WELCOME.

Welcome to my website. I hope to connect with you in the future! Add me on my social networks below.
Follow Me
mobile-logo
Back to top

West of Ireland

Apr 30, 2015
in Nature, West of Ireland
by carlnordgren
2
1 Comment

As creative as an Old Irish Goat

The post I wrote a few days ago about my recent trip to the West of Ireland was my most popular—it was read in far more countries than is typical for my blog posts, nearly 20 and counting. I found that the story I included about the discovery of the Old Irish Goat is fascinating everyone, so I thought I would tell you a bit more about them, then show you how my goats, two female Nubians, taught me a valuable lesson we can apply to creative work. The interest in the Old Irish Goat is nicely summarized in a recent article in The Mayo News. “The Old Irish Goats have a long lineage, stretching back beyond...

Read More
Apr 23, 2015
in West of Ireland
by carlnordgren
1
0 Comments

The 53rd Parallel in Ireland

Ireland, oh Ireland, how I love you so. A lovely land creates a loving people, and it was grand visiting you all again, and making so many new friends. I just returned from a wonderful trip to the West of Ireland, 53 degrees North. My wife and I and our three daughters lived in Galway for a year in the late '90's. We became close friends with Eamon Howley and his family, and I reached out to Eamon when I realized a new character was emerging in the trilogy I'm working, and she was leading me to one of the few corners of the West that was unfamiliar to me. I needed to come for a visit. Eamon...

Read More
Nov 20, 2014
in Nature, West of Ireland
by carlnordgren
0
0 Comments

Back to Ireland: The Burren

I am working on the third novel in The River of Lakes trilogy and early on in book we find Grace O'Malley Burke, the teenage daughter of Brian and Maureen, visiting Ireland with her girl friends from back home, two Ojibway girls, Annie Strong and Louise Keewatin. Early in their trip they visit The Burren, one of the most remarkable landscapes in Ireland, in the world. From The Burren National Park website: "The word "Burren" comes from an Irish word 'Boíreann' meaning a rocky place. However it has been referred to in the past as "Fertile rock" due to the mixture of nutrient rich herb and floral species. In 1651 a Cromwellian Army Officer named Ludlow remarked, 'of this barony it is...

Read More
Oct 21, 2014
in Book News, West of Ireland
by carlnordgren
0
1 Comment

An Excerpt from Novel 3: The Cliffs of Moher

Early in the third novel in 'The River of Lakes Trilogy' Brian travels with his teenage daughter, Grace O'Malley Burke, to Ireland, to visit his home village of Cong. They are traveling with two of Grace O'Malley's girlfriends, two Ojibway girls from Joe Loon's clan, Annie Fobister and Louise Keewatin, who have never been outside their world on the River. Maureen, Grace's mother, was not able to accompany them on this trip. They stood beneath O’Brien’s Tower at the Cliffs of Moher, Brian nearest the edge, Grace next to him, Annie and Louise a step back and holding hands, all standing past the signs that established the safe boundary. The winds were...

Read More
Aug 12, 2014
in West of Ireland
by carlnordgren
0
0 Comments

The IRA and the Nazis

In the Fall of 2001 secret service files were published by the British Public Record Office that revealed a plot by the IRA to collaborate with the Nazis to invade Northern Ireland during the Second World War. A key story line in The 53rd Parallel is built around this little known historical fact. The files included MI5 records about a German spy parachuting into Ireland in 1940 to assess the feasibility of the plan after being approached by the IRA. The plan was foiled after the spy, Dr Hermann Goertz, aka "K", was arrested a year later by the Irish government. The MI5 report, written in 1943, read: "On the 5th May 1940 Goertz landed by parachute at Ballivor, Co...

Read More
Jul 25, 2014
in West of Ireland
by carlnordgren
0
0 Comments

Behind The 53rd Parallel: The Quiet Man & The Village of Cong

My family and I fell in love with Ireland the three or four times we vacationed there and found ourselves so captivated by the West of Ireland that we arranged to live there for a year. We rented a house in Galway and spent as much time in Connemara as we could. Another favorite destination was the village of Cong. [caption id="attachment_538" align="aligncenter" width="682"] The Monk's Fishing House in Cong, photo by Ciaran Mchugh[/caption] The ruins of the 13th century Augustinian abbey are considered some of the finest examples of medieval architecture in the country; the abbey was home to Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. The village is also a main location for the John Ford film, The Quiet Man,...

Read More
logo

I want to thank all the folks who have been so important to my writing. My wife, Marie, and my three daughters, Sarah Rose, Brita, and Krista Anne. Steve Fobister. Elizabeth Turnbull. Robin Metz. Kevin Qian. And my father, Loran Nordgren.

Let’s Talk

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Subject

    Your Message

    Copyright © Carl Nordgren 2015