Author Archives: shaunalawless

I’m very fussy when it comes to picking books. Fantasy and historical fiction are my favourite genres and I read them almost exclusively. I am also a writer and – surprise, surprise – these are the genres I write too. About four years ago, I was on a writing critique site called Critique Circle. IContinue reading “Book Review – Life’s Too Short”

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! ☘️☘️☘️ In Ireland, all celebrations are cancelled because of covid-19. What to do then? Ah – what about reading a good book! I know I’ll be reading at some stage, so thought I’d write a post about my favourite Irish literature in case anybody else felt like celebrating St Paddy’s DayContinue reading “☘️Books about Ireland that you should read☘️”

I saw this being discussed on a blog I follow – and thought I’d join in. WWW Wednesday is about: What you’ve just read What you’re currently reading What you’re going to read next It sounds like a bit of fun and I hope some of you will post your WWW Wednesday reads too. WhatContinue reading “WWW Wednesday”

The Brehon Laws relates to the laws used in the ancient Irish legal system. It was used throughout Ireland prior to the Norman Invasion of 1169, and continued to be used in Ireland for hundreds of years after, although eventually was replaced entirely by English law. (It is important to note that since Irish IndependenceContinue reading “The Brehon Laws”

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter Yay – another book review is up! Just to do my usual caveats – I don’t do starred reviews. I only write reviews for books that I enjoyed. Nothing negative here – there is enough of that in the world. Just because a certain book is not myContinue reading “Book Review”

Hello – a break this week from Irish mythology and history. This blog post is about the books I’ve been reading so far this year. Just a couple of notes before you get started: I don’t give books a star rating. In fact, I will not feature any books in my blogs that I’ve notContinue reading “Book Reviews – 2021 so far”

Newgrange is a 5,200 year old passage tomb located in the Boyne Valley, County Meath. This makes Newgrange older than both the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge (predating these structures by 400 years and 1,000 years respectively) and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. The passage tomb in Newgrange was constructed toContinue reading “Ireland in focus: Newgrange”

Picking a King in Ireland was complicated. The method of selecting kings in other European countries was based on the Principle of Primogeniture – which essentially meant the first born son to the current king inherited the throne. There was therefore only one heir to the throne. This rule, though simple, caused all sorts ofContinue reading “How to pick an Irish king?”

Irish hospitality is renowned around the world. You can’t go into someone’s home in Ireland without being offered a cup of tea and something to eat. But why is this? If we look at Irish mythology and old folk stories, Irish hospitality is mentioned frequently. When Bres, of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was High KingContinue reading “IRISH HOSPITALITY”