Is the fear of saying unfamiliar words out loud a particularly Irish thing?Emer McLysaght: Also, I for one will continue saying ‘goo-dah’ and be haunted by the unsolicitied knowledge it’s pronounced ‘how-dah’ for the rest of my daysFri Dec 08 2023 - 06:00
The men who delivered my tree were the absolute heads off the Wet Bandits from Home AloneEmer McLysaght: The Christmas trees I’ve known and loved have often been far from perfectFri Dec 01 2023 - 06:00
It’s easy to be cynical about RTÉ, but here’s hoping for a magical Late Late Toy Show for allEmer McLysaght: Let’s get Patrick Kielty the biggest water gun on the market and give him free reignFri Nov 24 2023 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Three wine tastings later and I’m still reeling from finding out my favourite wine is basically Um BongoI’ve never been fussy about my wine, but I’d like to introduce a little fuss into the experienceFri Nov 17 2023 - 09:03
Ireland won the Rugby World Cup, actually. That’s ‘Irish Maths’Emer McLysaght: Forget ‘Girl Math’, Irish Maths is what matters when it comes to bacon fries and paying rentFri Nov 10 2023 - 06:00
Matthew Perry spent millions on beating addiction, and we expect people to do it through stigma and willpower?Emer McLysaght: Matthew Perry was our friend too. To have such a cultural impact on a whole generation is truly astoundingFri Nov 03 2023 - 00:00
I ordered my Christmas tree. I won’t be decorating it until December 8th though. I’m not a complete animalEmer McLysaght: We’re being carried along on this tsunami of Halloween and Christmas fever and actually, it’s not so badFri Oct 27 2023 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Death by €5 – I’m drowning in subscriptions and can’t seem to stopMy chaotic money diary shows I spent €5,000 on therapy last yearFri Oct 20 2023 - 06:00
Kerrygold’s masterclass in modern marketing: An all expenses paid trip for butter influencersEmer McLysaght: Thanks to the home-grown brand for making me fall in love with Ireland through the eyes of wholesome content creatorsFri Oct 13 2023 - 06:00
If you’re a man who never thinks about the Roman Empire, don’t worryFind yourself thinking about the Roman Empire a lot? You’re not alone. It’s a thingFri Oct 06 2023 - 06:00
I genuinely get a little thrill when I put on my clothing items that have pocketsEmer McLysaght: There’s nothing more wholesome than one woman declaring to another, ‘It has pockets!’Fri Sept 29 2023 - 06:00
I used to like Russell Brand. Hopefully there’s a day of judgment coming for the Irish comedy sceneEmer McLysaght: It’s a wonder any female comics rise to the top, given the misuse of power and necessary isolation that seemingly must be endured in order to be successfulTue Sept 19 2023 - 07:15
We’re halfway through September. Sea swimming has become a battle of mind over matterEmer McLysaght: Usually the waters around Ireland are torture for the cold-averse and challenging for the hardiest of swimmers, but there is a wisdom that comes with never regretting a swimFri Sept 15 2023 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: At 3am in an underground bunker in the woods at Electric Picnic, I came to my sensesI love the community of festivals. The camaraderie in the campsite. But enough is enoughFri Sept 08 2023 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: I miss having tangible concert tickets to put in a memory box Smartphone photos and videos, social media posts, email confirmations . . . these 2023 memory box equivalents don’t really hold the same meaningFri Sept 01 2023 - 06:00
Farewell Aisling: Immense highs, excruciating lows and even heckling poor Graham NortonAs the final book in the OMGWACA series hits the shelves, Emer McLysaght looks back on six whirlwind years with the heroine she co-created with Sarah BreenSat Aug 26 2023 - 06:00
I’m a proud member of the ‘wokerati’. Should I use the phrase ‘Indian summer’? Emer McLysaght: In the year of our Lord 2023, I saw a man at an Irish festival wearing a Native American headdressFri Aug 25 2023 - 06:00
Freshers Week saw the hallowed cobbles of Trinity awash with vomit before lunchtimeEmer McLysaght: I joined both the Hist and the Phil when I started at Trinity, having never heard of eitherFri Aug 18 2023 - 06:00
When the soldiers boarded the bus at the Border I wasn’t afraid, I was buzzing Emer McLysaght: My summers in the North were all potato farls, Woolworths visits and armed soldiers in Granny’s back gardenFri Aug 11 2023 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: With Choc Ices in the grave, I feel a little piece of us has died tooWhat will they take next? Loop the Loops? Cornettos, for the love of God?Fri Aug 04 2023 - 05:00
I suffer from gate anxiety. That’s why I’m the first person queuing for the flightEmer McLysaght: I find airports too stressful to bother stuffing extra pairs of knickers down my leggingsFri Jul 28 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: I might remove my cooker and replace it with an air fryer shrine I’ve quickly become an air fryer convert. I haven’t used my hob, oven or grill since one came into my lifeFri Jul 21 2023 - 05:00
Ulcer-inducing summer childcare: It seems like the camps begin at 9am but end at 9.15am with a 45-minute commuteEmer McLysaght: I welcome the school holidays with a soupçon of the same excitement I felt as a child, not shared by my parent friendsFri Jul 14 2023 - 05:00
‘Maeve’ is taking over the US baby name scene, and it’s a gentle thrillEmer McLysaght: On my J1, my friend Maeve was regularly called ‘Mauve’ but luckily times have changedFri Jul 07 2023 - 05:00
Oh my my my, it’s almost July. Time for Mundy’s hit song to ring out across the landEmer McLysaght: Mundy’s song July celebrates and evokes the beauty of Ireland on a sunny day andFri Jun 30 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny are all driven by fear I remember believing ignorant things as a younger person. I feel ashamed, but am able to employ compassion to understand that I didn’t know any betterFri Jun 23 2023 - 12:59
I resent my friends for getting Botox. I resent them for making me look worseEmer McLysaght: How can I maintain my very loose grip on being pro-ageing if the people around me are actively anti-ageing?Fri Jun 16 2023 - 07:18
Harry Styles is ready for Slane, but is Slane ready for Harry? Emer McLysaght: Was it for this that Phil Lynott and Mick Jagger accepted Lord Henry Mountcharles’ invitation? Who cares?Fri Jun 09 2023 - 05:30
Nothing says summer in Ireland like a chic Italian in an ankle-length puffer coatEmer McLysaght: The elusive convertible owners start to appear once the mercury hits canal-pints levels. There can be no more than 16 in IrelandFri Jun 02 2023 - 05:00
Ouch! Why am I the main attraction at the mosquito buffet?Emer McLysaght: When it comes to insect bites I need the poitín of bug spraysFri May 26 2023 - 05:00
I’m having genuine brain melt about where the last 20 years have goneEmer McLysaght: Most elder millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers can compare the 2000s to the relative innocence and ignorance of life pre-widespread internet and social mediaFri May 19 2023 - 05:00
The Irish mammy is many things, but she’s not a racist stereotype Emer McLysaght: In Ireland the discourse around ‘mammy’ regularly rears its head, but a recent Twitter spat was differentFri May 12 2023 - 05:00
I inflamed the road rage situation by pretending to rub my eyes in a ‘boo hoo poor me’ tauntEmer McLysaght: I love to taunt bully drivers, which is a form of road rage all on its ownFri May 05 2023 - 05:00
Bring back #HomeToRide: why I miss the golden days of Irish TwitterEmer McLysaght: With Twitter in unsettling flux, nostalgia is already setting in for the heyday of #yokegate, #MassTweets and moreFri Apr 28 2023 - 05:00
Want to know how to use they/them pronouns properly? Watch this comedy showEmer McLysaght: The presenters of Channel 4′s Taskmaster have effortlessly introduced Mae MartinFri Apr 21 2023 - 05:00
I’ve been radicalised by ice cube TikTok as giant US fridges make their way into Irish homesEmer McLysaght: The latest beverage phenomenon is flavoured water. We’re not talking a dash of Miwadi or a splash of RobinsonsFri Apr 14 2023 - 05:00
A man is whipped, beaten and crucified. Is this really suitable content for children?Emer McLysaght: As a child, the Stations of the Cross was like a horrifying over-18s miniseriesFri Apr 07 2023 - 05:00
I’m not the only one enjoying Marty Whelan’s renaissance phase, brutal dad jokes and all Emer McLysaght: The veteran broadcaster is carving out a viable alternative to wall-to-wall news coverage or the berserk breakfast show modelFri Mar 31 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: I already had seven tattoos but I knew this one would be differentI got my first in Canada thinking I was the wisest nomad that ever lived, with thousands of miles between my parents in Ireland and the tattoo parlour in British ColumbiaFri Mar 24 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght on the most Irish things ever: There is a fine line between the cringeworthy and the credibleThe rabid need in this country to pair off any visiting celebrity with an Irish granny or a hurl and sliotar is excruciatingFri Mar 17 2023 - 05:00
I will never deviate from ordering the second cheapest wine on the menuEmer McLysaght: Confronted with a ‘by the glass’ menu recently, I became blinded by panic when none of my wine safe words jumped out at me. No Malbec, no Tempranillo, not even a reliable Cab SavFri Mar 10 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: I’ve no interest in having a baby but am obsessed by the names parents chooseThe thought process fascinates me: You are choosing an important aspect of a person’s identityFri Mar 03 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Trust is the crux of the issue when it comes to the male pill Placing sole responsibility for birth control in either partner’s hands is unfair but it’s the ones who can get pregnant who carry the most burdenFri Feb 24 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Finally someone is stepping up and making Love Island in the GaeltachtFinally someone is stepping up and making Love Island in the GaeltachtFri Feb 17 2023 - 05:00
What are we up to, watching influencer babies online? It’ll all end in tearsEmer McLysaght: Parents make a choice to publish images of their children – but they have no control over how strangers capture and use themFri Feb 10 2023 - 05:00
Kildare’s a bit blah but Paul Mescal has done more for it than the Naas ball ever couldEmer McLysaght: The Oscar-nominated actor whom the BBC called British has done more for the county than the Naas Ball could ever dream ofFri Feb 03 2023 - 05:00
Christy Dignam has served Ireland in several important waysEmer McLysaght: Seeing Christy Dignam on stage, I couldn’t fathom, in my ignorance, how someone could be an addict yet do what he was doingFri Jan 27 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Real life has tipped into dark satire when TDs need Garda footwear adviceThere’s nothing funny about anyone feeling threatened. But politicians being urged to wear getaway shoes pushed safety tips into The Thick of It territoryFri Jan 20 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: So now. What more do you need to say, in fairness?I’ve been a now-sayer for much of my life, like my mother before me and hers before her. It’s part of being IrishFri Jan 13 2023 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: January is a godforsaken month - here’s how to survive itEmer McLysaght: Thank God we have the anticipation of St Brigid’s bank holiday on February 6th to see us through this (godforsaken) monthFri Jan 06 2023 - 05:00
