‘All of Ireland had been wiped out’: Irish Nuclear Anxiety and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s The Bray House

The Bray House (1990) is Éilís Ní Dhuibhne's curious and contested first novel, the story of a near-future archaeological expedition to an Ireland devastated by a British nuclear disaster. It is a book which has offered much analytical fodder to readers and critics alike, with the question of the novel's genre continually in flux since its publication. This article argues that, in The Bray House, Ní Dhuibhne consciously inverts Old Irish narrative forms to create a work of speculative writing which yokes together the seemingly contradictory concerns of the Gaelic literary tradition and contemporary Irish anxiety about vulnerabilities to the British nuclear energy industry. It examines how the author combines unease over international energy politics with native narrative structures to create a work which sits comfortably within the genre of science fiction. It considers how The Bray House brings to light what Darko Suvin calls the ‘congeneric elements in the cognitive and marvellous bias of the voyage extraordinaire’, in this case the Old Irish Echtra form. Particular attention is paid throughout to how science fiction (specifically the techno-Robinsonade model) allows Ní Dhuibhne to vividly express Irish national concerns over the presence of the Sellafield nuclear power plant in the late 1980s.

Solitary fibrous tumour of mediastinum: an often asymptomatic neoplasm

Solitary fibrous tumours (SFTs) are rare neoplasms derived from mesenchymal cell lines. They are often asymptomatic, follow an indolent growth pattern and are more often benign than malignant. Here, we present a case of a very large, asymptomatic mediastinal SFT in an otherwise healthy man. A 67-year-old Irish man was referred for workup of an asymptomatic murmur. Auscultation of the lung fields revealed diminished breath sounds on the right side. Chest X-ray identified a 20 cm mass localised within the thorax. CT of the thorax confirmed a pleural based, solid lesion with no local invasion. CT-guided core biopsies were reported as consistent with SFT. Primary excision of the lesion was undertaken via median sternotomy. Histological examination confirmed a diagnosis of SFT. The patient remains well at this time. Primary excisive surgery is a safe and effective treatment modality for SFTs.

Delayed onset acute massive haemothorax after traumatic rib fractures-A Case Report

Rib fractures are common injuries that frequently necessitate intensive care admission for pain management, respiratory support, in addition to managing possible complications. The most common complications of rib fractures are pain, haemothorax, pneumothorax, pulmonary contusions and lacerations, vascular injuries, and intra-abdominal organ injury. After a high impact road traffic accident, a polytrauma 26-year-old Irish gentleman presented with right-sided posterior rib series fractures (from 8th to 12th rib), lung contusion, hepatic laceration, pelvic ring crush injury and urinary bladder disruption. Resuscitation and emergency management including suprapubic catheterisation and external pelvic fixation were performed successfully. Although complications of multiple rib fractures were excluded clinically and radiologically on admission, the patient developed acute massive haemothorax 5 days after the primary injury which has been managed appropriately. This incident raises the concern that haemothoraces and pneumothoraces can occur late after the original injury and high level of suspicion associated with follow-up chest x-ray images are essential in patients with rib fractures. Keywords: Polytrauma, Rib fracture, Haemothorax.

Successful transition from insulin to sulfonylurea, on second attempt, in a 24-year-old female with neonatal diabetes secondary to KCNJ11 gene mutation

Neonatal diabetes (NDM) is defined as diabetes that occurs in the first 6 months of life, the majority of cases are due to sporadic mutations. ATP-sensitive potassium channels located in the beta cells of the pancreas play a major role in insulin secretion and blood glucose homeostasis. Mutations that alter the function of these channels may lead to NDM. We report a case of a 26-year-old Irish woman who was diagnosed with NDM at the age of 4 weeks and treated as type 1 diabetes mellitus, with multiple daily injections of insulin with suboptimal glycaemic control and frequent episodes of hypoglycaemic. She underwent genetic testing for NDM and was diagnosed with a KCNJ11 gene mutation. She was transitioned to high dose glibenclamide at the age of 16 years, but the trial failed due to poor glycaemic control and patient preference, and she was restarted on insulin. At 24 years of age, she was successfully transitioned from insulin (total daily dose 50 units) to high dose sulfonylurea (SU) (glibenclamide 15 mg twice daily). This resulted in optimal control of blood glucose (HbA1C fell from 63 to 44 mmol/mol), lower rates of hypoglycaemic and better quality of life. This case demonstrates that a second trial of SU in later life may be successful.

The concept of “heart” in Old Irish church literature: The case of the Apgitir chrábaid

This paper attempts to analyze the instances and contexts of the use of the concept “heart”, which is the key concept for Christian anthropology, based on the material of Old Irish church literature, namely, on the treatise Apgitir chrábaid. The following cases of using the word “heart” in the studied text are revealed: “love for God in the heart”, “fear of God in the heart”, “purity of the heart”, “simplicity of the heart”, “confession of something in the heart”, “heart as a container of faith” , “heart as the dwelling place of God”, “heart as the place where the Truth is”. These cases are grouped by the author into types. It was done so in order to review them within the conceptual grid, built by various researchers, who utilized the idea of different semantic base for each case of the “heart” usage in Christian literature of Early Middle Ages. “Heart” usage groups were formed as 1) a physical organ 2) the emotion center 3) the intelligence center 4) the center of willpower and desires 5) the center of spiritual life and religious experience 6) the symbolic core of a human being, the synonym of a human being in general, spirit or soul in particular. An assumption is made about the presence of an intertextual connection between some fragments of the Apgitir chrábaid where the concept of “heart” is present and a number of biblical texts (Gospel of John, Epistle to the Ephesians, The Second Epistle of Peter).

NK/T-cell lymphoma of the nasal cavity: an unexpected diagnosis

Nasal-type Natural Killer/T-cell Lymphoma (NKTL) is a rare form of extranodal non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, typically arising in the nasopharynx and displaying an aggressive and ultimately fatal clinical course. The disease is linked to Epstein-Barr virus infection and is endemic to Asia and South America, but extremely few cases have been reported in Europe. We present two cases of nasal NKTL unexpectedly diagnosed in elderly patients, following very different presentations to our otolaryngology service. The first case is that of a 73-year-old Irish man with recurrent nasal vestibulitis despite antibiotic treatment. The second case involves a 79-year-old Irish woman presenting with a large mass on the hard palate, found to invade into the floor of the nose. NKTL can pose diagnostic challenges, as the initial clinical presentation can be non-specific and overlap with other nasal conditions, leading to a delay in diagnosis. Biopsy with histopathological and immunohistochemistry analysis is required to establish the definitive diagnosis. Treatment involves multidisciplinary input from radiotherapy and medical oncologists. Clinicians must be aware of this disease and have an index of suspicion when dealing with persistent or aggressive nasal conditions.

Glial Response and Neuroinflammation in Cerebrocortical Atrophy in a Young Irish Wolfhound Dog

A two-year-old, Irish Wolfhound dog presented with a history of progressive neurological signs. Neurological exam revealed disorientation, absence of menace response, reduction of right nasal sensation, hypermetria and ataxia with reduction of proprioception in all four limbs. MRI findings were compatible with laminar neuronal necrosis and possible bilateral cortical cerebral atrophy. Grossly, a severe bilateral reduction of the gray matter with flattening of gyri, mainly in frontal and parietal cerebral areas, was observed. Histologically, multiple, segmental, bilateral, and symmetric areas of neuronal loss, necrosis and degeneration, in a laminar pattern, associated with a reactive gliosis were observed. Immunohistochemical studies showed severe reduction of neuronal bodies, proliferation and hypertrophy of astrocytes and microglia. Few perivascular B and T cells were demonstrated. Based on these data, we show some of the neuroinflammatory events that occur during CNS repair in a chronic phase of this condition.

The Syntax of Absolute Verbal Forms in Early Welsh Poetry: A Survey

This paper undertakes a comprehensive survey of the syntax of absolute forms of verbs in the corpus of early Welsh poetry known ashengerdd. Comparisons are made with the syntax of absolute forms in Old Irish, in Old Welsh and Old Breton, in Middle Welsh court poetry of the twelfth century onwards, and with those found in Middle Welsh prose texts.

Welsh Chwant ‘Desire’ and Trisantona ‘River Trent’ in Tacitus

The article deals with the ancient name of the longest river solely in England, the Trent, flowing past Stoke-on-Trent and Nottingham to the North Sea. In a passage that has raised debate and led to a number of misinterpretations in literature, Tacitus recorded it as (emended) Trisantona, which has been explained from Old Irish sét ‘course’ and Welsh hynt ‘path’ as ‘trespasser, one that overflows’ (of a stream liable to flood). Trisantona or the like would be the name of other rivers, including the Tarrant in Dorset and Tarannon or Trannon in mid-Wales. Yet the interpretation ‘trespasser’ has grave phonetic and semantic defects. They are removed by a new etymology on the basis of Old Irish sét ‘treasure’ (Modern Irish seoid) and Welsh chwant ‘desire’ from hypothetical Common Celtic *suanto-. The paper provides textual, historical and linguistic arguments supporting this etymological interpretation. Trisantona or (preferably) reconstructed *Trisuantona (from *Tresuantona) would thus (instead of ‘trespasser, flooder’) mean ‘she of great desire, she who is much loved.’ The implication is that the Trent (like the English rivers Dee ‘goddess’ or Brent ‘she who is exalted’) was regarded as a Celtic female deity, a passionate and perhaps dangerous entity.