Summary of Adjudicators Comments for ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by Tennessee Williams presented by Compántas Lir The adjudicator, Anna Walker ADA, said that she adjudicated at a confined All-Ireland, and saw an amazing version of the play Proof, which was presented by Compántas Lir, so she said it was lovely for her to begin her adjudication with… Read more »

Gardening with Anne McKeon   I am quite sure that many of you have never gardened before and are coping at present with a new house, new garden project. Frightening I know but never fear, Anne is here! Seriously though, remember that gardening should be a hobby not a chore! On the other-hand many of… Read more »

GIY: Courgettes are easy to grow and incredibly prolific, growing freakishly fast Your only problem in fact will be working out what to do with all those courgettes, writes Michael Kelly. Michael KellyGrower THERE WERE MORE than a few points last year when I wondered whether my tomato obsession had led me to bite off… Read more »

Make me an Island by thereluctantemigrant ‘Take me and break me and close all your windows and doors, shut me off, cut me off, make me an island, I’m yours, take me away from the world, take me away from the girls, take me and break me and make me an island, I’m yours’. This, imaginably, is… Read more »

  ‘We need a more compassionate response. We need to repeal the Eighth’ Dep Hildegarde Naughton on the journey which has led her to call for a Yes vote BY KERNAN ANDREWS Galway Advertiser, Thu, Apr 19, 2018   Fine Gael Galway West TD Hildegarde Naughton. Photo:- Kernan Andrews Hildegarde Naughton is one of many Irish… Read more »

GIY Weekly Column, April 14th 2018 It is fair to say that it has been a long and thoroughly miserable winter, with almost 6 months of grim weather at this stage.  The impact has been minimal enough for the home-grower but we should of course spare a thought for the people who make a living… Read more »

Good Friday no more by thereluctantemigrant When you live abroad, it’s impossible to make it back home to Ireland for every, birthday, anniversary, wedding and celebration, if they’re on outside of summer, you have possibly one chance, so you must choose your battles carefully. I’ve one priority for mid-year visits and that is that there is something… Read more »

 Mar 09,2018 Head coach of NUIG Mystics, Mike Murray, has this week been appointed to the backroom team of Pete Strickland’s Ireland Senior men’s team. Murray has been appointed as team manager for the squad, who are currently preparing for the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries, which will take place in San Marino this… Read more »

Michael KellyGrower I WAS LOOKING through some old notes and things this week, and was surprised to discover that we did our first real pitch for a GIY TV series way back in 2011. Seven years later and we’re finally getting GIY in to sittings rooms everywhere. So, that didn’t take long, did it??! GROW… Read more »

Expat Bubble Burst by thereluctantemigrant It’s the phrase that’s bandied about, ‘the expat bubble’. It suggests the notion that us expats live in a bubble, somewhat removed from ‘real’ life. We tune in to the news from home and of course, we relate, but it’s not on our doorstep, we’re not looking at the fallout every… Read more »

Nothing compares to the taste of a homegrown tomato and now is the time to sow those seeds… And so the great tomato adventure starts all over again. A 10-month odyssey begins with the sowing of seeds in a cold potting shed with Child Number 2 chatting incessantly in my ear. Growing tomatoes is a… Read more »

The Irish government have commissioned a Eu. 75,000 economic report on the improvements needed to facilitate returning emigrants, the report which will take ‘a couple of weeks’ (not a bad fortnights wages), will outline where returning emigrants have difficulty when coming back to Ireland and where improvements need to be made. Save the 75K welcome home bunting,… Read more »