Independent

Irish Table Tennis veteran and coach Frank O'Reilly's essential guide for any budding Table Tennis enthusiast. Details a roadmap for those who wish to play at an international level.

The extraordinary life and career of the unique poet, folklorist and story teller Michael Hogan native of Thomond.

Echoes from a Civil War tells two stories of violent death in rural Ireland during the 1920s. Based on a wide range of sources, reinforced by skillful and sensitive use of the oral history of each community, the memories of people who lived through it, and which he has carefully gathered over two decades, this is a fascinating book, which should be read by anyone interested in the Civil War or the history of community conflict.

Stanislaus (Stasko) Markiewiecz was overshadowed by his famous father and stepmother, Casimir and Constance. He was educated in Ireland, conscripted into the Russian Navy in World War One and held hostage by the Bolsheviks. One of his letters on a cloth was smuggled out of Russia in a coat. His story is a fascinating episode in the connection between Ireland and Poland.

Talk Learn Connect is a collection of nearly forty interviews. Yvonne asked each guest five unique questions and curated their answers with a very conversational style. Featuring a mix of human stories, some more poignant than others, there is a common thread of authenticity and relatability running throughout.

The driver of the excavator was pleased with his morning’s work. He stepped down from his cab and surveyed the fifty metres of clearance that he had been working on. At this rate, the new runway will be ready ahead of schedule he was thinking as he leaned against the muddied yellow wheel arch. It looked like a broken clay plate when he first noticed it, about four metres away. Hoping that he hadn’t unearthed the ancient relics of some medieval settlement, which would delay his work and ruin his holiday plans, he approached it cautiously. The closer he got, the clearer the fragments became. This isn’t a smashed plate and this isn’t ancient he said to himself as he reached into his pocket for his mobile phone. This is the remains of a dead body.

Declan Cullen worked in the retail division of Dublin Airport. His colleagues and friends spoke highly of his support and good nature. When his body is found beside the airport boundary fence with the back of his head shot off, detectives begin to piece together the details of his life. Detective Anna Jenkinson is hand-picked to work on the investigation. This might be her last chance to make amends with her superiors for previous sins, unless of course she was chosen to fail.

Airports will never feel the same... A murdered girl is found in a suitcase on an airport conveyor belt. An armed robbery takes place in the cargo terminal the next day. The police officer who discovered the body, Anna Jenkinson, believes the two crimes are related but she’s told to stay off the case. She can’t do that.