Category Archives: Uncategorized

Decontextualised

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Mary Montague

We are living through the Sixth Mass Extinction on our planetary home, and while those of us alive today won’t live to see the end of it, our so-called civilisation really needs to take a hard look at itself. This … Continue reading →

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One Midsummer’s Day (to come)

Posted on May 19, 2026 by Mary Montague

Well it won’t be quite midsummer, but near enough. I have the honour of conversing with the brilliant Mark Cocker as part of the Belfast Book Festival on 7th June. Mark is over to talk about his latest book on … Continue reading →

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A Garden City

Posted on May 18, 2026 by Mary Montague

I only got to this wonderful article by Catherine Cleary in Saturday’s Irish Times this morning. It was such a joy to read: It reminded me of how nature makes city living so much richer for everyone. It also took … Continue reading →

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The Cuckoo’s Call

Posted on May 16, 2026 by Mary Montague

I was fortunate to have several encounters with the common cuckoo, at Murlough’s nature reserve recently. It’s a place that holds a lot of resonance for me having spent a summer working there in 1987 as a temporary warden. That … Continue reading →

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1926

Posted on April 19, 2026 by Mary Montague

The 1926 Census returns of the Irish Free State were released on line as of yesterday. The first census after independence. What a treasure trove they are. Born on the 18th February, my late mother only just made it onto … Continue reading →

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The Stranmillis Heronry

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Mary Montague

Over the past few months, my Country Diaries have either been written out of experiences that came to me under my own steam, as it were; or, if others were part the process, they got a mention in the diary … Continue reading →

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An intimate and tenuous connection

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Mary Montague

I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships recently. How the most intimate can also be the most fragile. How we don’t realise what we have until it’s gone. The world is feeling an increasingly fragile place. Trusted relationships are distorted … Continue reading →

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Chasing my tail

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Mary Montague

It’s been a while. First there’s the matter of my most recent contribution to The Guardian‘s Country Diary. As the more long-memoried of you will recall, I wrote about Newgrange for December. And I went back to Brú na Bóinne … Continue reading →

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A Wolf’s Breath

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Mary Montague

I love this photo. I especially love it because just a few weeks after it was taken, I visited Yellowstone in January 2004 and saw this very wolf. I was also introduced to her natal pack, the Druids (named for … Continue reading →

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Choose your riches

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Mary Montague

Where is your treasure? I was delighted to have this chance to write about the Sperrins, and meeting Fidelma O’Kane and other members of the Save Our Sperrins campaign was a truly inspirational experience. It was prompted by an invitation … Continue reading →

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