Noel Culleton's new book Classical Women  takes a look at the lives of twenty-six  Female Composers who had to defy the odds and overcome the obstacles preventing them a chance to shine. Musically they stand shoulder to shoulder with some of their more famous and celebrated male counterparts. At last their talent is  being recognised. It was due to these women that female artist like Beyonce, Adel, Rhianna, Britney, Shenia, Mylie, Madonna, have become household names.

----more----Christopher Columbus  is known the world over for discovering the Americas. He is celebrated in many countries with a special Columbus day commenting his achievements. The sad reality is that he never achieved anything he set out to do. He happened upon the Americas by accident but didn't even know it. He thought he was in the East Indies. It was the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci who realised this was a new continent and that is why America carries his  name and  not that of Columbus. Think about it, it would be hard to sail westward  from any part of the world and not bump into the Americas. Yet it is known that the Vinkings had arrived in Newfoundland  five hundred years before, and there is a good argument that St. Brendan the Navigator, an Irish monk had reached North America nine hundred years before Columbus  even wet his feet in the waters of the  Caribbean.  Columbus died still believing he had found the western route to Asia.  That is, in my opinion as pitiful as aiming a rocket for the moon and hitting Saturn. Whilst his achievements are celebrated, his tyranny and brutality are swept neatly under the carpet. It's the same old story . Greed is the great motivator.

 A short story  'Weight Watcher' taken from the book  "The Density of Distant Thoughts" by James W. Corcoran

A whimsical  tale of a young girl's first initiation into "foreign affairs".

Please be warned this episode contains graphic descriptions of a sexual nature and adult language.

It may sound ridiculous, unbelievable, even untrue, but in Ireland of the twentieth century, people who knew better, who knew crimes were being committed, turned a blind eye to what was occurring and did nothing. At least during the holocaust the Germans who remained quiet, did so because they feared for their lives. In Ireland the only fear was of 'what the neighbours might say'.

Eugene O' Neill: the Irish American connection.   At  61  years of age, Edmund O' Neill leaves the ravages of post famine Ireland with his wife  and seven children to seek a better life in America. He leaves from the quays of New Ross, Wexford, more in desperation than in  hope. His son James would subsequently become one of the great American actors of his generation. His grandson was to become America's greatest Playwright. Perhaps, he could be ours too. This is their story.

This One Hour of Uninterrupted French Jazz  exudes  the sounds, the rhythms  and the vibrancy of  Pigalle and Montartre.  Vive la France, but hopefully not today in the Rugby match.     

Taken from the book 'The Density of Distant Thoughts'. by James W. Corcoran

Beware! Some of the language is not suitable for little ears.

A  gruff bachelor happens upon  leprechauns  partying in a ten acre field and seeks his pot of gold, with somewhat mixed results.

Be careful what you wish for!

Ernest Hemingway was a literary Colossus. We all know about his genius and the power of his writing. But, how much do we know about the man? Was he any different to you or I, in the choices he made. This is a look into the  complex life of a man who married four times, who spent much of his time travelling, living in Paris, Toronto, Key West, Spain, Cuba. How much did those experiences influence his literary work?