Mary Lou Quinlan and her latest book, The God Box. By Molly Ferns, Editorial Assistant
People find different ways to deal with their struggles. Mary Finlayson wrote down her worries, concerns, hopes and prayers and placed them in a “God box.” And as the saying goes, like mother, like daughter. Finlayson’s daughter, Mary Lou Quinlan, also learned to deal with her struggles through writing. In coming to terms with the loss of her mother, Quinlan wrote her new book The God Box: Sharing My Mother’s Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go.
The term “God box” was a common one in Mary Lou’s life – she always knew that her mother kept one. After retiring to Florida in 1986, Finlayson typed out her first prayer of this kind to God: “Dear Lord, Protect my good health – my eyes – my family – my dear husband. Protect Jack in decisions in his job. Protect Marylou and Joe in their jobs, and especially a decision on buying this house in New Hope. Th
Ernest Walton and the plans for the Marlborough Street Bridge. By Molly Ferns, Editorial Assistant
A number of Irishmen have been recognized as Nobel Prize winners: Yeats, Shaw, Beckett and Heaney for Literature, Sean MacBride and John Hume for Peace. But only one Irishman has ever received the Nobel Prize for Physics. In 1951, Irish physicist Ernest Walton and partner John Cockcroft won the Nobel Prize for their invention of the first particle accelerator to split the atom. The Institute of Physics (IOP) Ireland believes that Walton’s recognition is long overdue.
The IOP are now campaigning to have the Marlborough Street Bridge, which is in its early stages of construction, named “The Ernest Walton Bridge” in honor of one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. The institute created an online petition to garner support in pressuring the Dublin City Council. When the bridge is complete, it will span the River Liffey and will function as a
Seamus Heaney at the National Library of Ireland. Photo by Lar Boland. By Molly Ferns, Editorial Assistant
The National Library of Ireland has become the new home to Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney’s collection of literary papers.
“I’m overwhelmed at the number of people that the library has brought in to celebrate this moment and I’m deeply indebted and deeply honoured,” said Heaney at a reception held in the reading room of the National Library on December 21.
Among those who attended the event was Taoiseach Enda Kenny who said it was a privilege for the Irish nation to receive the archives of “one of the world’s foremost word sculptors.”