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October 1, 2026
The Last Taste of Summer We’ve had a late burst of warm weather in London recently, the last hurrah I expect, before Autumn sets in. In last week’s Footprint, we mentioned St Michael’s Day (Michaelmas, September 29). In Ireland, a spell of fine weather that sometimes arrived at this time of year was: Samhradh beag na Féile Mhichíl (SOW-ruh byug na FAY-leh VIK-eel) – The little summer of Michaelmas, what we might call an Indian summer. In this week’s IrishFootprint
Michael Lynch
Stories from the road Juan O’Donojú was born in Seville in 1762 to Irish parents, Richard Dunphy O’Donoghue, from Glenfesk, County Kerry, and Alice Ryan of Inch, County Tipperary. Juan served in Spain’s Ultonia (Ulster) regiment. Involved in the Napoleonic Wars, he was imprisoned, escaped, became Spain’s Minister for War, was imprisoned again (this time by his Spanish compatriots) and eventually found himself in Mexico, effectively as viceroy. With the country on the brink of independence, O’Donojú would play a pivotal role in bringing Spanish rule to an end. The last viceroy died in Mexico City on October 8, 1821. Rumours of a poisoning were never proved. My travels in Mexico led me to the capital’s Metropolitan Cathedral where his bones are said to lie. Read the full story → (2 minute read) Smidríní #1 (smid – reenie) – bits & pieces the scent of bog – because you’re worth it… A Longford-born artist, Luke Casserly, is behind Distillation, a presentation at the Melbourne Fringe. Working with perfumer Joan Woods, he has created what the festival website calls a ‘multi-sensory performance which transports you to the Irish bog landscape through scent’. The week in history 2.10 – 8.10 In 19th century Ontario, relations between the majority Protestant, largely Orange, population and the province’s Catholic minority, were sometimes fraught. In 1875, declared a Jubilee Year by Pope Pius IX, Catholics were told they could obtain a special Jubilee indulgence; one condition was that they visit a series of churches to pray for certain intentions. In Toronto, Catholics of the city scheduled a procession for Sunday, October 3. A gathering the previous week had ended in violence. This time, the authorities were taking no chances. A body of cavalry, and companies of the Queen’s Own and the 10th Royals were called out… more here → (1 minute read) Culture Footprint’s event of the week From 2–4 October, the town of Boorowa in New South Wales holds its annual Irish Woolfest (‘Dia Duit (sic) from Boorowa’, says the festival website). The weekend’s main event is the Running of the Sheep (this sounds too good to be true!). The Running takes place on Sunday 4, not long after the Blessing of the Fleece. Boorowa has Irish links dating back to the 1820s. Cousins Roger Corcoran and Ned Ryan were transported to Australia following a disturbance in Ballagh, near Clonoulty, County Tipperary in 1815. The pair eventually found their way to Boorowa. Ryan later encouraged many from his home parish to join him (the town’s museum says that in 1872 there were 46 Ryans living in the area). St Patrick’s church in town has a stained glass window of Daniel O’Connell, installed in 1875 by the Burrowa O’Connell Centenary Committee on the anniversary of the Liberator’s birth. Today, Clonoulty and Boorowa are officially twinned. Boorowa has surged to the top of my list of places to visit. Last week, we were happy to report that Andrew Scott’s movie Elsinore had won the 2026 International People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (as a reminder, the movie tells the story of Chariots of Fire actor Ian Charleson who played Hamlet at the National Theatre in London while seriously ill with AIDS). This week, on Saturday 3 October, the Irish actor is the focus of the Mill Valley Film Festival in California where he will receive the festival’s Acting Award for the movie. Elsinore is gaining some attention and Scott’s performance is being singled out. The Guardian is gushing in its praise. Scott, they say, ‘is now not only considered a lock for a leading actor Oscar nomination but almost certain to take the prize next spring’. Early days yet, but fingers crossed. Amble goes big in Britain The Irish folk trio Amble are getting a lot of attention just now. The band has risen rapidly from playing small clubs in rural Ireland to sold-out shows on the international stage. First the bad news… All venues on their upcoming 7-date UK tour (Sept 28 – Oct 8) are now sold out. and the better news… After the UK they make their way to the States and Canada before they return for three dates in Castlebar in December. In the new year they’re off to continental Europe before heading to the UK and Ireland for a number of gigs in June and July next year. As of now, tickets remain available for some of those Ireland and UK shows, as well as for those further afield. Their website has the latest. Smidríní #2 A farmer on Inis Mór in the Aran islands has started renting out goats to neighbouring farmers to eat unwanted scrub and briars . The goats wear GPS collars, allowing him to create virtual paddocks on his phone. You can now hire a goat with sat-nav to eat your weeds. Sport AFL Conor McKenna became the first Irishman to win two AFL Premiership medals (his first came in 2024) when the Brisbane Lions beat Freemantle in Saturday’s Grand Final – 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89). The Tyrone man won Goal of the Year recently and came up trumps again when he scored in the decider – a ‘freakish’ effort according to commentators. It was heartbreak for Freemantle. They have yet to win the game’s biggest prize and on Saturday, they had it in their grasp: 17 pts up with 4 mins to play. The Lions fought back at the death to win their third title in a row. All the goals in a frantic and very exciting final quarter are here (2:47) AFLW A Touch of Ireland at Jim’s Game There was a decidedly Irish flavour to the AFLW double-header at IKON Park in Melbourne last weekend (the Carlton v Richmond fixture was followed by Melbourne v North Melbourne); there were ten Irish players involved. With the hefty level of Irish participation, the double-header was dubbed Jim’s Game, celebrating the work of the Jim Stynes Foundation (Dubliner Jim Stynes was an early import to Aussie Rules and played 264 games for Melbourne). The Foundation, according to its website, ‘delivers support for programs and initiatives focused on youth leadership and wellbeing’. Off the field, it was practically a mini Irish festival: Irish passport holders got in free, there was live Irish music, displays of Gaelic football and hurling, and Jim’s Jig, a burst of Irish dancing and fiddle music after every Melbourne goal. Irish food was available on the day according to one source. No word on whether Tayto or red lemonade were on offer. Motorsport We’ve been following Alex Dunne’s progress in F2. The Irishman had a rewarding few days in Baku last weekend, in the latest round of the Championship. There were lots of points on offer as, unusually, the meeting involved two Feature races, as well as a Sprint race. On Friday, Dunne came third in the Sprint (7 points) before a very timely first race win of the season in Feature Race 1 (26 points). He also crossed the line first in Saturday’s Feature Race 2 but a five-second penalty for an infringement pushed him down to third (15 points). Alex became the first person in Formula 2 history to finish on the podium in all three races at a single F2 round. His impressive points haul moves him from fourth to third in the F2 Championship with two rounds to go, 18 points behind leader, Brazilian Rafael Câmara. ‘We’re … in the fight’, says Alex. Next up, a bit of a wait until Lusail in Qatar, 26-28 November. Football No top flight club football in the UK last weekend as international competition took centre stage. Latest statistics on the Republic’s players in the English Premier League and the Scottish Premiership, plus some info on the top Irish players in Europe here Smidríní #3 An extra not-even-remotely Irish Smidrín… Everything you never needed Artists in Seattle have transformed a former 7-Eleven into an Inconvenience Store, selling deliberately useless products; these include USB cables that are already tangled, and a candle that doubles as a ruler but gets shorter every time you light it. Convenience has never been so inconvenient. That’s all for this week’s ramble |
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