Never employ a cat. They are ‘unreliable, capricious and liable to absenteeism’
People were outraged at harnessing cats to do the work of humans
Alison Healy on a woman who became one of the world’s first and most fearless aviators
Clara Adams helped to popularise air travel with the masses.
An Irishwoman’s Diary: The earl who left Ireland behind when dreams of a hot-air balloon went up in smoke
Benjamin O’Neale Stratford hoped his creation would be airborne in time to help the Crimean War effort
She is one fertile bird: ‘Nothing Concepta does surprises me any more’
John Dolan’s goose Concepta has produced goslings on three separate occasions in the past year
No expenses spared – Alison Healy on a journalistic tradition
Expense claims were always ripe for a little embellishment
Early bird special — Alison Healy on a reign of aerial attacks
The car resembled one of Jackson Pollock’s finest abstract works
‘A feeling of confidence that I might one day be president’ – An Irish Diary on George Francis Train
Businessman was an inveterate traveller and thought to be the inspiration for Phileas Fogg
‘The worst mob scene I ever witnessed’ - Alison Healy on the chaotic opening of the Shamrock Hotel in Houston
A Time magazine reporter said the party “combined the most exciting features of a subway rush, Halloween in a madhouse and a circus fire”
An Irish Diary: How James Bond maligned Shannon Airport duty free
Ian Fleming wrote that Bond took a glance at the ‘junk’ in the airport shops including the ‘Brass Leprechauns’
‘I wanted a Japanese feel to the house’: Renovating a 1960s Dublin bungalow
When doing up their three-bed home in Glenageary, Yuuki and John Blakeney were keen to incorporate touches from Yuuki’s homeland
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
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
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
The beat goes on – Alison Healy on Holocaust survivor and musician Saul Dreier
“I am very happy when I play . . . music is life”
Obituaries of the year: Ten notable people on the world stage who died in 2024
Among those who died were Putin critic Alexei Navalny, actor Maggie Smith and criminal OJ Simpson