An Irish Diary
An Irish Diary
Lexicographer at Large – Frank McNally on Dinneen’s Dictionary and the Dáil row about unparliamentary Irish
Myles na gCopaleen blamed Dinneen’s Dictionary for his decision to stop writing columns in Irish
For Whom the Bells Toll – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of “sound baths”
It’s another organised way to relax, like yoga but without the stretching
All fired up – Ita O’Kelly on keeping the homes fires burning
Looking back, I marvel at the sheer work of simply staying warm in an old house
‘A man of remarkable presence’: The physician and poet who gave his name to the Sigerson Cup
A physician, biologist, poet, author and cultural activist
The Real McCabe - Frank McNally on a great (and much-married) American newspaper columnist
He received the editorial equivalent of a 21-gun salute: “He was six columns ahead at his death”
Comic Stripped - Frank McNally on the cancellation of P.G. Wodehouse
His presumed crime was to make a series of broadcasts from Berlin in 1941
Signifying Nothing - Frank McNally on a new linguistic plague
A little bell had started to ring in my head every time he said ‘very significant’ again
Thrilling tales – Oliver O’Hanlon on novelist Katherine Thurston
Her best-selling novels dealt with various themes, including love, addiction, adultery and gambling
Leaning into love – Alison Healy on St Valentine and Dublin
A city with three Love Lanes, not to mention a Ring Street and a Bride Street
Assurance and zeal – Brian Maye on trade unionist Séamus Redmond
Redmond played a key role in the Marine Port and General Workers’ Union
Hardebeck Edition – Frank McNally on an Anglo-German musician who became the “blind bard of Belfast”
He travelled widely in the Gaeltacht areas of Ulster on a mission to save traditional airs from oblivion
Anti-social climber – Frank McNally on the pioneering cat burglar Robert Augustus Delaney
Handsome, charming, and well-dressed, Delaney was a popular figure in the West End of London
Digging Up History – Frank McNally on the McMahon, and other once-famous spades
You didn’t call a spade a spade – you called it a “McMahon”
In the name of the father – Frank McNally on the waning tradition of family nicknames
There was a ‘Boss’, a ‘Yankee’, ‘Pipes’, ‘Mick Miley’, ‘Wee Mick’, and ‘Slasher’, among others
Princess Margaret’s Galway island visit: ‘By the cut of you, you’re a lady. Will you take a drink?’
Éamon de Valera and Princess Margaret were in the same room of a cottage on Tawin Island - just not at the same time
Saoirse Ronan has died only six times, Liam Neeson 31
When it comes to the deaths, or near-deaths, of fictional characters, JR Ewing of Dallas fame must surely be one of the most memorable
Power ballad – Frank McNally on the case for an Irish ‘Wichita Lineman’
Has anyone ever composed a musical eulogy, country or otherwise, to Ireland’s electrical repair crews?
A Tale of Two Richards – Marc McMenamin on two oft-confused Limerick men
Richard Francis Hayes and Richard James Hayes
Last Poll and Chorus – Frank McNally on the end of 400 years of Trinity College elections
Dublin University can claim to have elected Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy, or a bit of him
Hit (and miss) parade – Frank McNally on the mixed fortunes of a who’s who list from 40 years ago
These lists always give hostages to fortune
Glad rags – Colm Keena on clothes and society
So many people in the wealthiest, most free, most democratic societies in human history opt to wear what is comparatively drab clothing
Nato and Irish neutrality – John Mulqueen on a vexed political issue
For some, neutrality became a sacred cow associated with high moral purpose
Cardinal Red – Frank McNally on a cultural history of wind colour
The concept of a Dulux-style wind-colour catalogue was well established here and elsewhere
Poison Pen – Frank McNally on the late-blooming Violet Needham, children’s novelist extraordinaire
She had spent a long apprenticeship as a storyteller to nieces and nephews
From here to Timbuktu – Alison Healy on a byword for the most remote and distant place imaginable
Thanks to globalisation, Timbuktu is not so remote any more
Physician, soldier, explorer and naturalist – Marc McMenamin on Maj Richard WG Hingston
His life’s passion was the study of natural history
The beat goes on – Alison Healy on Holocaust survivor and musician Saul Dreier
“I am very happy when I play . . . music is life”
Pointed reference – Frank McNally on the importance of being salient
Peace explains why the term “Monaghan Salient” has fallen out of use
Sleeveen and Jackeen: A History of Ireland in 100 diminutives
Number 70: Drisheen (stuffed small intestines of sheep, considered food in Cork)
(Southern) Cross Country – Frank McNally on Argentina’s 150-year-old Irish newspaper
The world’s longest-running Irish newspaper produced outside Ireland, and among the oldest of any kind in Argentina
Funny Peculiar – Frank McNally on the unhilarious St Hilary and the legal term named after him
The ancient Romans used to host Hilaria: public holidays marked by ceremonial rejoicing
Comrades – John Mulqueen on the price of a divided left
Petty differences should be resolved quickly, as Labour discovered just one year after its first breakthrough in a general election
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