Writer, Filmmaker, Mother, Grandmother
The day of the viva finally came and I am delighted to say that on Wednesday the 12th of November I passed! The viva, held by the examination committee at the University of Stirling, was robust and intense. I have some amendments to make, but to say I'm pleased to have passed is an understatement.… Continue reading Viva voce!
I guess it seems quiet on the PhD thesis front, but it isn't. As you'll know from my last update, I have submitted my thesis, and this is where another chapter begins (if that makes sense!). Given my Viva Voce is really close now, presumably my examination committee are reading, or have read my thesis,… Continue reading It’s all been leading to this…
This beautiful book, edited by Fiona Skillen, Helena Byrne and Gary James, was published by Peter Lang and launched at the Irish Embassy in London this month (September 2025). I'm thrilled to have written a chapter in the collection, writing about documentary films I have made with my company purpleTV, which feature women in football.… Continue reading Histories of Women’s Football in Britain and Ireland
I'm really excited to be featuring on a panel at the Aye Write Book festival, following the publication of Women Who Dared, From the Famous to the Forgotten, published by Edinburgh University Press. 'This is a vibrant, defiant and deeply human collection of stories about women who have made history - even if history hasn't… Continue reading Aye Write book festival
And that's it! After two crazy years, which were marred by horrendous grief and major surgery, I've managed to stick to my self imposed deadline and submit my thesis. I feel flat, rather than ecstatic, but only because I can't shake off the feeling that my commitment to my work, and its ability to demand… Continue reading PhD thesis submitted.
Yesterday, the 26th of May, marked six months since my beautiful daddy died on the 26th of November 2024. It also marks six painfully long months since I caressed my fingers around his, his voice no longer even a whisper, his light fading. In the early hours of that morning, I kissed him goodbye, praying… Continue reading Yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The Sideline podcast and Glasgow City FC are hosting a special screening of my 2020 Royal Television Society award winning film, The Women Who Built Glasgow City. I'm thrilled about this as the premiere screening scheduled to take place at the Everyman Cinema in Glasgow (pre BBC ALBA transmission) had to be cancelled because of… Continue reading The Women Who Built Glasgow City
It's lovely to be included in this important new book from Edinburgh University Press. It's called Women Who Dared and is 'stories of resistance, power and defiance from the women who dared to make history'. It's edited by Ben Fletcher-Watson and Jo Shaw and the forward is by the amazing Sara Sheridan. My essay is on… Continue reading Women Who Dared
It's been a while since I've posted a wee update on my thesis progress, but I have a very good reason. I've been busy, writing, and as of yesterday (20th March) I completed a full draft of my thesis. I'm going to pause and take a wee moment to appreciate this. The last 18 months… Continue reading On the road
It has been forty two days since my dad died. In terms of a number it has no real meaning, not in the sense of it being aligned to a specific date, like a month or two months, or even a birthday or an anniversary. It is another day of losing him again. A day,… Continue reading Notes of a life
When we were making the funeral arrangements for my dad's requiem mass and committal, Friday the 13th emerged as the first available date, but I didn't baulk at it. A date with such negative connotations was fitting. How could anything be positive on the day I would publicly say goodbye to my father? As it… Continue reading By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man.
This is PhD chat, but because my PhD thesis is autoethnographical, it is also entwined in the personal by both circumstance and design. In my last update about my writing journey, I spoke about how I wanted to be able to finish my last draft chapter before Christmas, in the hope of spending the first… Continue reading PhD draft. Breathe in, not out.
I posted the pictures below on my twitter (X) feed a few weeks ago, but a paper - that I could never support or read - lifted my thread and published it. For a while, it was the number one story online and as predicted when it comes to readers of a rag like this… Continue reading Al Fayed; an uncomfortable tale in pictures
It's been a while since I updated on my PhD journey. I may have mentioned that my ambition (intention...) is to complete the four year degree in two years. In theory, this means working full time - times two - every week, but this rigorous schedule is necessary if I am to submit at the… Continue reading 4 out of 5 aint bad
Summer has fallen and a ghostly swirl of orange, red and yellow leaves serve as a reminder that we are on the crest of another changing season. Winter will come, but there are still things to look forward to in autumn. October, as well as being the month my two beautiful children celebrate their birthday,… Continue reading October book launches
At the University of Stirling, the first year of a PhD is a kind of probationary period. This is in the sense that even though you are enrolled as a PhD student on a PhD programme, your status is not 'confirmed' and formalised until you have passed your first year. Passing involves submitting a 10000… Continue reading Another wee milestone in the PhD journey
I was nine years old when my granny died, but I vividly recall her funeral on Rathlin Island. My dad and, his brothers, carried Granny's coffin from the chapel down church brae to the cemetery at the church at the bottom of the hill, facing the sea. Back then, that journey was referred to as… Continue reading An island tradition; the beauty of saying farewell
It's been six months since we lost our mum. To the day. The 19th is a date that will sting for evermore. But although I say six months, it was longer in many ways. Jackie Kay, in Darling, writes: When smaller than her self,she seemed already to be leaving This line doesn't reference dementia, but… Continue reading “When smaller than her self”
It's time for some PhD chat. Yes, I am still working away on my PhD and still really enjoying it. I know there will undoubtedly be a period of stress ahead, but for now I'm delighted to be finding the experience such a positive one. I think as I'm working on subject areas that I… Continue reading Yip, I’m still writing that PhD..
I'm now four months into my PhD at Stirling (you can read more about my research here). It has passed quickly and it has been a challenging and rewarding time. For the first couple of months of my PhD, my mum was seriously ill in hospital. I tried to visit her every weekday - expect… Continue reading PhD life.
When you agree to a THR, it's major surgery no less and carries a number of risks, it’s undoubtedly because you have reached the point where it is impossible to function. The small pockets of relief that used to offer some respite no longer exist. Living in constant pain eventually becomes overwhelming and consequently, you can… Continue reading Reflections on total hip replacement surgery (THR)
Carol Ann Duffy wrote a beautiful poem, The Way My Mother Speaks, and the opening is stunning - I say her phrases to myselfin my heador under the shallows of my breath,restful shapes moving. Recently, I've been thinking about the way my mother speaks. Before her words come to me, I experience an odd feeling,… Continue reading The Way My Mother Lived
I'm so excited to be in conversation with Judy Murray at a forthcoming Tidelines Book Festival event (Monday, 11th September at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine). I'll be chatting to Judy about her debut novel, The Wild Card. I previously interviewed Judy for my film about her close friend, Elena Baltacha, the Scottish tennis… Continue reading Tidelines Book Festival event – @JudyMurray
I love July. As a child growing up in Glasgow, July signified the start of the school holidays and the month we travelled to Ireland to see our grandparents on Rathlin Island. It has rooted me in the island and the tastes, sights and smells of this special month. The summer month. Sadly, my grandparents… Continue reading July is summer.
I'm really looking forward to taking part in the latest Linen Press Inside the Linen Cupboard event, "Writing Character in Fiction". Novelist Susan Clegg and I will be discussing how to write character, in particular characters who are dark, difficult and yet utterly credible. If you've read any of my work then you'll know that I… Continue reading Writing Character in Fiction
I had a lovely conversation with the fabulous team at the Football Makes Glasgow podcast recently, talking about writing novels, working in football broadcasting and making my documentaries, focusing on those featuring football icons such as Rose Reilly, Tommy Burns, Jock Stein and Jimmy Johnstone. Thanks to Lindsay Hamilton from Glasgow Football Tours for inviting… Continue reading Football Makes Glasgow
Today marks 15 years since former Celtic player and manager, Tommy Burns, died. He was just 51 years old. He was an incredible man who loved his family, his Catholic faith and Celtic intensely. He also had a deep affection for Kilmarnock too! I knew Tommy as a work colleague and he was incredibly fun,… Continue reading The ‘Tommy Burns’ Times
It was wonderful to have had the opportunity to speak about my Cold War Hockey film on Connie McLaughlin's Morning show on BBC Radio Scotland, alongside Scotland player Jenna Park. There's a link to the sequence here. Jenna and I are interviewed from around 2:20:00 to 2:30:00. Cold War Hockey aired on BBC ALBA last… Continue reading Radio and TV
Margot McCuaig 