Lunar quest – Frank McNally on moon missions, misinformed quiz questions, and mountweazels
Revenge of the anoraks
The Dromcollogher cinema fire disaster – Frank McNally on a fateful day in 1926
The death toll of 48 represented a tenth of the village’s population
A Head of its time – Frank McNally on the bicentenary of Howth Road and more about wakes
I now belatedly realise that the road starts in London
Alive and kicking – Frank McNally on the continued survival of the great Irish wake
There were of course mountains of food brought by friends and neighbours
Ogham thoughts – Frank McNally on a new artwork, an old alphabet, and the longest word in Irish
The scribes of medieval Ireland, unlike Sinatra, never found their regrets too few to mention
Imposter Boy – Frank McNally on another appearance of the Flann O’Brien who wasn’t
A case of mistaken identity in the Devonshire Arms
Push notification — Frank McNally on an “offensive” cycling term that refuses to die
There is, for some cyclists, a principled objection to the term “push-bikes”
Pork scratchings – Frank McNally on racist piggy banks, the decline of thrift, and the joy of building playgrounds
As he swallowed the money, Paddy rolled his eyes in delight
Anyone for Tennyson? Frank McNally on the lesser-known Charge of the Heavy Brigade, 170 years ago this weekend
Unlike the celebrated catastrophe later the same morning, that was a success, although whether it was a charge at all is debatable
Skeleton service - Frank McNally on why horses’ heads (and the occasional saint) used to be buried under buildings
The foundation sacrifice
Red Letter Day — Frank McNally on the Zinoviev Letter, an ‘October Surprise’ of 1924
How decisive the letter really was is still debated
Schmuck spreader – Frank McNally on the unholy resonance of an old Christian hymn
Schmuck was once considered so offensive that people had to invent a politer alternative
Old Haunt - Frank McNally on the sinister past of a Dublin street garden
A part of Ballybough that was once shunned by superstitious locals
Going Undercover – Frank McNally on an exhibition about the Irish of the French Résistance
A fitting venue
