LETTERS TO DROGHEDA

I left Ireland on January 1, 1970. I hated leaving, but I had set this rolling stone in motion all by myself, deciding to do graduate studies away from Ireland. And so, breaking my parents hearts, I left. I made them the promise of a letter home every week, as there was no internet and telephone contact was too expensive, and as close as possible I kept that promise for the next 30 years.  And so the title “Letters to Drogheda”.

My parents kept all my letters home, and reading them now, most are boring recounts of day to day life as a graduate student, teacher, research scientist in Canada over 30 years.  Scattered among these are my letters about wonderful collecting trips to various habitats in the arctic, temperate and tropical regions. You see, part of my research on mites and soil arthropods entailed being a field biologist for a part of every year, going on field trips to different places by myself, or with a diversity of colleagues. These are the experiences I want to capture in “Letters to Drogheda”. So please read on.

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And then there is this!

My book on Oribatid Mites with Zoe Lindo has just been published (2023).