‘Poets in the Trenches’ – recalling a war, and ‘ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances’

By Sean Smith, Special to the BIR
May 3, 2019
Sean Smith, Special to the BIR

BY SEAN SMITH
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
When it comes to World War I, Martin Butler will give you fair warning. “I can talk about it for hours,” says the Tipperary-born musician and singer who has been active in the Boston-area Irish music scene for years.
There are many facets to Butler’s interest in the “Great War”- the myriad, complex political, cultural and social forces that led to the conflict, and those that in turn were unleashed or affected by it – including, of course, Ireland’s bid for long-desired independence from England.

Subtlety, nuance, contemplation put Rakish duo in a nice, comfortable place

By Sean Smith, Special to the BIR
May 3, 2019
Sean Smith, Special to the BIR

BY SEAN SMITH
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
There are, of course, many reasons why Celtic musicians decide to team up. What brought the Boston-based duo Rakish – fiddler Maura Shawn Scanlin and guitarist Conor Hearn – together was less an affinity for hot fiddle tunes than a shared affection for slow ones.

When Anne O’Sullivan becomes Dr. Ruth

By R.J. Donovan, Special to the BIR
May 3, 2019
R.J. Donovan, Special to the BIR

BY R. J. DONOVAN
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Karola Ruth Siegel was born in Wiesenfeld, Germany in 1928. Not too many years later, she watched as her father was dragged off by the Nazis. With hundreds of other children, she was shipped off, alone, to an orphanage in Switzerland. She never saw her parents again.

How has it come to be that we live in the Disunited States of America?

By Ed Forry
May 3, 2019

BY JAMES W. DOLAN
SPECIAL TO THE REPORTER
What has happened to our once glorious republic? After surviving a civil war, we managed to heal the wounds and move on to what would become the American century. It now seems to be eroding under the leadership of a demagogue whose moral compass is a mirror. Whatever serves his interest is good and any challenge to his enormous ego is evil.

Here’s a hope that massive egos find a way to come together on Brexit deal

By Joe Leary, Special to the Reporter
May 3, 2019
Joe Leary, Special to the Reporter

BY JOE LEARY
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Britain’s long, boring, argumentative journey toward separation from Europe will be remembered for centuries. It will not be a proud moment in its history.
So far the process has been a mess. Massive egos, with their own agendas, have interrupted discussions and negotiations. British leaders have tried to set the terms of their leaving and the European leaders are not responding to the British demands.

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