Falling Out the Right Tree
Originally publishing in Catflap magazine (November 2021) There were two reasons I became a champion tree climber as a child. Firstly, because I loved it, the shapes of the branches…
Should I Be Writing at a Time Like This?
For every person I’ve met proclaiming the necessity for real art, I’ve met at least two more people too terrified to share their passion. Asking a young writer, still trying to find their voice in a world of such infinite mass media and “content”, to compare themselves to James Baldwin… That seems unfair. Either shape a generation or shut up? Should we be joking at a time like this?
January is for living (despite myself)
My problem stems from not knowing how to live long-term. I’ve spent most of my life holding myself together a year, a month, a day at a time, telling myself…
Without Legal Definitions we’re Greenwashing is Inescapable
Without legally enforceable definitions of terms like “recyclable”, “eco-friendly”, and “biodegradable” we will see a never ending stream of greenwashing advertising selling us the exact same product they have always…
Where Should the Woodlands Go?
For a few years now I’ve been half-begun on a project to help identify key strategic locations for woodland restoration. I’ve spoken about native Irish woodlands, their tiny fragmented remains,…
Redefining Recovery for #WorldMentalHealthDay
Today is World Mental Health Day and this is a blog post I first wrote most of on this day two years ago and then deleted, feeling that it was…
Less Loveable Lifeforms Like Me
Celebrate saving the less charismatic Write odes to plankton, snail and flies, Our love of birds and mammals may be automatic, But we struggle to value lichen in our lives.…
Do Fantasy Writers Think Irish is Discount Elvish?
A popular cousin of the “terrible English accent by an American actor in a fantasy movie” is the “this elvish thing is kinda Irish but only whatever I remember about…
Naturally Orla 