The Rambler Rambles through 2025

The Rambler Rambles Through the Year 2025 Photo Courtown Woods by Mick O Callaghan At my age of 78 years, I have acquired a certain perspective on life and living,. I have lived long enough to know that every year is exceptional. Looking back on the year just gone, I find myself agreeing,2025 was an exceptional year remembered for war and disasters. The world continued its uneasy balancing act. Wars already underway in Ukraine and Gaza did not conclude, and new tensions appe

caldun09

Dec 30, 20255 min read

Carols at Christmas 2025

Christmas time I was in Tesco, Gorey on Thursday 12 th December to listen to Loreto Primary school pupils singing Christmas carols. This heralded the start of the Christmas season for me. They sang Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the 12 days of Christmas and many more. They sang them all beautifully with cheery smiles on their faces while collecting for the Jack and Jill charity. We sang along with them. It was most enjoyable and a fitting start to the Yuletide

caldun09

Dec 14, 20254 min read

Christmas Times

CHRISTMAS AN NOLLAIG At this time of year in the pre-Christmas season I think about my early childhood memories. I think about my grandparents coming into town on the pony and trap to buy the Christmas fare, the sack of flour, the whiskey and tobacco and the big red candle to be lit at 6 o clock on Christmas Eve by the youngest person in the house. A sizeable turkey or goose was dropped off at our house which was the standard Xmas present. They did all t

caldun09

Dec 1, 20254 min read

Wakes agus Caoineadh

Wakes I was recently proofreading an academic essay for a university student, and the theme was Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire. I have read about this before both in school and in adult life. I was fascinated with the topic and its historical context in Cork. The mná caointe or keeners were professional mourners who wailed and screamed at wakes and funerals in Ireland. This ritual was a throwback to pagan Ireland when women at wakes wailed in mournful tones for the dead, often

caldun09

Nov 16, 20254 min read

Radio Times

Radio Times We were setting up an Amazon Echo recently so that we can have ready access to our super intelligent house guest Alexa. When the system was operational, I asked her to play The Wests Awake for me and she duly obliged. At the end of the song, I wanted to find out when Marconi invented the first radio signal and immediately, she informed me that Guglielmo Marconi invented it in 1895 and patented it. When I heard this bit of news I thought about the development of r

caldun09

Nov 4, 20254 min read

The woodland Autumnal light show

Photography by Mick O Callaghan There are times in our lives when we want to be on our own to rebalance our inner selves and emotions. I had a stressful personal time recently and needed some space. To destress I decided to head for the peace and calm of Courtown beach and woods. The drive down was uneventful. I parked up, changed into walking boots and began my unwinding stroll. As I started, I heard a familiar voice asking if he could join me. Being an ex-neighbour and fri

caldun09

Oct 27, 20253 min read

Changing Financial Times

Changing financial times During a recent woodland walk I chatted with fellow strollers about money in our youth. We recalled the penny bars, the penny worth of sweets. We were familiar with the shilling, the florin and the half crowns. And you were very wealthy if you possessed a ten-shilling or paper pound note. We all recalled the post office savings books and how we bought savings stamps in school and how the man from the post office came on a regular basis. When we fill

caldun09

Oct 15, 20254 min read

Changing Times Amanna Athraithe

Changing Times My parents lived in London during the second world war. They were married there in 1939 and came back to Kerry to settle down after the war. I was the youngest of their 3 children and during my youth I heard lot of talk about bombs in London, air raid shelters and rationing of food. It was a different world then. People were full of war stories and tragedies. There was a lot of uncertainty in the world with everyone hoping that peace would endure. There was a l

caldun09

Oct 3, 20256 min read

Stone Buildings and Walls

The remains of my granny's ancestral home built in pre famine times A friend of mine told the following story recently, ‘Many years ago...

caldun09

Sep 22, 20255 min read

I remember I remember Is cuimhin liom

Photograph of a decorated tree in Courtown Woods by Mick O Callaghan I remember the good old days when my father bought the Irish Independent first thing in the morning to read through the sports columns and the deaths. Every family placed the death notices in the national papers. Nowadays people just flick on to RIP.ie on their phones and they get all the funeral details, immediately forward them on to friends, express their condolences and even watch the service onli

caldun09

Sep 8, 20254 min read