Harsh life of soldier Johnnie Haughey bore privileged fruit in son Charles
One hundred years on from his birth, all the late former taoiseach’s biographers have speculated on the impact of his impoverished childhood
An Irish Diary
An Irish Diary
Charles Bianconi, the Italian man who put Ireland on wheels
He saw an opportunity in early 19th century for cheap transport services linking rural towns
Here it was again, the phantom Yeats quote in an Irish pub in Perpignan
This same legend turned up on the Dublin City Marathon medal two years ago
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
Trying times for Ballinsloe: The Galway town and Ireland women’s World Cup squad
Three team members following in footsteps of many others, albeit men, in international rugby
For the Birds – Frank McNally on an encounter with Dublin’s Pigeon Man
When I got a word in edgeways, finally, I wondered why Dublin’s rapacious seagulls never came near him
Blades and Fades – Frank McNally on New York’s ‘Lads of Kilkenny’ and a Joycean Fenian in Paris
Washington Irving was a native New Yorker who had no known connection with Kilkenny
‘Colin Farrell’ and the jigsaw makers of Ireland head to the world championships in Spain
More than 3,400 dissectologists taking part, with two dozen entrants from Ireland
From Sugar Loaf to Ogre: The Irishman who was the first to climb the Eiger
Charles Barrington’s guides were reluctant to follow his chosen route, so he set out on his own for the western flank
The Word made fresh: One enlightening billboard outside a church in Mount Merrion
A friend from south Dublin suggested I write something about a church billboard where Foster Avenue meets the Stillorgan dual carriageway
Klepto countess: Light-fingered Irish aristocrat Mary Monckton
The Countess of Cork and Orrery was notorious for purloining items and smuggling them in her hand muff
Tourists beware: supposed new ‘traditions’ at Dublin statues
As with tour guides inventing stories, here’s hoping the phenomenon is not on the rise
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
Dog collars, a toilet seat and my favourite blue jeans: how a Victorian artist went viral
A long-time fan of William Morris on the enduring appeal of his floral designs
Lesson of St Paul - Colm Keena on one benefit of being a lapsed Catholic
Appreciating life, time and travel, with or without a magic bus
Eavesdropping on tour guides in Dublin I overheard what sounded like a very dubious story
I began to feel some Swiftian indignation on the part of the innocent Americans who were listening to the tour guide’s claim
Contraceptive crop: How an Irish-American agricultural fortune helped pay for the pill
Philanthropist Katharine McCormick used her riches to help the cause of women’s rights
It was just a perfect day... until we got to the Dursey Island cable car
Remembering an eventful trip to Dursey Island many years ago
Dedicated to the one I hate: Frank McNally on how a book inscription came back to haunt Patrick Kavanagh
Signed first American edition of Tarry Flynn is dedicated to ‘poet and painter’ Brendan Behan
‘The measure of my dreams’: Rainy Night in Soho lives on, almost 40 years after its release
One of Shane McGowan’s best-loved songs has been covered by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lisa O’Neill, Nick Cave and more
A mixed schoolbag: Noel Costello on turbulent classroom days and being taught by John McGahern
Teacher-come-celebrated writer was light on homework, which was fine by his pupils
The night a ‘sputnik’ crash-landed in rural Wexford
A garda arrived immediately to cordon off a crater in the field, then the Army was called in
‘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
A daisy with a doctorate? Frank McNally on the enrolment of ragwort in the rewilded lawns of Trinity College
Who knows how ragwort will evolve with the benefit of a few years in university? It might lose the latter part of its name, Jacobaea vulgaris, for a start
Ballet Go Backwards – Frank McNally on Patrick Kavanagh’s short-lived career as a dance librettist
This strange incident came about because of another surprising phenomenon little remembered today
A rose by any other name: Fionnuala Ward on a garden visitor with a life of its own
Sometime later, to the delight of my neighbour, it popped up on her side of the wall
A close shave: Colm Keena on the trials and tribulations of a summer job in St James’s hospital
This quickly became the cause of some anxiety, not for me, but for the poor patients
Barns ignoble – Frank McNally on Tom Waits’s barn obsession (and why Macbeth is innocent)
Tom Waits seems to have moved the scene to 20th century America
Long Day’s Journey Into Night – Frank McNally on a heady month for Monaghan GAA supporters, 40 years ago
My namesake and anti-Treaty grandfather may have been among the Monaghan supporters scarred for life
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
Boyne Companions – Frank McNally on why the road from Dublin to Slane lies mainly on a plain (allegedly)
The loveliness of the setting is matched by that of the village of Slane itself
A life’s work reviving the Irish language - Oliver O’Hanlon on Liam Ó Briain
The playwright Seán O’Casey was the first person that Ó Briain spoke Irish with
Make more of the Moores: An Irish village’s connection to the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The most prolific actor was Owen Moore who made an estimated 279 movies
Learnings from Tom Lehrer: Brendan Balfe on tracking down and interviewing one of his favourite performers
Tom believed the material was the important thing, not his personal appearances
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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