A New York Times book critic spent five days in Dublin. Here’s how he got on
The city is a soulful playground for the kind of people who have spectacles on their nose and autumn in their hearts
Oscar Wilde
Running commentary - Frank McNally on the statues of Dublin’s Merrion Square
The southern and western sides lack any statues – moving or otherwise
The Devil’s Spine Band: Arrows of the Golden Moon – Undeniably ambitious but ultimately disjointed
The album, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s trip to Colorado, features luminaries of the Irish independent scene
John Weldon: ‘Don’t buy her a diamond ring without her express input’
Highlights of the busiest week in the auction calendar include a lock of Oscar Wilde’s hair, a Harry Potter first edition, and a rare 007 Omega watch
The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book and the ones to catch before they end
The best music, art, literature and more coming your way between Saturday, October 14th, and Friday, October 20th
Capturing the ancients’ dazzling queer energy in image and story
When we consider the many and ongoing erasures of queer history, the baffling silences of the archives, it is deeply moving to see a world, far off from our own, with queerness flowing through its very fabric
A secret gay history of UK espionage: ‘The skill-set of homosexuals and spies overlapped’
Huw Lemmey, a novelist and host of the Bad Gays podcast, has made the intriguing spy film Ungentle
A life of leisure: is it on the horizon and would we be able to handle it?
We should prioritise rest now, rather than waiting for an automated future that may never arrive
Would Oscar Wilde have survived in the #MeToo era?
Hugh Linehan: Wilde and Roman Polanski both took advantage of positions of power and privilege to sexually exploit young people
Grand: Becoming My Mother’s Daughter – A compelling search for identity
Noelle McCarthy’s debut memoir has plenty of tragic moments but is shot through with dark humour
German chancellor’s Oscar Wilde misquote looks like carelessness
Europe Letter: A citation by Olaf Scholz sounded more like something that would be shared on LinkedIn
Oscar Wilde’s false teeth were kept by a hotelier – but the family didn’t want them back
An Irishwoman’s diary: Oscar Wilde’s false teeth were kept by a hotelier who later tried to return them to the family – but they declined
When a ‘dungeon’ on Leeson Street cost £2 a week and swarmed with literary life
A new book explores Dublin’s literary past, an active part of living or working in the city
‘I admire anyone who keeps going in the face of adversity’
Mullingar crime writer has published a dozen novels and sold in excess of two million copies
The New Life by Tom Crewe: Vivid novel about 19th century homosexuality has a contemporary edge
Story loosely based on reality is both sensual and sensory, capturing 1890s London with the eye of a historian and a Jamesian knack for metaphor
Around Oscar Wilde’s kiss-covered tombstone, Paris’s celebrity cemetery is returning to nature
Père-Lachaise, whose tombs of artistic icons have made the city graveyard a tourist draw, has become a haven for wildlife, too, under a regreening scheme
John Lydon on The Sex Pistols, or ‘those unpleasant f**ks I used to work with’
The punk rock legend feels betrayed by his former bandmates and upcoming Disney+ series, Pistol
‘Would you like to visit my grave?’ The farmer planning a home burial
Martin Neary has permission to be buried on his own lands in Co Mayo when he dies
Gerald Barry: ‘I’ve had an energy in me that has not had an outlet’
The composer on sea bream, symbols, spies, Salome and his new Cello Concerto
A salt course: Learn how to season with the best of them
Some people don’t even have salt in their house. Are you one of them?
Finding Marcel Proust: Paris marks centenary of the writer’s death
An exhibition at the Musée Carnavalet places Proust in his Belle Époque milieu
The best circles – Paul Clements on the Ulster History Circle’s commemorative plaques
An Irishman’s Diary
Oscar Wilde’s former street named the most expensive in England
Average house price on Tite Street in Chelsea is £28.9m, says mortgage lender Halifax
100 independent Irish online shops for Christmas presents
There’s no excuse for not shopping locally this Christmas as ever more Irish retailers go online
Greek myths, fairy tales and now TikTok: our enduring love affair with horror
Halloween horror taps into cultural roots going back to ancient Greece via the Romantics
Going to college? Head to the open days in universities around the country
When are they on and what’s on offer? Key facts about 2021-2022 open days
Sean Moncrieff: People act like I chose this surname, just to be difficult or pretentious
In multi-cultural western societies, name-mangling has become infused with politics
October travel: From rewilding in Meath to going Wilde for afternoon tea
Plus: Take a Monaghan mini-break in gorgeous Glaslough or discover cultured Dublin
There’s a difference between shyness and social anxiety
Quiet people rest assured, brilliant conversationalists are a pain in the neck
End of the Line – Frank McNally on the dubious legacy of the last Earl of Clanrickarde
An Irishman’s Diary
Piccadilly Circus – Frank McNally on the colourful, coded history of a famous London address
An Irishman’s Diary
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Election 2024
Full general election coverage including analysis and results for all 43 constituencies
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices