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
Emer McLysaght: Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house...The clamour for wrapping paper, the dog acting up and the frenzied men buying bubble bath is what Christmas Eve is all aboutSat Dec 24 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Christmas brings out the inner binfluencer in me Emer McLysaght: Anyone who’s serious about bins has been strategising for weeks on how to have the emptiest ones come December 25thSat Dec 17 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: We deserve a so-bad-it’s-good Irish Christmas filmA festive Irish film would kick off with war over who opened the Christmas Lilt or Roses too earlySat Dec 10 2022 - 05:00
The key to surviving any outing with children is to have low expectationsEmer McLysaght: A trip to Wild Lights at Dublin Zoo was full of magic and wonder and awe, but there was also crying, begging, screaming and complainingSat Dec 03 2022 - 05:00
When you’re renovating a haunted hotel, the divil is in the detailEmer McLysaght: I thought Press Up buying Loftus Hall was an inspired purchase, but maybe I’m wrongSat Nov 26 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: The perimenopause guessing game feels like a cruel joke The perimenopause guessing game feels like a cruel jokeSat Nov 19 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Would an island like Arranmore welcome a blow-in like me? I fear being held responsible for bringing The Dryrobe Wars to Arranmore despite the island’s open welcome message to the worldSat Nov 12 2022 - 05:00
Where is the best carvery in Ireland? I’ll find it, even if it kills me Emer McLysaght: As a fat woman I’ve had to come to terms with being public about enjoying foodSat Nov 05 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Ireland is unmatched in conjuring up scary old ladiesThe Blair Witch Project remains one of the most haunting films I’ve seenSat Oct 29 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Have I somehow stolen another person’s pet without realising it?With my own cat spending more and more of her time at someone else’s house, I have another four-legged interloper in my own homeSat Oct 22 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Angela Lansbury’s voice was one of the sounds of my childhoodI felt a bit stupid, crying at the death this week of a woman I didn’t know, but that’s what nostalgia can doSat Oct 15 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: I’ve spent 15 years chasing the white wine highs of my 20sNothing since has come close to those Cafe Bar Deli nights with ‘cosmopolitan’ Caesar salad and cheap wineSat Oct 08 2022 - 05:00
‘Sitting on that church pew, I had my first glimpse into the pit of doom’ Emer McLysaght: In my 30s the hopelessness that terrified me as a child returned with a vengeanceSat Oct 01 2022 - 05:00
Jedward are assuming their rightful roles as the people’s princesEmer McLysaght: I’ve worried about Jedward’s endgame, but actually it seems like they’re well ableSat Sept 24 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: I get sick delight from seagulls robbing chips from crying kids I’m firmly in the ‘leave seagulls alone’ camp, even through the horrific screeching of nesting seasonSat Sept 17 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: So much admin, too many taxes - adulthood is a crushing disappointmentI really thought frogspawn and Billy Roll would play a bigger part in my adult lifeSat Sept 10 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Testing of drugs at Electric Picnic is a positive step, but who will sacrifice their stash?The HSE’s stab at an anonymous harm-reduction strategy is progress, but who will sacrifice their stash?Sat Sept 03 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Nothing about parenting horrifies me more than the school WhatsApp groupA new update allows you to leave chats silently, if the 37th message about a lost jumper tips you over the edgeSat Aug 27 2022 - 04:45
Emer McLysaght: Norovirus has slapped on the fake tan and booked a bottomless brunch with the girliesCalling it the ‘winter vomiting bug’ is a dastardly case of false advertisingSat Aug 20 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Westlife deserve the title of Ireland’s greatest manbandI’m surprised to find myself a Westlife superfan, but their arses are mesmerisingSat Aug 13 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: Why should I make climate efforts in a world of SUVs and private jets?I keep washing out my yoghurt cartons, even though it won’t save the planetSat Aug 06 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: A miracle hangover cure gets more appealing the older I getNew pill claims to reduce the negative effects of drinking, but as you get older you need an actual miracleSat Jul 30 2022 - 05:30
Emer McLysaght: Equating Love Island with suicide is not a useful mental health conversationI ask myself: Why do people go on Love Island? And why do I continue to watch it?Thu Jul 21 2022 - 05:00
Emer McLysaght: I’m a bestselling author but I’ll struggle to buy a house in IrelandAs a single woman on an average income the odds are not in my favourSat Jul 16 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Do I fancy Mr Tayto?He’s an enigmatic national hero, and he knows itSat Jul 09 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Ask anyone about their first gig, and watch them light upHarry Styles’ Dublin show was magical, and an important first for manySat Jul 02 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Who benefits from hatred of trans people? And who suffers?The argument shifts from semantics to bathrooms while trans people exist in painSat Jun 25 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Move over hot girls — it’s time for Stanley Tucci SummerThe actor’s pivot from Hollywood to pasta daddy will have you hot under the collarSat Jun 18 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Roll up the ham, it’s Irish summer salad season Temperatures are rising, so hard boil the eggs and prep that butterhead lettuceSat Jun 11 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Going back to choir feels life-saving‘I didn’t realise how much I would miss singing with a group in a field or a hall until it was gone’Sat Jun 04 2022 - 06:40
Emer McLysaght: Can we please send the Kardashians some big knickers and a slanket?Being under constant public gaze makes them seem uncomfortable in their skinSat May 28 2022 - 06:00
I am cursed with a sweaty head and a big red faceSolidarity with my fellow sufferers as we enter the summer monthsSat May 21 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Can Conversations with Friends live up to Ireland’s horniest ever TV show?I’m nostalgic for Normal People’s lockdown thrills and still rooting for its central coupleSun May 15 2022 - 06:00
Do I have what it takes to be a ‘coastal granny’?Latest TikTok trend channels Nancy Meyers movies, Diane Keaton in a shirt and endless bowls of lemonsSat May 07 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: To the person in front of me at airport security . . .I beg of you, put your tray back at the end of the belt. We are not animalsSat Apr 30 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: My door-slamming, telly-blaring, prayer-screaming neighboursThere’s only so much door slamming and patio inquisitions one can takeSat Apr 23 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: I still feel inferior when I go swimming at the Forty FootWe need vast improvement in the outdoor swimming pool options around the countrySat Apr 16 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: I’m not from Derry, but I am a Derry GirlLisa McGee’s show is indicative of what it means to be Irish and, more particularly, Northern IrishSat Apr 09 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Bono might be a pox, but he’s our poxSometimes it’s hard to be a U2 fan. They don’t make it easySat Apr 02 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Ireland’s best pitstop – we’re spoilt for choiceHow I love the motorway service stations of Ireland. Let me count the waysSat Mar 26 2022 - 00:06
Emer McLysaght: I’m not near being sober but I’m trying the ‘damp lifestyle’Pregnancy and alcoholism used to be the only ways to get off the booze hook. Not any moreSat Mar 19 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Dear Future, here’s why I’m thinking about leaving DublinThis year’s census invites people to add ‘time-capsule’ information, to be opened in 2122Sat Mar 12 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: Then it happened. The racist slur rolled off his tongue so easilyIf you feel that you ‘can’t say anything anymore’, then maybe you should shut upSat Mar 05 2022 - 01:00
Emer McLysaght: The two lines on the antigen test came with a certain reliefAs restrictions eased, I relaxed very slowly. My vigilance was still at 75% when I got CovidSat Feb 26 2022 - 06:00
Emer McLysaght: We cannot accept a return to street-sweeping jeansNineties fashion trends are making me feel ancient and sickSat Feb 19 2022 - 06:00
‘I was just in the shower thinking about Marian Keyes’Emer McLysaght: Liking things by women and for women was considered lowbrow. Marian called this out as bullshitSat Feb 12 2022 - 06:00
