James Joyce with his grandson Stephen in 1934

Terence Killeeen reflects the predominant view of the late Stephen Joyce as a tricky, awkward custodian of the James Joyce estate. I have a different take on Mr Joyce.

In 1999, while resident in the Middle East, I wrote an article for the London Independent describing the work of my friend and translator, Mohammed Darweesh, entitled “The Last Joyce Scholar of Baghdad”.

Mohammed had recently completed a PhD on the challenge of translating James Joyce’s work. He loved Joyce and Beckett but had few to share his literary passions with in Saddam’s Iraq.

Stephen Joyce got in touch and offered to pay for Mohammed to travel from sanctions-bound Baghdad to London to attend a Joyce symposium in the UK – a considerable challenge and an enormous expense. He was as good as his word and Mohammed travelled to London and on to Dublin in 2000.

It was a rare joyful experience for Mohammed, as his country and his life were subsequently torn apart by invasion, conflict, murder and pointless wars.

Richard Downes,
Howth,
Co Dublin.

Remembering Stephen Joyce (The Irish Times letters page)

Stephen Joyce, last direct descendant of James Joyce, dies aged 87 (The Guardian)

Pic: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

 Abbey Street, Dublin 1 in the early 1970s

Festival of History writes:

This great photograph of Abbey Street tweeted by Photos Of Dublin was taken by Billy Mooney – you can see it and more of his images here – digitised by @DCLAReadingRoom and funded by Dublin City Council…

Name those jammers (left to right), anyone?

Pic: Billy Mooney

Love D8 (Cilture Date With Dublin 8)

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris (left) has agreed with the assessment of Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan that the IRA never disbanded and Sinn Féin is run by the ‘army council’.

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The Continuing Story of Óglaigh na hÉireann

All around the snot-nosed parishes of Ireland
small people of both genders, and neither,
are flapping open
copies of The Sunday O’Duffy
getting worried
about the continued existence
of the Citizen Army, Fenian Brotherhood,
Official IRA.

We can’t have
parties who perspire to government
secretly controlled by cabals
of men (and ladies) whose faces
we never see; apart from those
faces prescribed by prevailing winds
and the agreed rules
of the European Union,
which we need never see
but rest eternally assured
are there. Or thereabouts.

The only weaponry allowed
those seeking elected office
are five piece suits to help little
men appear substantial,
and no more than six
plastic chairs on which the faithful can
every other month gather
to recite the Our Father,
or discuss the rising
price of sewage. Even

the Social Democrats must come clean
about the continued non-existence
of their army council, and what role precisely
Fintan O’Toole plays in its
military high command.

A mature democracy like ours
needs parties whose manifestos
political correspondents
with excellent haircuts (and none) can safely
spread across their living room floors
and roll around naked on
without fear of being interrupted
by men and women wearing
illegally held
balaclavas.

Kevin Higgins

Previously: Drew The Same Conclusion

Rollingnews

An otherworldly lunar display captured two weeks ago (in three combined exposures) above Manitoba, Canada – moonlight refracted, reflected and diffused by millions of falling ice crystals. To wit:

The colourful rings are a corona caused by quantum diffraction by small drops of water or ice near the direction of the Moon. Outside of that, a 22-degree halo was created by moonlight refracting through six-sided cylindrical ice crystals. To the sides are moon dogs, caused by light refracting through thin, flat, six-sided ice platelets as they flittered toward the ground. Visible at the top and bottom of the 22-degree halo are upper and lower tangent arcs, created by moonlight refracting through nearly horizontal hexagonal ice cylinders. A few minutes later, from a field just off the road to work, the halo and arcs had disappeared, the sky had returned to normal — with the exception of a single faint moon.

Related: Halo You

(Image: Brent Mckean)

apod

from left: Incantata Director Sam Yates, Uma Thurman and Paul Muldoon

Sunday.

Irish Repertory Theatre, West 22nd Street, New York, New York

The  US premiere of the Galway International Arts Festival and Jen Coppinger production of Incantata.  Written by Paul Muldoon, Incantata is interpreted for the stage by director Sam Yates and actor Stanley Townsend. It first premiered in 2018 as part of Galway International Arts Festival.

It runs at the rep until March 15.

UMA!

Incantata

Pic: James Higgins

Green Party’s Steven Matthews and Erika Doyle, Steven’s wife and his General Election 2020 campaign manager

This morning.

Via Independent.ie:

Wicklow TD Steven Matthews was forced to give up his council seat after he was elected to the Dáil.

But now his wife, Erika Doyle, has been co-opted to replace him on Wicklow County Council…

“The Green Party is a fully democratic party,” she said, before adding: “People are not appointed because of who they know and I wasn’t appointed.

“I was selected, I was nominated and a full process was gone through and the Green Party members in Wicklow believe I am capable to represent them.”

‘I was transparently selected’: Green TD’s council seat is taken by his wife (Independent.ie)

Journalist Erika Doyle To Replace Green Party’s Steven Matthews On Wicklow County Council (Wicklow Now)

Pic via Wicklow People

Last night

Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork.

Further scenes from last night’s Sinn Féin rally hosted by Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Féin TDs Pearse Doherty, Eoin Ó Bróin and David Cullinane.

Tonight, at Liberty Hall, Dublin 1 the party will host a second public meeting (in a series of five) at 7.30pm.

Last night: Meanwhile, In Cork

Pics via Jo

Broadsheet.ie