Cured

A Tuesday, appropriately. (Tuesday being the day I was formally diagnosed.) Poetic, it strikes me now. But at the time, … More

Poet-detective

In the dry months after my cancer treatment, when the visitors stopped visiting and I put all the cards … More

After they left, the house went very quiet. No one really knew about the quietness but me. I played a … More

Tracks 2 am: moonlight. The train has stopped out in the middle of the plain. Far away, points of … More

The way I found out, just as with my diagnosis, was via a segment of a conversation about other things. … More

Dear James (may I call you James?) Though it’s been a while (at least ten years, maybe more) it feels as … More

On certain afternoons I am certain it has come back. A twinge in my right side, where the pain … More

Made of orange card, it’s an outline of my son’s hand. Comprising two sections, one his tiny, spread fingers, … More

‘I am so, so sorry.’ ‘You’re going to be fine.’ ‘Fight it, you know you’re a fighter.’ ‘Are we going … More

Dear Ant Well done for making it to the end of another year and the start of a new one. … More

‘So you’re not going to write about it?’ ‘I’ve been writing about it for years. Two whole books of it! … More

I had bumped into a friend at the cash machine. We greeted each other, as we always do, with a … More

Let’s love today, the what we have now, this day, not today or tomorrow or yesterday, but this passing moment, … More

I am taking a break from writing brand new blog posts over the summer. Instead of posting new work I … More

What I want is to – to be present. That’s what I’ve learned. I want to strive for presence, now, … More

As I did last year, I will be taking a break from uploading new posts to this blog over August. … More

This is the link to the podcast of the interview I gave yesterday on the Arena programme, RTE, about … More

This is the first in a series of guest blog posts by writers I admire. Having enjoyed speaking and reading … More