#calling353
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darach.bsky.social
This week in my #calling353 piece for @thejournal.ie I consider the Ed Sheeran song “Galway Girl” and what its lyrics reveal about its composer.

Ed Sheeran has given the Irish a chance to air gripes with Galway Girl jrnl.ie/7166379
Ed Sheeran has given the Irish a chance to air gripes with Galway Girl
The lyrics from the English narrator disclose Sheeran’s take on himself and his entitlement to Ireland.
jrnl.ie
September 20, 2026 at 9:06 AM
darach.bsky.social
For my #Calling353 piece in @thejournal.ie this week I had a look at the phrase "legitimate concerns" over time.

www.thejournal.ie/calling-353-...
A brief history of 'legitimate concerns' (and who decides what those are)
The evolution of the phrase into a dog whistle is, frankly, a concern.
www.thejournal.ie
June 14, 2026 at 9:03 AM
darach.bsky.social
For my #calling353 piece in @thejournal.ie today I reflect on how Irish diaspora bands in the 1980s and 1990s had the good fortune not to start their careers in Ireland.

Irish blood, English headstart in the battle of the bands jrnl.ie/7173876
Irish blood, English headstart in the battle of the bands
It was easier for second-generation Irish bands to get ahead in the UK, despite Michael Lowry’s Féile efforts.
jrnl.ie
September 27, 2026 at 9:04 AM
darach.bsky.social
This week in my #calling353 series for @thejournal.ie I reflect upon Irish names which do not follow The Rules of spelling and/or pronunciation, and find the conspiracy goes all the way to the top.

jrnl.ie/7138149
Irish names are a minefield of pronunciation and rule-breaking, but can't we all just get along?
The Rose of Tralee sent Darach Ó Séaghdha down a rabbit hole of silent letters and ponc séimhithe.
jrnl.ie
August 23, 2026 at 9:07 AM
darach.bsky.social
In the latest piece for my #calling353 series in @thejournal.ie I ask why Maureen Sweeney’s story gets left out of the new movie Pressure.

It’s raining men: Why exclude this Irish meteorologist from her own story? jrnl.ie/7131294
It’s raining men: Why exclude this Irish meteorologist from her own story?
A new movie explores the role meteorologists played in planning D-Day – but Ireland’s Maureen Flavin Sweeney seems to be largely left out.
jrnl.ie
August 16, 2026 at 10:33 AM
darach.bsky.social
For my #Calling353 column for @thejournal.ie this week, I wrote about the practice of the IRA using codewords to verify their warnings - so many agreements and assumptions had to be in place to make this work.

www.thejournal.ie/calling-353-...
The codeword is Kerrygold: How did the practice of warning codewords work?
The business of terrorist organisations having a line of communication is a murky one.
www.thejournal.ie
June 21, 2026 at 9:05 AM
darach.bsky.social
For my #calling353 piece for @thejournal.ie this week I explain why we all should celebrate the 12th of July every year. It should be a bank holiday!

www.thejournal.ie/twelfth-july...
Calling 353: Why we should celebrate the Twelfth of July
It is not for the reason you might think – but it DOES involve another bank holiday.
www.thejournal.ie
July 12, 2026 at 9:04 AM
darach.bsky.social
For this week’s entry in my #calling353 series in @thejournal.ie I reflect upon the Michael Collins movie turning 30, its long gestation period and if the time is right for a new take on this story.

jrnl.ie/7145278
How 30 years has turned Liam Neeson's Michael Collins from 'Shirley Temple' to cultural icon
The big fear (from abroad) in 1996 was that the Neil Jordan-directed movie would serve as republican propaganda. Now maybe it’s time to revisit the story.
jrnl.ie
August 30, 2026 at 9:04 AM
darach.bsky.social
This week in #calling353 for @thejournal.ie I reflect on the great question: whether or not to translate Count Binface into Irish, and what questions that translation journey poses.

www.thejournal.ie/count-binfac...
Calling 353: How would we translate Count Binface into Irish?
The obvious solution is not to translate at all but in a language where the tradition is to give ‘royalty’ the Gaeilge treatment…
www.thejournal.ie
July 19, 2026 at 9:05 AM
darach.bsky.social
This week in my #calling353 piece for @thejournal.ie I consider the surprisingly recent history of the bodhrán.

The bodhrán has to fight for respect in Irish music - but it already has a place in Irish hearts jrnl.ie/7124163
The bodhrán has to fight for respect in Irish music - but it already has a place in Irish hearts
This is the first time in 21 years that there was no separate bodhrán competition in the Fleadh Cheoil.
jrnl.ie
August 9, 2026 at 9:05 AM
darach.bsky.social
In my #calling353 piece for @thejournal.ie this week, I talk about. The Odyssey, defend Jennifer Lopez's "first edition", get a Myles na gCopaleen and a Pulp reference in and more!

www.thejournal.ie/the-odyssey-...
From Greece, a thirst for knowledge: Ireland and the Odyssey
Translation is everything in how an epic travels to modern eyes and Irish artists have always had a good Troy at it.
www.thejournal.ie
July 26, 2026 at 9:05 AM
darach.bsky.social
For my #calling353 piece for @thejournal.ie this week I remember the time when Offaly boasted the world's largest telescope, a moment commemorated in the logo for the Irish EU presidency.
www.thejournal.ie/birr-castle-...
How an Offaly big adventure has travelled time and space to Ireland 2026
We would do well to feed the curiosity that once led to Birr having the world’s biggest telescope.
www.thejournal.ie
July 5, 2026 at 9:03 AM
darach.bsky.social
This week in my #calling353 series for @thejournal.ie I consider the list of storm names for the coming months.

Is it possible to be sexist towards a meteorological event with a female name? Amazingly, yes.

Hell hath no fury like a storm with a name like ... Phelim jrnl.ie/7152503
Hell hath no fury like a storm with a name like ... Phelim
Mind you, storms with female names were found in a study to have more deadly outcomes, because people didn’t take them as seriously and prepare accordingly.
jrnl.ie
September 6, 2026 at 9:04 AM