Kieran Healy

Na Gallóglaigh

Henry and Maria Farrell’s new title for their blog, “Gallowglass,” is so apt that I’m tempted to petition to join up as a fellow ex-pat Irish person. Might be a sensible career move, too. The Volokh Conspiracy, for instance, is rapidly becoming something like the Hoover Institution of the blogosphere. (I expect to see it appearing on people’s vitas: “May-June 2003. Visiting Blogger at Volokh.”)

On the other hand, it might be a bad idea. Alliances of this sort have a poor history in Ireland. As Brendan Behan once observed, the first item on the agenda for any Irish political organization is the split.

The group blog idea seems to be catching on—Command Post, Political State Report, and others are doing well. For simple facts, it’s a great concept—lots of links, always fresh.

For the most part, though, I prefer a single voice on a weblog. I enjoy Volohk, since they seem to have managed to keep a rather consistent style despite the vast number of bloggers.