Author Archives: Fergal Crehan

The part of the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes that is often forgotten is what happens after the little boy in the crowd shouts his heresy. You might think that his shout would break the spell, and the brute … Continue reading →

I have recently spent more time than is healthy flicking through the suggestions proposed to Your Country, Your Call, Ireland’s latest doomed exercise in Magical Thinking. They are hilarious, of course, but there’s a desperate edge to much of my … Continue reading →

Last week, a Judge in Louisiana refused a marriage license to a mixed race couple. In the ensuing furore, he was careful to make clear that “I’m not a racist, I just don’t believe in mixing the races”. To which … Continue reading →

In contemporary Ireland, when one beer-sponsored festival has barely ended than another begins, to the extent that one is barely aware of their existence, it is easy to remember that these things used to be a big deal. While a … Continue reading →

Some years ago, American writer Joan Didion wrote a memoir called The Year of Magical Thinking. It detailed a year of her life in which her husband died suddenly, and her daughter developed an ultimately fatal illness. For months after … Continue reading →

I was an audience member for RTE’s Questions & Answers on two occasions. I can remember almost nothing about either program. The first time, I think Mary O’Rourke was a panelist. The second, Joe Higgins and Michael McDowell were on. … Continue reading →

One of the things that distinguish “internet natives” from mere n00bz is that the natives have developed certain skills in the business of arguing on the internet. The most important of these attributes is a sense of proportion, a certain … Continue reading →

Sir or Madam, I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms about your craven apology to the Taoiseach for a report which was entirely accurate and newsworthy. While there are countries that have laws governing disrespect to the state … Continue reading →