Tag Archives: journalism

Dec 2 2023

Park Run Nua le Mary Tynan

My first attempt at mobile journalism, after unsuccessfully pitching the story to an actual news crew.  I decided to do it at the last minute, and didn’t have a microphone so the sound quality is very bad on the interview.  Text of the voiceover is as follows:

Seoladh Park Run nua in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe maidin inniu. Is é seo an dara Park Run sa chathair – thosaigh an chéad ceann i gCnoc na Cathrach i 2014.

Is eachtra saor in aisce é Park Run a tharlaíonn ar fud na cruinne gach Satharn ag leathuair tar éis a 9 ar maidin. Oibríonn gach duine go deonach ann. Tá céad is daichead a trí Phark Run ar siúil in Éireann gach deireadh seachtain, agus bíonn cinn nua ag tosú an t-am ar fad.

Tá an ceann nua seo eagraithe ag Anna Sheehy. Is mac léinn PhD san ollscoil í, agus bhí roinnt ball den Chumann Mac Léinn Iarchéime ann mar oibrithe deonacha freisin. Labhair mé le hAnna.

Agallamh anseo

Ghlac timpeall ar dhá chéad daoine páirt sa rith inniu, méara Cathair na Gaillimhe, an Comhairleor Eddie Hoare, san áireamh. Cé go raibh an fhearthainn ag titim go trom ag an deireadh, is dócha gur bhain an chuid is mó de sult as an ócáid, agus bhí an-jab déanta ag na heagraithe go léir.

Is mise Mary Tynan in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe.

 

 

May 1 2020

Bringing it All Back Home – Online

Welcome to the relaunch of Notes from Xanadu. The next four days will witness the transformation of the site from online magazine to online arts centre.

Our homepage has always said Welcome Home. It’s been a place to come in, take your shoes off and relax with something to read, whether that be fiction, poetry, articles or reviews. We’ve never published a bad review – if we couldn’t find something good to say, then we wouldn’t say anything at all (but that never happened). We reviewed theatre, art, books, opera, film, eateries, and even, on one occassion, a karaoke booth. It was a home from home that gave you ideas about what to do outside the home.

And now many of us are confined to the home. On deciding to relaunch Notes From Xanadu at this point, it was decided to make it into much more than an internet magazine. I personally had a list of ideas for an arts centre, and decided to see how much of it could be implemented online – quite a lot, as it turns out. We have art, music, puppetry and of course writing, much of which explores the theme of staying at home or living online, as well as how the “new normal” is for the people who do go out to work.

For many people, the online way of life has been a reality long before Covid 19. I am thinking in particular of the chronic illness community, of which I am a member. Most of us are severely limited in how much time we can spend out and about; some are completely housebound; some are bedbound. The internet is a place for people to connect, share thoughts and ideas, and even study – for those who are well enough. This is particularly true for people who live alone. Other people may find themselves in the same boat by virtue of living in a remote location. We have always known how to do as much as possible online. The coronavirus has taught others the same skills. There is a lot of talk about the downside of the internet – people being addicted to their phones, not having real-life conversations, preferring the virtual world to the real world. But in reality the lines between the two are blurred.

And so here we are, bringing it all back home – online. Welcome to my world. Welcome to our world. Welcome to Xanadu.

Mary Tynan