An Irish man told stunned Ukrainian refugees: ‘We had wars here but we didn’t leave our country’
It was a social event for Ukrainians in the local library of a rural town, but he wasn’t there for the tea or biscuits
I tried giving up my phone. It was a disaster
I left the phone on the bedside locker – but struggled to get through breakfast in the silence
‘I’d hate to be seen searching for a grave in case people might think I wasn’t a regular visitor’
I found three little porcelain angels at my parents’ plot, none of which I had seen before
I felt Travellers were strange and different until I befriended them. Then their similarity astonished me
Their unrestrained exuberance for storytelling showed me how bearing witness to one’s own life is the core of a writers’ destiny
A teacher in school convinced me I was a useless lump of dung
His voice always made me shiver, but he also contributed greatly – albeit inadvertently – to my moral development
Michael Harding: At one time, having a pair of binoculars on the back seat of your car in Fermanagh was unwise
Maybe I am naive but for me binoculars were a beautiful remnant of Victorian tranquillity. I’ve never thought of them as an aid for killing
Michael Harding: I stroll around car boot sales admiring the people making up a new kind of Ireland
‘One thing for certain is that young people will always fly from war on whatever life raft they can find’
Michael Harding: The Camino only makes sense when it’s over
The weather resembled Leitrim in January. I wondered how I could have been so foolish to think this would all be fun
Michael Harding: The magpies and I could both do with shedding a bit of weight
I took myself to the Camino a few weeks ago but I was focused on walking rather than pilgrimage
The view from Fanad Lighthouse fills us with a sense of our own mortality
‘In a curious way this wilderness feels like home,’ the General said, and I said nothing, though I understood what he meant
Michael Harding: A funeral reminds me of the sweetness of silence, when conversation was more than just chatter
Annie presided over her wonderful kitchen with the authority of a speaker in the Houses of Parliament
Michael Harding: Contrary to popular opinion, it’s all go in Leitrim all the time
Talking to plants and small birds is entirely sensible in this part of the country
My camera notices details I miss. I’ve never had this experience with my iPhone
Michael Harding: The camera’s heartbroken original owner gave me a gift - I imagine her sorrow embedded in it, and at times I feel it points at things without my guidance
Michael Harding: To me, Bundoran streets were once as glamorous as those of Las Vegas
Michael Harding: As a teenager, I’d hitch from Cavan with a tent on my back and sleep in the grass just for the thrill of a night in the Astoria Ballroom with Dickie Rock
Michael Harding: Did I ever tell you the story of the two cats?
With a permanent limp Jack joined the half-blind Peabody and the bewildered Charlie in a quiet but significant communion of love