On my way from my car to the supermarket entrance, I regularly stop to look at the window display in Book Haven in Knocklyon to see what new titles they have on show. Naturally, I am often tempted to go in for a better look (and to feel and smell!), and I frequently purchase a new book before I buy my groceries. Food for the soul and spirit is every bit as important as food for the body, I would argue. Imagine my delight yesterday morning, when I stood in front of the window

The launch of Kathryn Crowley's new collection of stories 'Love, Lycra and Tattoos' took place on the 4th of December 2025 in Dublin.

A short and to-the-point blog post this week! I would love to see all of my blog subscribers at the event in the Teachers' Club in Dublin on Thursday next. It will be a joint book launch with my fellow-writer and Emu Ink stable-mate John Fintan McCutcheon. I invite you to kick off your Christmas shopping by buying signed copies of our two books on the evening.

I am delighted to have my first published poem, a glosa called 'The Emergency is Now' published in 'The Stony Thursday Book 50.'

We attended a jazz concert in Musiikkitalo on Halloween night.

I attended the 2025 Helsinki Book Fair last week.

Announcing the upcoming book launches of Kathryn Crowley and Fintan McCutcheon.

During the summer, life happened. Family and friends came to visit us in Helsinki (thank you all!) and I went back to Ireland for various...

There are just two days left to enter your poem or flash fiction piece in the Knocklyon Literary Festival writing competition. Don't...

Happy Midsummer from Finland, or perhaps I should say Head Jaanipäeva from Estonia, as we were actually in Tallinn for the white night ,...

Porvoo Shore Houses (Photo courtesy of Visit Finland website) There are at least three lots of visitors coming to visit with us in...

My goodness, but Helsinki has woken up! With the first rise in temperature and rays of sunshine, a new energy and vibe has hit the city...

Jean Sibelius. Photo by Daniel Nyblin (c.1898-1900) The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is a national hero in Finland. Born in 1865, he...

Geographically, Finland is not a part of Scandinavia. However, Scandinavia is a term generally used by outsiders to describe Denmark,...

Apparently, when Covid came, it made little difference to a Finnish bus queue. The Finns did the same as they always did and stayed two...

Reindeer Rides in Santa's Village in Lapland Would we or wouldn't we take a reindeer ride ? I felt like an American tourist down near the...

House of Santa Claus in Rovaniemi, Lapland In a sense, once we ring in the New Year, wherever we are in the world, we are inevitably...

Photo from https://www.myhelsinki.fi/places/helsinki-cathedral/ Happy St Patrick's Day, everyone! One of my favourite 'blessings' is: As...

Photo of Oodi, the Central Library of Helsinki, courtesy of the Oodi website I don’t want to give any oxygen to an unelected billionaire...

Address by President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb at the Support Ukraine plenary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 24 February...