In Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the main characters’ motivations seem very clear.  Whether they want security, freedom, love, or power, each person has one thing that drives them to actions both horrible and mundane.  But one character stands out in his lack of standing out: Ray Dooley.  The kid seems like he’s […]

Man loves a woman There’s just one little problem He’s an alien   And now, Granth MkDoil must convince his girlfriend, Nessa, of his extraterrestrial origin so that he can propose marriage to her.  Will she accept him, reject him, or write him off as just plum crazy?  Find out in Cuckoo in the Nest!

As I sit in the bus station preparing to leave Dublin, I ask myself, “Where was I?” There’s no barbed wire, no murals, and the CCTV cameras are much less obvious.  People are everywhere, swarming the streets and sidewalks so there’s almost no room to walk.  Visitors have less to fear from prejudice-fueled crimes and […]

The reading: Faith Healer by Brian Friel (who may or may not have been a part of Riverdance at some point). The question: Each of the three characters is telling a different version of the same stories.  Who’s telling the truth? The initial response: Heck if I know. The extended explanation: Be aware, I’ll be […]

“Gardaí have begun a criminal investigation into the discovery of the bodies of two brothers in their late 60s.  The remains of the men were discovered at their house on New Antrim Street, Castlebar, Co Mayo, at 7am. One of the bodies was found inside the house and the other outside the property . . […]

In a world where ghosts haunt the open seas . . . Two siblings come aboard their houseboat, celebrating the deaths of their parents and their subsequent inheritance of the floating domicile.  But as the night goes on, they begin to suspect they are not alone.  They go off to investigate the strange noises they […]

You meet such interesting people in dark alleyways. Take, for instance, the man who was out drinking with his daughter last week.  He was a large man, probably in his sixties, with short grey hair and stubble.  He wore wire-rim glasses and a tan coat.  And I can only guess at the amount of alcohol […]

A year ago, Steve Donahue was walking through a potato field on his way home from the pub when an alien ship crashed not ten yards away from him.  The pilot, Granth MkDoil, an alien like a giant praying mantis, welcomed him in and showed him around his ship.  But the crash damaged the onboard […]

There were terrible troubles in Ireland. There were also bonfires and shootings and bombings and prejudice and hatred and fear and a general lack of playing nice. But none of these compared to the specter that haunted the fields of the North. The Wolf-Sheep of Coleraine. This nightmarish ewe had fangs like daggers of the […]

In my neck of the South Carolina, a question that often comes up is “Carolina or Clemson?” On this subject, I tend to stay neutral. I make more friends that way. But that puts me in a minority; almost everyone in the Upstate will defend one or the other to the death. Perfectly good friends […]