Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Let's talk about: Remember, Remember (The Fifth of November) by Judy Parkinson


This book was a really interesting read.
 It is split up into sections: Roman Britain, The Dark Ages, The Late Middle Ages, Tudor Britain, Stuart Britain, Georgian Britian, Victorian Britain, Edwardian Britain, The First World War Years, The Interwar Years, and The Second World War. 
If you are looking for a book that is the only thing you will ever need to read to know all about Britain's history- this isn't it. 
But if you want a quick overview of the most important parts of each time period then you should grab it. 
Each section is filled with the most important events and people that made history during that time. But there is only a blurb of about half a page to a page for each. 
I found it to be written in a concise and interesting way and I did come away from it with a better understanding of how each ruler related to the last. 
The best thing about it, for me, is that it let me know which events and people interest me the most so that I can then go on and research them more fully. 
I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, interesting book.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Let's talk about: Colin O'Donoghue


Colin O'Donoghue was born January 26, 1981 in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. 
He attended Dundalk Grammar school and then moved on to the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. 
At age 16, he went to Paris, France to learn French. 
His early career was split between theatre and television in Ireland and the UK. 
He won the Irish Film and Television award for Best New Talent in 2003 for his role of Norman in Home For Christmas.

"I was always kind of serious. It's nice to be able to play a complete bad boy who's the polar opposite to who I am."

The first thing I saw him in was The Tudors but my favorite role so far has been his portrayal of Captain Hook in the television show Once Upon A Time. 

"People have grown up with Peter Pan, so they're familiar with Captain Hook and they have an opinion about what he should be like. I grew up watching the movie versions. But how do you try to play Captain Hook better than, or as well as, Dustin Hoffman? You can't. It's perfection."

I disagree. Dustin did an amazing job as Hook, but I think Colin brings something to the character we have never seen before. His role on the show challenges our idea of who Captain Hook is. 
And he does it so well that Hook is one of my favorite characters!
(And he rocks the man-liner)

 
 Colin was also a guitarist for the band The Enemies. 
They formed in 2003 by Colin and his close friend Ronan McQuillan. 
They released their self-titled debut EP in 2011. 
They were commissioned by General Motors to record tracks for their Chevy Route 66 online campaign and have also worked on music for Coca-Cola's 5BY20 project. 
In May 2013, however, Colin announced he was leaving the band due to the filming schedule for Once Upon A Time. 


 Colin and his wife, Helen, have been together since they were 18.
They have one son, Evan James, born in August of 2013. 


"Not to belittle what we do as actors, but my wife Helen is a teacher, and she makes a real difference to kids. So it's unusual to see people thinking of us as something special."

Helping others is also an important part of Colin's life. He is very active with the Irish Homeless Aid and the Gary Kelly's Cancer Center, among other charities.

 His Roman Catholic religion is very important to him and he often wears a crucifix his wife gave him when he is not on screen. 


*Have you seen Colin in anything?
*Do you love him as Hook?