A bit about sheep and cows, at Co. Leitrim’s Lough Rynn Castle

By Ed Forry
March 27, 2019

By Judy Enright
Special to the BIR
Is there a truer (or cuter) sign of spring in Ireland than the fluffy young lambs that run, jump, and frolic in the emerald green fields? It’s a sure sign of the new year and rebirth of the world after an often long, dark, and dreary winter.
A poll I saw recently asked what travelers to Ireland liked best about their visit. I was somewhat surprised to see how many answered “the sheep,” but I’m with them on that answer, so I get it.

In the winter of my life, I think of what I believe

By Ed Forry
March 27, 2019

By James W. Dolan
Special to the Reporter
Well, I made it! Days are shorter, clocks are louder, and everyone’s younger. I’m eighty. I have loved and been loved, laughed and cried and observed the immense goodness and profound evil of which mankind is capable. I will die with few regrets after a long and fortunate life. Will it be quick or slow and debilitating? I pray for an expedited passage. To where, I’m not sure.

When March comes around, St. Patrick moves to stage center

By Ed Forry
February 27, 2019

March is here – and that means it’s nearly spring in New England! Ireland is already enjoying spring weather and the daffodil, that cheery harbinger of warmer weather, has been blooming and brightening the landscape for several weeks and its season is now nearly over.
In addition to heralding the arrival of spring, March is also the month when that special man - Saint Patrick - is toasted and honored everywhere.

SAINT PATRICK

The fiddler Laurel Martin tracks the spirit of her forbears when making her music

By Sean Smith, Special to BIR
February 27, 2019
Sean Smith, Special to BIR

For Laurel Martin, the Irish traditional music she plays on her fiddle isn’t simply about notes on a staff, or melody, or rhythm. It’s also the suggestion of images, places and times, and the presence of the people who have inhabited the music.

“There are tunes or phrases of tunes that make me imagine, say, water on a rock or a soft wind blowing through the trees,” says Martin, a Westford resident. “I love how instrumental music, while it may have no words, can convey all kinds of messages if you open yourself up to the possibilities.

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