, Richard Harris, Frank God Help Us McCourt, and Munster Rugby. Limerick is a gutsy town. And though the Earldom of Dunraven and the Knighthood of Glin are now extinct, their spirit is more alive than ever.

See the rest here:
Shannon Estuary & Limerick Have Combined Over Centuries As ... - Afloat

Efforts Seek to Advance Equity for Students with Basic Needs Insecurity

UNION, N.J. Understanding that non-tuition costs like food, child care, and housing can impact the well-being and success of college students, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) held a statewide convening on Friday to highlight efforts to address basic needs insecurity among New Jerseys diverse student populations and launched a free online navigation tool that will connect college students with a wide spectrum of basic needs resources.BasicNeeds.NJ.gov designed in collaboration with the Office of Innovation centralizes information relevant to students regarding housing, food, transportation, child care, and other similar supports, while providing an overview of eligibility and the processes for seeking State assistance.

This work is part of the Murphy Administrations ongoing efforts to help New Jerseyans successfully complete a college education and to make progress toward the statewide goal of ensuring 65 percent of New Jerseyans hold a high-quality credential by 2025.

As my Administration continues to work toward making higher education more affordable and accessible throughout our state, we recognize that success depends on what happens both in and out of the classroom,said Governor Phil Murphy.Todays students come from all different backgrounds and face any number of challenges in their day-to-day life beyond their ongoing studies. We must take a whole-of-government approach to supporting New Jersey students and understanding their unique challenges to help ensure their postsecondary success.

The day-long event at Kean University convened a dynamic set of speakers and stakeholders, including prominent national researcher Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and Complete College America, to inform and enhance basic needs programming for postsecondary students in New Jersey. Over 170 people attended, representing a combination of campus practitioners, students, community organizations, state agencies and policymakers.

Supporting students' basic needs security is not only the right thing to do, but it is also vital to ensuring that colleges and universities can fulfill their missions to help students achieve their academic goals,said Dr. Brian K. Bridges, New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education.In today's landscape, students grapple with unprecedented challenges and enhancing opportunities for communication between researchers, policymakers and practitioners is critical. This collaborative approach empowers us to innovate and formulate lasting solutions, focused on equitable support for all students.

In order to ensure that our services are truly meeting the needs of our residents, its essential that we include them and community partners in the design and development process,said Dr. Beth Simone Noveck, the New Jersey State Chief Innovation Officer.TheBasicNeeds.NJ.govwebsite marks one among a suite of partnerships the Office of Innovation has been proud to engage in. We are always seeking ways to better connect communities with the tools and information they need to thrive in New Jersey.

BasicNeeds.NJ.govis part of the broader Resident Experience Initiative (ResX) funded by the federal American Rescue Plan to streamline, simplify, and improve how New Jersey delivers benefits and services to residents.

As part of theBasicNeed.nj.govs design and development process, the Office of Innovation and OSHE connected with over 900 individuals and campus partners, which includes outreach to more than two dozen community groups statewide and ethnographic interviews conducted with New Jersey college students. The site will be continually updated and enhanced based on feedback from student users, various campus stakeholders, and community organizations.

The convening and development ofBasicNeeds.NJ.govfollow findings from OSHEsCOVID-19 Student Impact Surveyand the2019 #RealCollege Survey, which illustrated an increasing prevalence of material hardship among New Jersey postsecondary students, most acutely in the areas of food and housing insecurity.

Basic needs insecurity among students is a significant concern that affects students not only in New Jersey but nationally,said Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, Senior Fellow at Education Northwest and the convening keynote speaker.At least one in every three students faces food insecurity, one in four is a parent while studying, and one of every two may be housing insecure. Knowing this allows us to recognize that students are humans first and addressing their personal needs and overall well-being is not tangential but central to their academic success.

The work of the convening complements several of the strategic investments by the State, such as the annual Hunger-Free Campus grants, the statewide Some College, No Degree initiative, and the mental health supports for college students, that are strengthening postsecondary student success in New Jersey. It also builds on the Murphy Administrations overall efforts to fulfill the vision set forth in theState Plan for Higher Education, which is essential for reaching New Jerseys economic goals and seeding prosperity more broadly across the state.

Go here to see the original:
Office of the Governor | ICYMI: Office of the Secretary of Higher ... - NJ.gov