It's been a hell of a year so far, and I'm exhausted. It's barely been 3 months, but it honestly feels like longer. Shortly after I posted my first post of 2023, things started to get rocky, to say the least. First, my sister's dog gauge got really sick, and we had to put him …

John Tracy’s Eulogy Written And Read by Charlotte Tracey

On Friday, January 24th 2023, my dad, John Tracey, passed away. The funeral was the following Monday. The funeral was live-streamed online and can be viewed on the Greencastle Parish YouTube channel here. The eulogy I wrote and read at the funeral follows: My dad was born in '49, on either the 8th or 10th …

The Irish Slave Myth

Two of my family members in Ireland shared the popular Irish Slaves post that's been going around. In the past, I would have just ignored this and blocked the page that it came from, but in light of the recent events, I've been a lot bolder when it comes to calling out family on their …

Short Story: Crossing

Another old short story. I know I wrote this one in early college, it was part of a mail-in creative writing course I was doing. This one was roughly based off some of the stuff around the Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland border that was still up when I was a kid and a story one …

That Thing That Makes Me Productive

Originally posted to Patreon: January 25th, 2018 I always see a lot of writers talking about how they're really productive at [insert specific time] and they always try to schedule their writing around that. I've never been one of those people and I was never really able to figure out how to get myself into …

Travel Diary: Cookstown, Northern Ireland

Cookstown in Northern Ireland isn't exactly a top travel destination. I'm willing to bet most people haven't even heard of this town, never mind know where it is. And for the few people watching this who remember that Brad Pitt's character in The Devil's Own was supposed to come from "the coastal city of Cookstown," …

Travel Diary: Donegal

Originally posted to Patreon: Early September 2017 This past weekend I went over to Donegal with two of my cousins. The plan was to head to Kincasslagh Pier for a boating trip, but we received word that the trip was canceled due to bad weather. Well, that wasn't going to stop us! Besides, we already …

Travel Diary: Co Meath #4 – Last Day In Meath

Originally posted to WIX website at some point, then reposted to Patreon on July 30th, 2017, now here. On November 1st I had a full day planned before heading home. I started with my usual lay-in and a homemade fry-up in the morning at the house I was staying at before getting my things together …

Travel Diary: Co Meath #3 – Samhain

Originally posted to WIX website at some point, then reposted to Patreon on July 30th, 2017, now here. Today is Halloween. I LOVE Halloween. It is my Christmas and I plan all year what I'm going to do. This year I planned this trip to Co Meath. I prebooked some main events each night but …

Travel Diary: Co Meath #2 – Haunted Houses Are Great

Originally posted to WIX website at some point, then reposted to Patreon on July 30th, 2017, now here. I absolutely adore haunted houses, but not because I want a good scare. Haunted houses never actually scare me. Instead, it's something about the atmosphere and the aesthetic that surrounds them that I love. Tonight I spent …