Chronicle
Recent articles by David Marshall
Irish essayist, author, journalist and publication architect.
Wikidata ID: Q141434362
Still In the making – Recent entries across my writing and wider practice. January 2026 onwards
Please note: The following are not recorded here: The entries in Field Notes (notes.marshall.re), Radar Signals (signals.marshall.ie/radr.ie) nor Brieifing Insights (insights.marshall.ie) as these are supporting notes and break-out boxes for the main columns.
Energy Briefing Series : Part 4
From System to Society
Marshall on Policy
Wed 23 Sep 2026
This briefing argues that Ireland’s energy transition is ultimately a social and political challenge rather than a purely technical one. Drawing on Irish experience, it explores how geography, governance, uncertainty and public trust shape infrastructure development, and concludes that resilient energy systems require democratic legitimacy, long-term thinking and a shared national vision.
pending
ESB’s Results Raise a Bigger Question
: What Kind of Ireland Are We Building?
Marshall on Policy
Fri 18 Sep 2026
This essay uses ESB’s strong financial and environmental performance as a starting point to ask a larger question: what kind of Ireland is emerging from today’s energy investments? It argues that debates about grids, renewables and infrastructure are ultimately debates about national purpose, and warns against allowing the country’s future to be shaped by default rather than design.
https://policy.marshall.ie/p/esbs-results-raise-a-bigger-question
The Campervan.
The Marshall Review
Fri 11 Sep 2026
The Campervan is a short story about grief, memory and the limits of perspective. Irritated by a campervan blocking her seaside view, Mary gradually discovers the quiet sorrow of the stranger who owns it. The story explores how personal loss can transform judgement into empathy, and how lives often conceal struggles unseen by others.
Quietly Subversive.
The Marshall Review
Sat 5 Sep 2026
In Quietly Subversive, David Marshall reflects on a description of his writing and discovers a deeper philosophy behind his method. Rather than advocating positions, he seeks to reveal hidden assumptions and make alternative possibilities visible. The essay explores democracy, imagination and the writer’s role in expanding the range of choices people can see.
Actions Without an Image
What Happened to Ireland’s Imagination?
Marshall on Policy
Sat 05 Sep 2026
In Actions Without an Image, David Marshall argues that Ireland’s challenge is not a lack of vision but a failure of imagination. While public debate focuses on policies, targets and growth, it rarely asks what kind of country Ireland seeks to become. The essay calls for a renewed national imagination capable of giving long-term purpose and meaning to collective action.
Actions Without an Image:
What Happened to Ireland’s Imagination?
Essays
Fri 4 Sep 2026
There is a phrase that appears frequently in Irish public life whenever discussions turn to housing, infrastructure, energy, education or regional development. It is usually followed by immediate agreement. Yes, we need a vision. Yes, we need long-term thinking. Yes, we need to look beyond the next election. Yet the phrase leaves me uneasy
https://essays.ie/actions-without-an-image-what-happened-to-irelands-imagination/
The Publication Architect: Part II.
The Marshall Review
Tue 25 Aug 2026
Part II develops the method of publication architecture: assembling the canon, identifying learning points, beginning with the reader, sequencing understanding, managing cognitive load, creating discovery, sustaining tension and achieving resolution. Its central argument is that structure, not prose alone, transforms perception and allows readers to see differently afterwards.
https://rvw.ie/h1the-publication-architect-brwhy-structure-matters-more-than-content-h1
The Publication Architect: Part I.
The Marshall Review
Tue 25 Aug 2026
In The Publication Architect, David Marshall argues that the enduring value of a publication lies not in individual pieces of content but in the structure that connects them. Introducing the concept of the “Publication Architect”, he explores how coherence, continuity and intellectual design allow ideas to accumulate meaning over time and guide readers through a larger conversation.
https://rvw.ie/h1the-publication-architect-brwhy-structure-matters-more-than-content-h1
Energy Briefing Series : Part 3
Moving Energy to Where It Is Needed
Marshall on Policy
Sun 23 Aug 2026
Ireland’s energy transition is not simply about generating more low-carbon power, but about creating a flexible national energy architecture capable of moving, storing and converting energy as needs evolve. The briefing argues that energy infrastructure, regional development and industrial strategy should be considered together, with resilience, adaptability and long-term economic balance taking precedence over rigid infrastructure choices.
https://policy.marshall.ie/p/marshall-on-policy-energy-briefing-091
The Energy We Cannot See.
The Marshall Review
Tue 18 Aug 2026
In The Energy We Cannot See, David Marshall explores the paradox of renewable energy abundance existing alongside unmet human need. Using Ireland’s growing levels of spilled renewable electricity and the work of EnergyCloud, he argues that the future challenge is not simply generating more energy, but connecting surplus resources to people, communities and social purpose.n
Energy Briefing Series : Part 2
Storage : Saving Energy for Later
Marshall on Policy
Tue 11 Aug 2026
Drawing on experience of energy storage in rural France, this essay argues that one of the key challenges of a renewable electricity system is not generation but timing: how to preserve energy when it is abundant and use it when it is needed..
https://policy.marshall.ie/p/marshall-on-policy-energy-briefing
On Writing: The Espadrilles : Part II
An Essayist’s Notebook
Mon 10 Aug 2026
A reflection on how The Espadrilles evolved from a simple observation about contradiction into a meditation on values, consensus and the nature of the essay.
The Question Ireland Avoids.
The Marshall Review
Mon 10 Aug 2026
This essay argues that Ireland lacks, or has failed to articulate, a clear long-term national vision. Using examples such as Ardnacrusha, it distinguishes purpose from policy and asks what future Ireland seeks to build. Its central concern is recovering the habit of national imagination before debating projects, investment or growth.
The Espadrilles
Essays
Mon 10 Aug 2026
A journey into the Basque hills in search of handcrafted espadrilles becomes an exploration of contradiction, craftsmanship, shared values and the limits of consensus.
Cadmium Brief 1
Marshall on Policy
Mon 10 Aug 2026
A short policy brief examining cadmium as an overlooked environmental and agricultural issue in Ireland, and asking whether current evidence, monitoring and policy frameworks are sufficient to understand its long-term implications.
The Score Is Not the Music
An Essayists Notebook
Fri 7 August 2026
Written after reading Trask on a flight, this note explores the tension between punctuation as codified rule and punctuation as part of the act of thinking, writing, and expression itself.
Before We Can Agree.
The Marshall Review
Thu 6 Aug 2026
An inquiry into the role of the essay in public life, arguing that genuine agreement begins with a shared understanding of the question itself.
Energy Briefing Series : Part 1
Flexible Demand: The Missing Half of the System
Marshall on Policy
Wed 05 Aug 2026
A policy briefing on the changing relationship between electricity supply and consumption, arguing that the success of Ireland’s renewable energy transition depends not only on generating clean electricity but on creating a more flexible and responsive pattern of demand.
https://policy.marshall.ie/p/marshall-on-policy-energy-briefing
Speak up man! And INQ
An Essayists Notebook
Wed 5 August 2026
A reflection on voice, attention, and the limits of categorisation that led to the creation of INQ, a space for the small observations and everyday encounters from which larger thoughts often emerge.
Voice
An Essayists Notebook
Wed 5 August 2026
A reflection on voice, attention, and the limits of categorisation that led to the creation of INQ, a space for the small observations and everyday encounters from which larger thoughts often emerge.
An Ambition
An Essayists Notebook
Wed 5 August 2026
A reflection on voice, attention, and the limits of categorisation that led to the creation of INQ, a space for the small observations and everyday encounters from which larger thoughts often emerge.
The Useful Tension.
The Marshall Review
Tue 4 Aug 2026
A reflection on the relationship between moral, democratic, and legal authority, exploring how constitutional tensions can strengthen rather than weaken democracy.
Tension as Structure
An Essayists Notebook
Mon 3 August 2026
Starting with a tension and staying with it long enough for something previously invisible to become visible.
Diagnosing Conditions
An Activist
Mon 3 August 2026
A reflection on power, participation, and social change, exploring how the first task of any practitioner is not intervention but understanding the conditions within which action becomes possible.
To Dig Where I Stand
Marshall on Policy
Sun 2 Aug 2026
A reflection on how we come to understand complex systems, exploring the importance of questioning assumptions, attending to sequence, and recognising the relationships from which meaning and outcomes emerge.
The Slow Arrival of a Difficult Truth
The Marshall Review
Sat 1 August 2026
An exploration of the often-unspoken social conditions that sustain reasoned disagreement, and the difficult recognition that argument cannot succeed where mutual regard and shared norms are absent.
The Geography Beneath the Transition
Marshall on Policy
Tue 28 July 2026
An exploration of the relationship between infrastructure, housing, and sustainability, arguing that the circular transition must address inherited inequalities if its benefits are to be widely shared.
https://policy.marshall.ie/p/the-geography-beneath-the-transition
The Circular Economy : The Quiet Test of Any Future Worth Having
The Marshall Review
Fri 24 July 2026
A reflection on how societies confront material limits, exploring the circular economy as the meeting point of climate ambition, economic resilience, and social responsibility.
https://rvw.ie/the-circular-economy-the-quiet-test-of-any-future-worth-having
Energy Briefing Series – Part 0
Introduction
Marshall on Policy
Wed 22 July 2026
A foundational briefing on Ireland’s renewable energy transition, examining how surplus wind generation reveals a deeper challenge: not how to produce clean electricity, but how to build the infrastructure, flexibility, and policy frameworks needed to use it effectively.
https://policy.marshall.ie/p/marshall-on-policy-energy-briefing
The Need For Vision
Marshall on Policy
Mon 20 July 2026
A reflection on public policy and collective purpose, exploring how understanding the relationships between housing, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, and governance provides the foundation for informed choices about Ireland’s future.
Policy Briefings
Marshall on Policy
Sun 19
July 2026
An introduction to the Policy Briefings series, setting out a framework for examining public policy as interconnected systems rather than isolated issues, and explaining the purpose of the forthcoming energy briefings.
The Strategic Emergency Reserve Bill
Marshall on Policy
Sat 18 July 2026
Written after the Strategic Emergency Reserve Bill passed the Seanad, this piece examines the accelerating legislative process behind Ireland’s proposed gas reserve and argues that key analyses should precede, rather than follow, major infrastructure decisions.
Acting For or Acting With
An Activist
Tue 7 July 2026
Differing perceptions of representation.
Cadmium and the Questions Ireland Isn’t Asking
Marshall on Policy
Sat 4 July 2026
A record of France’s cadmium discovery and the uncomfortable truth it exposes for Ireland: we have never checked.
https://policy.marshall.ie/p/cadmium-and-the-questions-ireland
Is Ireland’s €900m LNG gamble being decided too quickly?
Marshall on Policy
Sun 28 June 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
This Isn’t a Housing Plan – It’s an Infrastructure Fix
Marshall on Policy
Thu 18 June 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
When Does This Mis-Spending End?
Marshall on Policy
Mon 15 June 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
What this is
Marshall on Policy
Mon 15 June 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
Sigi : From Mark to Myth
The Marshall Review
Wed 22 July 2026
A reflection on the evolution of a writer’s signature into a symbolic presence, exploring creativity, memory, and the overlooked spaces where ideas quietly take shape. [rvw.ie]
The Name on the Ship
The Marshall Review
Tue 21 July 2026
An exploration of how the naming of Ireland’s research vessel Tom Crean reveals a broader shift in the figures and values modern Ireland chooses to celebrate.
Why Policy Briefings Matter
The Marshall Review
Sun 19 July 2026
A statement of purpose for a new phase of Marshall on Policy, dedicated to explaining the structures and interconnections that underpin Ireland’s most important public policy challenges.
A Shorter Address: rvw.ie
The Marshall Review
Sat 18 July 2026
A short reflection on identity, continuity, and readership, marking a new address for The Marshall Review while affirming the purpose that remains unchanged.
When sequencing is substance.
The Marshall Review
Tue 7 July 2026
A reflection on the relationship between planning and governance, using examples from local development and national energy policy to show how the order of decisions can shape the success or failure of public action.
On the Work of a Style Sheet.
The Marshall Review
Wed 15 July 2026
A reflection on the relationship between language and thought, exploring how writers balance tradition, precision, and readability in service of the reader.
Revision as Epistemology.
The Marshall Review
Sat 11 July 2026
A reflection on writing, knowledge, and the digital age, exploring how successive revisions function as a dialectical process through which ideas are tested, refined, and understood.
On Writing: The Espadrilles : Part I
An Essayist’s Notebook
Thu 9 July 2026
An early reflection on the writing of The Espadrilles. Looking back, it captures the moment when an apparently simple contradiction opened onto a much larger landscape of questions.
Acting For, Acting With.
The Marshall Review
Tue 7 July 2026
A reflection on political culture and civic participation, examining how confidence, shared experience, and collective action enable people to move from representation towards agency.
East of Tardets.
The Marshall Review
Sat 4 July 2026
A reflection on craftsmanship and belonging, examining how places reveal themselves through skilled hands, shared practices, and the encounters that arise around them.
The Octave Asked the Question.
The Marshall Review
Fri 3 July 2026
A reflection on the foundations of music, examining how human cultures have built diverse musical worlds upon the shared physical realities of vibration, resonance, and the octave.
Marshall Review – Editorial Note.
The Marshall Review
Mon 29 June 2026
A reflection on writing, publication, and editorial purpose, exploring the relationship between exploratory notes, public commentary, and the craft of the finished essay.
Bring, Take, and the Slow Death of Spatial Awareness.
The Marshall Review
Wed 24 June 2026
A light-hearted defence of linguistic precision, arguing that the misuse of “bring” and “take” reflects a broader erosion of spatial awareness and attentiveness in everyday communication.
https://rvw.ie/bring-take-and-the-slow-death-of-spatial-awareness
The Beige Jumper Test.
The Marshall Review
Sun 21 June 2026
A reflection on craft, place, and personal identity, examining how the objects we choose can embody history, function, and a sense of belonging beyond mere utility.
The eskératz (entrance hall).
The Marshall Review
Sat 20 June 2026
A reflection on domestic space and cultural memory, examining how a room’s furnishings can preserve its identity as a place of work, encounter, and hospitality across generations.
The Uncomfortable Nature of Uncertainty.
The Marginalia of Sigi
Tue 7 July 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
How I Became Ambassador Extraordinary for Unfinished Questions.
The Marginalia of Sigi
Tue 7 July 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
An Account from the Margin of a Feasibility Study.
The Marginalia of Sigi
Tue 7 July 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
I Was Never on the Wireless Underground Railway.
The Marginalia of Sigi
Tue 7 July 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
The Transient Life of Library Tattle.
The Marginalia of Sigi
Tue 7 July 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
The Story of Music Summary – The Octave And The Fretboard.
My Guitar
Sat 4 July 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
The Story of Music Part 9 : The Seven Degrees- Colour, Gravity, and Motion.
My Guitar
Sat 25 April 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah
Example titile
Publication titile
Tue 7 July 2026
Brief descriptive paragrah