"The nineteenth century, especially the second half of it, was a time of restatement in Ireland. After the famine, after the failed rebellions of the Forties and Sixties, the cultural and political desires for self-determination began to shape each other in a series of riffs on independence and identity."

"If we are devoted to some inspirational and significant people in our lives, they will never vanish from our memories. The people who we do not keep a good relation with can be forgotten because they do not take affirmative action to help you overcome your obstacles."