What’s my favourite Woody Allen movie? He has directed fifty, churning out one a year since 1982, maintaining a consistently high standard leavened by only occasional dross, so it can be difficult to choose. Another common phenomenon to be taken into consideration in this discussion is how fans of any artist who becomes ‘problematic’ are … Read more
In recent years, ‘video games as an art form’ has become somewhat of a hotly debated topic. While some argue that video games don’t have the potential to be meaningful art, others argue the opposite and favour video games being considered art because of their expressive elements, such as music, design, visuals, acting, and interaction. … Read more
In entertainment news, reports have surfaced that Jim Sheridan – who directed and co-wrote In the Name of the Father (1993) among other award-winning films – along with his daughter Kirsten Sheridan, have written the screenplay for a new five-part series based on the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Filming is due to begin in Glasgow later … Read more
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In the final part of his essay on the joys and woes of being an Irish Manchester City fan, Desmond Traynor delves into psychological and emotional reasons for sustaining sporting allegiances, through thick and thin. Even if nothing in the foregoing fact-based rant convinces City-sceptics, it is not the main plank of my justification for … Read more
Desmond Traynor continues his analysis of the financial and political morality of top flight English soccer, and attempts several rebuttals of the frequently voiced criticisms of Manchester City’s current success. That was the attack. Here is the defence – bearing in mind that attack is often the best means of defence. (The middle ground will … Read more
In Dublin last week, riots and looting that broke out in the wake of a horrifying and inexplicable attack on three small children, and their carer, has been widely attributed to nascent fascism. We regard this as an inappropriate and, potentially, insidious suggestion; which is not to say that inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric did not fan … Read more
Commuting with Baudelaire We are living in a time when there are no gentlemen. So, women stand for hours without being offered any seats. It’ s a privilege which they have laboured for and for centuries, It appears! Madness, I know, but you must respect them. As you watch their small fists tightening on the … Read more
Last Breath of Leaves Cup a pear, hear it abscise, number the days until ripe; the river chuckles with swollen pride – back to a ditch by six, drained away to the scaly, selfish sea. At dawn there’s steam across the water, a cloud of egrets scuds over; old and waiting, mud for water, leaves … Read more
Introducing a New Offer on the Cassandra Voices Patreon Site Cassandra Voices is an independent Irish media outlet, specialising in long reads on politics, art and contemporary culture. It was founded in 2017 by Frank Armstrong, an established Irish journalist and law graduate, and Daniele Idini, an Italian photographer and trade unionist. Produced in Dublin, … Read more
Dublin Bay South by-election candidate Peter Dooley has an impressive track record of fighting for a just society, especially through the Dublin Renters’ Union, and unlike many on the left in Ireland, has drawn attention to the devastation to ordinary people’s lives caused by the longest lockdown in Europe. This by-election in Dublin Bay South … Read more
On February 1st, 2018 we published the first edition of Cassandra Voices as a monthly online edition. On this our third anniversary we recall its contents. Help us enhance our offering in the years to come by becoming a Patreon supporter. In the wake of Brexit chaos Frank Armstrong pointed to the difficulties presented by … Read more
The restrictions in 2020 presented more challenges for some careers than others. For musicians in Ireland it was an unprecedented year when most were unable to perform live. We sought an Optimistic Note, a Pessimistic Note, a Practical Note and an Existential Note from musicians and others in the music industry. In a long read, … Read more
November brought the demise of Trump but major global challenges remained. Andrew Linnane issued a stark warning: The idea that our response to the Covid-19 pandemic might be moving us in the direction of the authoritarian horrors of the last century is one that a great many are resistant to. They may feel, for example, … Read more
The Irish winter came early in October with another lockdown, to the disappointment of Billy O Hanluain: Lockdown measures remind me of the prescription of anti-depressants and other psychiatric medicines. They are both harsh, and both are administered in response to a moment of crisis; both often have severe side effects, which in time often … Read more
As summer gave way to a season of mist and mellow fruitfulness in September Covid-19 returned with a vengeance, but by now there was considerable disagreement over elusive facts. Frank Armstrong interrogated unreliable accounts in the Irish media, and the doomsday scenarios of a number of scientists. The main go-to-man among Irish scientists for the … Read more
Many Europeans enjoyed a blissful August while storm clouds gathered overhead. That month photographer Daniele Idini travelled from North to South of Italy, finding a country in severe economic distress, and desperate to resume the good life. Dr Marcus de Brun, meanwhile, saw a perfect storm forming on the horizon. He predicted there would be … Read more
As the pandemic subsided during the summer months in Europe, the southern states of the United States experienced a surge in cases. We brought a first hand account from Linda Barnard in a New Orleans care home: It’s getting real in here. Newly established, the isolation ward has been set up too close for comfort. … Read more
June brought criticism of Big Data censorship and the coverage of the pandemic in mainstream media, as it became clear the doomsday scenarios certain epidemiologists painted in March were wide of the mark. Frank Armstrong wrote: Accepting Covid-19 represents an extraordinary challenge requiring a concerted response, censorship by Big Data in such a blanket form, … Read more
