Tag Archives: Michael Houlihan

ABDUCTIONS by fairies, and other nefarious activities of Ireland’s ‘sídhe’, are detailed in a new book by Quin’s Michael Houlihan. The Kerry man, who is a founder of the Quin Heritage Group, has not been sitting on his laurels for long and Irish Fairies – A Short History of the Sídhe is now available in local bookshops.  The recent Púca controversy proves the persistence of superstitions around fairy folk, and Michael outlines where this mischievous character sits in the pantheon of the sídhe, alongside creatures like the banshee, the fairy queens Clíodhna and Medb, the nobles Aengus Óg and the Dagda. “For thousands of years, the Irish have believed in ‘the fairies’,” Michael said. “In present-day Ireland, however, as in so many modern societies, fairies have been retreating, almost to the point of extinction. Nevertheless, the question might still be asked, what if the fairies were not created or imagined, but remembered?” As well as considering that key question, the …

AS a young man, John Bradley was at the scene of one the greatest tragedies to ever occur in Ennis, when eight people died after a hotel floor collapsed during a busy auction. Now, 60 years after the Carmody’s Hotel disaster, John will launch a new book, remembering those who lost their lives and also those affected by the incident, which sent shockwaves across the country and the world. Next Sunday, January 14, as part of Carmody’s Hotel commemoration ceremony, Clare Roots Society will be launching their first book of 2018, Carmody’s Hotel, Ennis. Mayor of Ennis, Paul Murphy will formally launch the book at 12.30pm at the parish centre at the rear of Ennis Cathedral. The launch will be preceded by a mass of remembrance for the eight people who lost their lives on January 15, 1958. In this book, John has captured details of the Carmody tragedy, using newspaper reports and also through interviews with survivors and people …