Sean O’Casey

Sean O’Casey

The youngest child in a large Irish Protestant family of modest means, Sean O’Casey was born John Casey in Dublin on March 30, 1880. He was the third child in his family to be named John; two of his siblings with that name had died in infancy. Later, in his

Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett was born in Dublin on April 13, 1906, into a middle class Protestant family. He was educated at the Portora Royal School in County Fermanagh as Oscar Wilde had been before him. A natural athlete, he excelled at sport especially cricket. From 1923 to 1927 he studied French,

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin on October 16, 1854. His mother, Lady Jane Francesca Wilde, was the poet ‘Speranza’, and a journalist active in the women’s rights movement. His father, Sir William Wilde, also a gifted writer, was an eminent specialist in diseases of the eye

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw, dramatist and a leading figure in 20th century theatre, was born in Dublin on  July 26, 1856. He was man of many causes, among them, defender of women’s rights and advocate for equality of income and the equitable division of land. He supported radical change in the

Brendan Behan

Brendan Behan

Brendan Behan was born February 9, 1923, in Dublin, Ireland, the first child of Stephen and Kathleen (Kearney) Behan, though his mother had two sons by a previous marriage. Born into a family with radical political leanings, Behan was reared on a double dose of IRA propaganda and Catholicism. The

Celtic Women

Celtic Women

Celtic women were distinct in the ancient world for the liberty and rights they enjoyed. Although political and public life was largely the domain of men, women were not excluded from any occupation. They served as chieftains, druids, poets, healers, warriors, diplomats, judges, and mediators in tribal assemblies and disputes.

Celtic Society

Celtic Society

The Celts arrived in Ireland over the course of several centuries from around 500bc; it was a gradual assimilation rather than an actual invasion. They brought with them the Gaelic language, fine artistry, and a social order based on warrior values. They also brought the iron plough, making it possible

Celtic Spirituality

Celtic Spirituality

Celtic spirituality is based on a deep connection with the natural world. God is not a distant concept but a continual presence manifest in the whole of nature and deeply embedded in the world. For the ancient Celts, life itself was a ceremony, the whole of which was spiritually significant

Celtic Calendar

Celtic Calendar

The four primary seasonal celebrations of the Celtic calendar are: Samhain – winter Imbolc – spring Beltaine – summer Lughnasadh – autumn In the Celtic word view, seasonal changes were magical times, turning points in the calendar when the powerful forces of the universe could be accessed to promote the