Nordic Noir – Frank McNally on Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, past and presentThe Scandinavian gloom deepened steadily for an hour and 40 minutesTue May 09 2023 - 19:00
Onward Christian Soldier’s Song – Frank McNally on a possible Protestant paternity for Amhrán na bhFiann Anthem may have impeccably ecumenical credentialsFri May 05 2023 - 19:15
Balladeer Diary – Frank McNally on the Behan-Kearney dynasty and Amhrán na bhFiannThe French connectionThu May 04 2023 - 19:00
Hard Station – Frank McNally on a notorious but fictional Garda inspection from May 1923As the decades passed, the murky context was lostWed May 03 2023 - 19:00
High Office – Frank McNally on Oscar Wilde’s professorial birthplace and other startling new developments in artificial intelligence If walls could talkTue May 02 2023 - 19:15
Royal Wee – Frank McNally on the great Northern diminutive, the Joys of Belfast, and Mo Mowlam’s Hand of HistoryA linguistic version of nanotechnologyFri Apr 21 2023 - 18:59
In a Glass, Darkly – Frank McNally on looking into a “nanoedition” of UlyssesAn eye for detailThu Apr 20 2023 - 18:59
Routed Out – Frank McNally on the defensive road map of West BelfastEven aside from its unfortunate acronym, the Belfast Urban Motorway (BUM) was a misguided dreamWed Apr 19 2023 - 18:59
Writer’s Block – Frank McNally on the ugliest building in BelfastRevisiting the old offices of The Irish TimesTue Apr 18 2023 - 18:59
Rhyming hope and Heaney: Frank McNally on political poetry, rubbing Princess Grace, and a brand of shoes named “Bertie”An Irishman's Diary: Joe Biden gets some brownie points for pronunciationFri Apr 14 2023 - 19:00
Nothing but the trout: Frank McNally on the colourful origins of the legal principle res ipsa loquiturAn Irishman's Diary: Lending folkloric weight to the facts that speak for themselvesThu Apr 13 2023 - 19:00
Mauling Molly: Frank McNally on the rampant sexual abuse of Dublin’s most famous statueWe may soon have to update the lyrics of the ballad: In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my hands on…Wed Apr 12 2023 - 19:00
Blithe Spirits: Frank McNally on an eccentric Dart passenger, a Martello Tower visit and the ghost of James JoyceA story that has more holes in it than the storyteller’s T-shirtTue Apr 11 2023 - 19:00
Great Ulster Friday - Frank McNally on Easter 1998, pre-Troubles sectarianism, and the great northern vegetable rollAgreement memoriesFri Apr 07 2023 - 19:00
Portobello on Parade – Frank McNally on the phenomenon of Dublin suburb creepAt current rates of expansion, it will be in Stephen’s Green by ChristmasThu Apr 06 2023 - 19:00
The Harper that Once - Frank McNally on Patrick Byrne, a famous, long-forgotten relative “The last of the great Irish harpers”Wed Apr 05 2023 - 20:10
Now and Venn - Frank McNally on famous cryptographers, Venn diagrams, and equestrian dramaticsOverlapping circlesTue Apr 04 2023 - 19:36
Hard Lines – Frank McNally on a Border centenary, Mylesday 2023, and unionism’s ‘last post’A roving Irish Times reporter found on April Fool’s Day, 1923, that the Border was still soft in placesFri Mar 31 2023 - 19:00
Coaled below the water line – Frank McNally on a prequel to the Titanic disaster, 150 years ago this weekendThe SS Atlantic sank with the loss of more than 500 livesThu Mar 30 2023 - 19:01
Frank McNally on samba football, Joycean art, and the last great Irish harperStanding invitationsWed Mar 29 2023 - 20:00
Second Innings – Frank McNally on a post-independence cricket revival in Co MeathWielding the willowTue Mar 28 2023 - 19:00
Noose headline – Frank McNally on a famous escape from the hangmanThe extraordinary tale of Thomas LonerganFri Mar 24 2023 - 19:00
Postal posers – Frank McNally on doing a table quiz in the GPOIf I was an asset, I was a distressed one by the endThu Mar 23 2023 - 19:20
Connacht Capitol - Frank McNally on Ireland’s little-known ‘Washington’In support of its Washingtonian aspirations, it also has a White HouseWed Mar 22 2023 - 20:06
Hanging on every word – Frank McNally on a suspense-filled night at the theatreThe long dropTue Mar 21 2023 - 19:22
Prefixes and Postscripts – Frank McNally on American superlatives, souperism, and St Patrick’s Week hangoversHistory haunts everything in Ireland, or nearlyFri Mar 17 2023 - 19:00
Out and proud – Frank McNally on the many Irishtowns of IrelandA telling vestige of the island’s historyThu Mar 16 2023 - 19:01
Nangle of attack – Frank McNally on the BBC boycott, famous donkeys, and the Ides of MarchSurnames and destinyTue Mar 14 2023 - 19:30
Standing Orders – Frank McNally on ovation inflation at the theatreOnly a few dissidents sit and applaud politelyFri Mar 10 2023 - 19:01
Mountain Rescue – Frank McNally on a great Irish escape in wartime EuropeA daring journey in the PyreneesThu Mar 09 2023 - 19:32
Hot bots and parking lots – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of technologyThe chatbot signed off wishing me “an awesome rest of your day!”Wed Mar 08 2023 - 19:00
Commemorating Kate Kennedy - Frank McNally on a belated memorial to a great American educator from MeathKennedy became the first woman to run for state office in CaliforniaTue Mar 07 2023 - 19:15
Public House Premier – Frank McNally on the phenomenon of Tipperary publicans in DublinPublic house pre-eminenceFri Mar 03 2023 - 18:59
Cyclists on the footpath – Frank McNally on a permanently hostile debateThe debate over road and footpath use here is a permanently hostile oneThu Mar 02 2023 - 18:59
The Ole Shooting Match – Frank McNally on how Ireland helped launch one of America’s most controversial organisations, the NRAThe story begins with an epochal event 150 years ago this summerWed Mar 01 2023 - 18:59
Monkey Business – Frank McNally on Enrico Caruso’s indecency trial, as immortalised by James JoyceFamed tenor protested his innocenceFri Feb 24 2023 - 19:28
Calming America – Frank McNally on how the Ronald Reagan shooting made a celebrity of an Irish-American doctor Dennis S O’Leary became an unexpected celebrityThu Feb 23 2023 - 19:00
Stage Frights – Frank McNally on ‘Gentleman Johnny’ Burgoyne, GB Shaw, and Broadway’s biggest flopBurgoyne displayed a comic talent for which some admirers believed posterity might forgive his military recordWed Feb 22 2023 - 16:59
Saved – Frank McNally on a former church that houses the Internet ArchiveThe challenge of archiving the entire internet is an ever-more complex thingTue Feb 21 2023 - 19:00
Tip of the iceberg: Frank McNally on generous taxi-drivers and guilt-trip gratuitiesOn the long trail of the ‘wicked dollar’ tipping systemFri Feb 17 2023 - 19:17
Saints and Sinners – Frank McNally on the Holy Joes and hell-raisers of Notre Dame The quality of the college’s sports facilities do not suggest a reliance on miraclesThu Feb 16 2023 - 19:00
Catholics Cornered – Frank McNally on how a university in Indiana became the ‘Fighting Irish’The fame of Notre Dame and its sports teamsWed Feb 15 2023 - 19:44
Brew-ha-ha – Frank McNally on loopers, lexicography, and fermented hayLooper is one of those words that usually needs a qualifierTue Feb 14 2023 - 19:00
Bridge Over Troubled Porter – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of the ‘loop-liner’Courts would hear that the “loop-line trade” attracted the worst kinds of drinkerFri Feb 10 2023 - 19:00
First among prequels – Frank McNally on Irish cinema’s original MacDonagh and a subplot involving Flann O’BrienMacDonagh’s 1922 comedy Cruiskeen Lawn inaugurated the cinematic career of the multitalented Fay SargentThu Feb 09 2023 - 19:00
Turbulent priest – Frank McNally on Fr Clarence Duffy and a religious rebellion in 1970s CavanPriest came out of semi-retirement to lead a rebellion by parishionersWed Feb 08 2023 - 19:00
Ring of Truth – Frank McNally on Graham Greene and the Bells of ShandonStill ringing bellsFri Feb 03 2023 - 19:00
The Plot Thins – Frank McNally on France’s latest contribution to civilisation: the short-story dispenserThe concept is best suited to urban commuters: captive but fleeting readershipsThu Feb 02 2023 - 19:00
Old flames – Frank McNally on the traditions and lore of Candlemas“If Candlemas be bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in one year”Wed Feb 01 2023 - 19:00
A step in your spring – Frank McNally on vernal Februarians, St Brigid’s Fire, and the origins of Bridewell prisons Whenever it starts, spring is a season of the mindWed Feb 01 2023 - 11:23
