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Publications

I’ve been writing for a wider audience. Future publications will be added here as they happen!

I’m writing an ongoing series on adjusting to life back in Ireland after over 20 years abroad.

November 20 2018 – Nothing, nowhere compares to the golden taste of Irish butter

September 3 2018 – The ups and downs of returning to school in Ireland

June 22 2018 – Who knew the beaches of Dublin could be so lovely?

May 11 2018 – Bringing my family’s love of Eurovision back to Ireland

April 27 2018 – I haven’t voted in Ireland in 23 years. I can’t wait to have my say

March 25 2018 – Facebook has been a lifeline living abroad, but should I quit?

March 16 2018 – Saint Patrick and me

March 6 2018 – I’ve lived abroad longer than in Ireland. Have I been gone too long?

Earlier articles:

December 2017- Bringing my foreign-raised daughters to their first Irish panto

July 2017 – I’ll never forget the horrific attack on Oslo, then our home

April 2017 – My morning cuppa: A little piece of Ireland in Italy

January 2017 – Three cheers for wine-drinking, candlelit women

Florence’s monthly magazine for English-speaking visitors and residents accepted my suggestion of some articles about living with a family in the Renaissance city.

October 2017 – Visiting museums in Florence with kids 

September 2017 – Rollerblading with kids in Florence

July 2017 – The secrets behind Tuscany’s best beaches

June 2017 – Making a splash: swimming pools in Florence

A Blog and More

I write about language and the quirks of our family life in Dublin and previously in Italy and Norway. Read More…

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Cover for Wash Your Language
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Wash Your Language

Wash Your Language

Musings on language and daily life in Ireland with memories from Canada, Italy and Norway

Wash Your Language

5 months ago

Wash Your Language
When you police a language ... See MoreSee Less

Using 'go' to cheer on sports teams is now OK, says Quebec language watchdog | CBC News

www.cbc.ca

Quebec's language watchdog has changed its tune on whether it's acceptable to use the word "go" to cheer on sports teams.
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Wash Your Language

8 months ago

Wash Your Language
A few coincidences.As I walked past our local takeaway today, I spotted this manhole cover at my feet. It commemorates an event on the Dublin Easter Rising of 1916 - which was marked today, as always, on Easter Monday, 109 years later. The image shows the man who first raised the Irish Republic flags on the roof of the GPO, one of the main buildings held by the rebels that week. His name was Éamonn Bulfin, he was about 24 and along with many others, he was arrested and sentenced to death by the British authorities when the rising was quashed. But the Argentine ambassador intervened, because Éamonn was an Argentinian citizen - so he was deported instead, back to Buenos Aires. He had been born there in 1892 to 2 Irish parents who had emigrated to Argentina and had 5 kids. The family moved back to Ireland (presumably by slow boat over many weeks) when he was about 10. He went to St. Enda's School, became a fluent Irish speaker and a republican and so got involved in the Rising.After being deported back to BA after the rising, the Argentine government felt the need to arrest him for "skipping out on military service" though it was probably trying to appease the British government who they were already fighting with over the Falkland Islands. This is 1917.After 2 years in prison, Éamonn moved to Ireland again after independence, after doing a stint as the first ambassador of the new Irish state to Argentina. Why? Because Argentina absorbed tons of Irish emigrants - today it's thought 500k to 1 million Argentinians claim Irish heritage!He farmed in Offaly, wrote short stories in English and Spanish, moved to Donnybrook when he retired and after he died in 1968 (buried near Birr) a road in Inchicore was named after him.Oh and one of his sisters married Sean McBride who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974 for co-founding Amnesty International.And, of course today Argentina is in the news today as dear old Papa Francesco came from Buenos Aires (Italian heritage) though I also just learned that he never went back to that city after becoming pope.So that's the manhole cover that pops up in a few places around Ireland, and outside our local takeaway.(Photo from Society for Irish Latin American Studies) #EasterRising #manholecover #irishhistory ... See MoreSee Less

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Wash Your Language

8 months ago

Wash Your Language
Time for another trip to London! ... See MoreSee Less

A revolutionary new tube map shows where London Underground trains are in real-time

www.timeout.com

See exactly where London’s tube trains are at any given time.
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Wash Your Language

11 months ago

Wash Your Language
What Americans think will happen when they visit Ireland. Paul Mescal on SNL ... See MoreSee Less

Irish Americans - SNL

youtu.be

In this Cut for Time Sketch, an American couple (Andrew Dismukes, Ashley Padilla) visits a pub in Ireland.Saturday Night Live. Stream now on Peacock: https:/...

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Wash Your Language

12 months ago

Wash Your Language
Remembering a bone-cold, damply-quiet December visit to stunning Venice 6 years ago ... See MoreSee Less

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Wash my language?

Språkvask is the Norwegian word for proofing text. Literally it means “language wash”; a more poetic way of saying it!

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