Newry News and Irish Fun

Armaghbrague

The highest point in the Fews is in the district of Armaghbrague [false Armagh] in the townland of Carrigatuke [hawk’s rock]. It rises to 1024 feet and was of note even in pagan days …

Gab talk, mouth, ‘he’d deeve ye with his gab’ ‘I’ll swing me han’ across…

Tomorrow week [I write on Fri 23 April] is Mayday, traditionally one of the chief dates in the Irish calendar of olden customs.

A recent item, “Travelling Woman” and the mention of Michael J. Murphy has prompted me to reminisce.

Tinderbox’s Revenge

Tinderbox is the only local drama touring company ever to bother to grace…

The Quaternary Period of the last 1.6m years has been marked by Ice Ages which were punctuated each 100,000 years or so by inter-glacials like the one we are presently in.

I’ve told you about Geordie-Look-Up and about Jonny-Go-Slap. One of these days I’ll tell you about Johnny-The-Go. But today’s story is about Willie The Wisp.

Now these new-fangled scientists would tell you of a marsh phenomenon known as Will O’ The Wisp where decaying matter gives off methane gas that occasionally catches fire to emit an eerie light. Never listen! It happened this way.

Your editor is a huge fan of our present Bishop of Dromore, Dr…

‘Me brother-in-law had a venture once with the little people. Sure the cattle were breakin’ something awful and trampin’ down crops beyond anything. An’ he, poor man, wus fair bothered with them an’ with cuttin’ branches all over the place t’ stop their capers.

The ’tilt, wobble and stretch’ of planet Earth on its celestial path contribute to long-term variation in environmental conditions that determine whether and where on Earth life can thrive or even be sustained.

It was a Yugoslav scientist who first closely studied these variations and proposed a theory based upon them, and named for him, the Milankovitch cycle.