Mike Healy and the ‘Moss Tommy’ Schools Project
Who decorates that butterfly The silkworm and the moth? What artist claims the wings that fly To the sweet forget-me-not? – M J Reidy[1] Mike Healy of Glenlarehan, Cordal, Castleisland was about twelve years old when he first became properly acquainted with his neighbour and lifelong friend, Maurice J Reidy (‘Moss Tommy’), the Cordal poet.[2] […]
Those Hoggies Love to Meet: The Poetry of Maurice J Reidy
There’s little need for rapid pace, Nor frowns that wrinkle up your face. Castleisland poet Maurice J Reidy, better known as Moss Tommy, is fondly remembered in the town as a great character, often found thumbing a lift along the road with a satchel hung over his shoulder or, if travelling out of town, with […]
Céad Míle Fáilte Penang: A 1970s Cultural Exchange
In one of his collections of essays and poetry, Rays of Cheer (1978), Castleisland’s M J Reidy – otherwise Moss Tommy – gave space to an essay by one of his supporters and admirers, educationalist and music composer, Puan Katijah Tan Guat Bee, of Penang, an island off the coast of Malaysia. Katijah’s essay, […]
John B Keane and the Importance of Home
The Kerryman In Tanganyika, yes, my boy, that’s very far away, But wait you lad that’s nothing, for I haven’t had my say, In Singapore, Sumatra, or where would you like to go You’ll find them tough and rugged and they’ll never say you no. These Kerrymen are hearty men and handy men, and […]
