Margaret Franlklin Summer Solstice

Bealtaine Writing Project

Summer Solstice

The sacred Hill of Uisneach, in the centre of our land, Is still a place of mystery that we strive to understand.

To mark the Summer Solstice, people came from far and wide, To spend time in deep reflection, as they walked the green hillside.

We visited the Catstone, where Erin’s goddess lies And sat in meditation, beneath the summer skies.

And then we walked in mindfulness, to reach the highest place On that green hill of Uisneach, full of majesty and grace.

As we measured our own heartbeats by the rhythmic drumbeat We inhaled the breath of summer in this ancient royal seat.

The sound of a lone piper wafted on the perfumed air As we turned of faces westward, for a sight beyond compare.

And hundreds sat in silence, to watch the setting sun, As five millennia ago, our forefathers have done.

The golden orb sank lower in the sky, to the northwest The sun-god Lugh bade us adieu, upon the hilltop crest.

And as the last faint rays were seen to vanish from our sight We bade farewell to longest day, embraced the shortest night.

This mystic place of myth and lore remains for us today A place of peace ‘till time shall cease and Earth has passed away.

Margaret Franklin. June Solstice 2018

The above poem won the Tom Geoghegan memorial trophy 2019.

Mass Media: Then and Now

Life was much simpler in the 1950's, in many ways. With regard to the Media we had newspapers, radio, magazines and emerging TV in Ireland. Our newspapers were much more compact, than now, they hadn't as many supplements and didn't cost as much! Four or five supplements is now the norm. with many newspapers. We had the Irish Independent, Irish Press, Irish Times, and of course the local papers. As for magazines, we had The Sacred Heart Messenger, Ireland's Own, Woman's Own, Woman's Weekly, and a few glossies such as Social and Personal, and The Tatler. I still remember the joy and excitement I felt when a neighbour left a bundle of magazines in our house during my late teens. Woman's Way, Woman's Weekly, Woman's Own opened a new creative world to me. There were knitting patterns, recepies for all kinds of baking and meals, beauty hints, household hints, health advice, quizzes, celebrity pictures and of course stories. I cut out many of these and pasted them in my scrapbook. The newsagent’s shelves are weighted down with papers and magazines nowadays. We have My Weekly, Take a Break, Senior Times and many glossies like VIP, Country Magazine and many more similar publications. Radio also provided much enjoyment in the 1950's. As well as advertising programmes, there were request programmes, like Hospital Requests and serials such as The Kennedy's of Castlerosse. There was a popular feature called Dear Frankie, on which Frankie Byrne dealt with all sorts of problems, chiefly to do with love and relationships. She was one of the first agony Aunts in Ireland. If you were a fan of Frank Sinatra, you were lucky as she nearly always played one of his songs appropriate to the problem dealt with. We had only a few channels in the fifties, as Local Radio & Lyric FM came much later. I got a lovely surprise one week-end when I came home from work. There stood our first rented TV! The Late Late Show hosted by Gay Byrne, was a particular favourite of mine. I liked the news also. Glenroe and The Riordans were very popular, and gave an outlet to many Irish Actors, as Fair City does to the present day. You could receive BBC if you had a large enough aerial on the roof of the house.