Category Archives: Around the world

Notes on the Cascades Female Factory, Hobart

Posted on July 29, 2016 by sarthure

In Hobart for a short visit, today I discovered the Cascades Female Factory, Australia’s most significant prison site associated with colonial female convicts. It’s one of the 11 sites that together comprise the World Heritage listed Australian Convict Sites. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in Around the world, Migration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The henhouse

Posted on July 7, 2016 by sarthure

‘Very poor people, in the past, were wont to keep their little stock of hens or ducks in a small pen made from an old box in the kitchen …’ (O Danachair 1964). This was a custom in Irish rural houses in the nineteenth and … Continue reading →

Posted in Folk traditions, Ireland, South Australia | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The excavation of Baker’s Flat – a tale of the Trench A dugout

Posted on July 4, 2016 by sarthure

From April through to the beginning of May, I led a trusty band of volunteers in the first excavation at Baker’s Flat. For me, this was an experience that engendered a wide range of emotions. At some stages I was filled with excitement, … Continue reading →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Excavation, Field work, Migration, South Australia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

100 words a day in Lent, and a potato ritual

Posted on February 16, 2016 by sarthure

During Lent, my micro-challenge to myself is to write 100 words a day on my thesis, with a target of 4000 words by Holy Thursday. I’ve set down some rules. First, the word count is cumulative, so if I do … Continue reading →

Posted in Folk traditions, Ireland, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nollaig na mBan 2016

Posted on January 17, 2016 by sarthure

When I was growing up in Ireland, my only experience of Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas) was through Seán Ó Ríordáin’s poem, which I remember learning in Irish for the Inter Cert when I was about twelve. I was sure there … Continue reading →

Posted in Folk traditions, Ireland, South Australia | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments