Frank McNally on 19th century engineering project that linked Tipperary with ‘civilisation’
Fr Edmond Walsh was a late vocation, having previously worked as a carter
Frank McNally
Craicing the Case – Frank McNally on the origins of a cultural and linguistic phenomenon
I also lamented that the compunction to do things for the craic was not yet recognised as a defence in Irish courts
Fields of Gold – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of a colourful Monaghan family
Theirs was an old English surname, derived from proximity to cornfields or work as a harvester
What’s another year? Frank McNally on the rise of a new tautology
Words that were doing a perfectly good job are suddenly deemed to need prefixes
Faithful departure: Frank McNally on a belated first visit to Knock Airport, 40 years on
I had to marvel briefly at its location, on a hilltop bog halfway between Charlestown and nowhere
Frank McNally: A History of Ireland in a Hundred Hyperboles
A catalogue of 100 colourful expressions, myths, legends and sayings
Lips Sealed - Frank McNally on a mysterious facial feature, the philtrum
Now it’s just a vestige of evolution, with no apparent function.
Not Making Hay by Frank McNally: A witty memoir on his journey from Monaghan to media
The Irish Times columnist reflects on farming roots, newsroom dramas, and the cost of nostalgia
Frank McNally: My life as a civil servant in 1980s Dublin
Frank McNally on the Department of Social Welfare in Not Making Hay – The Life and Deadlines of a ‘Diary’ Farmer
Irish Times diarist’s new memoir gives the everyday grind ‘new lease of life’
Frank McNally’s new book, Not Making Hay, launched by presidential candidate Heather Humphreys
Skipping pages – Frank McNally on trawling through the discarded library of a lifetime
A full-blown bibliophile, the deceased was said to have had up to 100,000 volumes
A day trip to Electric Picnic does not go as planned
If you go down to the woods: Frank McNally on a long, dark night of no soul in Stradbally
‘A breakthrough in the case of my stolen Dublin Bike and the subsequent €150 fine’
I am no wiser as to where the bicycle spent its long, lost weekend
Murder most vulgar: Frank McNally on an infamous case of the 1820s
He was in no doubt about where the blame for such bad taste lay
Letters to the Editor, April 18th: On biological sex ruling, Easter rituals, the Grace report and wind farms
‘Sometimes the law takes a while to catch up’
Decayed Centenary - Frank McNally on the history of Irish brain rot
A rather uninspired choice as Oxford University Press word of the year? Maybe not
The Eyes Have It - Frank McNally on the feast day of St Lucy
The name Lucy shares its origins with the word lux, Latin for light, so it’s no coincidence her feast day coincides with the darkest time of the year
No Bloom at the Inn – Frank McNally on the delayed debut of a new (and old) Dublin pub
I just hope the ghost of Burton’s most famous non-customer has not entered an objection
Skeleton service - Frank McNally on why horses’ heads (and the occasional saint) used to be buried under buildings
The foundation sacrifice
Picture post - Frank McNally on Cork nuances, the late Colm Ó Briain, and a photo exhibition in Rathmines
Himself and yer man, from Cork to Dublin
Long day’s journey into Nenagh - Frank McNally on the stress of covering celebrity funerals
Deadlines, from filing copy to car park closures, leave this journalist late to the party
The Greatest Escape? Frank McNally on one man’s mission to make a movie about the Catalpa Rescue
Rollicking true story has been made into a screenplay ahead of its 150th anniversary in 2026
All That Glit – Frank McNally on the ancient origins of a slippery word
Patrick Kavanagh may not have used the word in his poetry, but Seamus Heaney did
Time waits for Naumann – Frank McNally on a buried tragedy in Joyce’s Ulysses
Investigating a possible allusion to a man not yet deceased
Fighting Talk – Frank McNally on the perilous pubs and less-than-mean streets of Dublin
Enjoying an oasis of calm in the early hours of Saturday
‘If you fall through the mattress, I’ll see you in the spring’: Readers share their favourite Irish goodbyes
The Irish Times received a number of replies following Frank McNally’s history of Ireland in 100 goodbyes
Sex and table quizzes: Frank McNally on why being an anorak is cool again
Courtney Love, risqué art, and the Charge of the Light Brigade
Rhyming hope and Heaney: Frank McNally on political poetry, rubbing Princess Grace, and a brand of shoes named “Bertie”
An Irishman's Diary: Joe Biden gets some brownie points for pronunciation
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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