Ducking for cover from nocturnal monstersToo cold, or too hot; too angry, or too remorseful – getting through the night can feel as tricky as being a duck trapped in …Fri Apr 16 2010 - 01:00
She stared and said: 'you're really off the wall, man'After an early sighting of a sleek and gorgeous wild mink, the day just kept getting strangerFri Apr 2 2010 - 01:00
Fear not: heaven is just around the cornerThe woman on the train said there was no luck left in Ireland, but I was lucky – I had tickets to The WaterboysFri Mar 26 2010 - 00:00
The Dude stuck between a chipper and a head-shopWhat’s a boy to do when the only nirvana available is on a notice in the window of a shop selling incense?Fri Feb 12 2010 - 00:00
Letting the paisley pyjamas out of the bagToo much intimacy can destroy a relationship – and a pair of thermal long johns can cause almost as much troubleFri Feb 5 2010 - 00:00
At the hairdressers like a pair of beached whalesWhen a hairwash in a Mullingar salon puts memories in your headFri Jan 29 2010 - 00:00
At the hairdressers like a pair of beached whalesWhen a hairwash in a Mullingar salon puts memories in your headFri Jan 29 2010 - 00:00
Plunged into an enlightened dark on Little ChristmasWhen it comes to raising up the spirits of times past, whiskey and candlelight can be powerful evocationsFri Jan 15 2010 - 00:00
Plunged into an enlightened dark on Little ChristmasWhen it comes to raising up the spirits of times past, whiskey and candlelight can be powerful evocationsFri Jan 15 2010 - 00:00
Learning about hospitality from one of the mastersA conversation reveals how the Clancy brothers liked an egg on their steaks, and other secrets of the starsFri Jan 8 2010 - 00:00
Learning about hospitality from one of the mastersA conversation reveals how the Clancy brothers liked an egg on their steaks, and other secrets of the starsFri Jan 8 2010 - 00:00
Just the place to chew the fat about matters of life and deathSometimes at the butcher’s, you can get a local education along with the rib-eye steaks you went in for, writes MICHAEL HARDING…Fri Dec 18 2009 - 00:00
Moving through the fair in search of some animal magnetismA day spent amongst horses can be a good distraction from purely human concerns – just try to ignore the fillies parading in …Fri Oct 16 2009 - 01:00
'I felt like a thespian god as I lay among the perfumes'FESTIVAL DIARY : A whirlwind of performances during the West Cork Fit Up festivalMon Aug 17 2009 - 01:00
A wedding to remember, and an island in Lough CorribDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: ON JUNE 28th a man and a woman were married in Ballintubber Abbey, Co MayoFri Jul 10 2009 - 01:00
Washing machines, life cycles and the cleavage of MeathDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I LOVE THE sound of a washing machine. It feels like there’s someone else in the houseFri Jul 3 2009 - 01:00
Straight from the horse's mouth, I was left with nothing to sayDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: ONE OF THE REGRETS of my life is that I never developed a relationship with a horseFri Jun 26 2009 - 01:00
Learning to look out for the pooka in clerical clothingDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: THERE WAS A priest in my childhood who abused childrenFri Jun 19 2009 - 01:00
Haunted by the Grim Reaper and a disturbing tale of depressionDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: RECENTLY A MAN collapsed as he stood in a stable yard holding the reins, while his horse was being shod…Fri Jun 12 2009 - 01:00
In Listowel on the case of the mysterious disappearing writerDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I SPENT LAST week in Listowel at Writers’ Week, trying to improve my conversation skillsFri Jun 5 2009 - 01:00
A quiet man from Seattle plays his cards close to the chestDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: IT’S HARD TO believe that there was life before psychotherapy; a time when people didn’t share their…Fri May 22 2009 - 01:00
Taking the voters' pulse with a Tweedledum from WonderlandDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: WALKING AROUND Mullingar can raise the blood pressure sometimes, especially if one gazes too long at…Fri May 15 2009 - 01:00
In a draughty old house near Birr, with one sock in my pocketDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I WAS TAUGHT philosophy by an old professor who was bald, and smoked Dunhill cigarettes, and lived in…Fri May 8 2009 - 01:00
Stick to rashers and sausages - fish plays tricks on the heartDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: THERE’S A NEW fish shop in Mullingar which sells fresh fish, so last week I decided to give up meat. …Fri May 1 2009 - 01:00
Tattoo tapestryDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: IF I WAS a truck driver in Wyoming, I could talk to myself all day, because I’d be so high above the…Fri Apr 24 2009 - 01:00
The truth is, I cannot live without a catDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I SPENT Easter Sunday afternoon minding the cat in the front room, and watching EastEnders, as my mother…Fri Apr 17 2009 - 01:00
In the end, everlasting life is nothing to boast aboutDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: WHEN THE PLAY was over in Tralee, on Sunday night, there was an eerie silence in the theatreFri Apr 10 2009 - 01:00
A stroll in the shadow of weeping menDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: LAST WEEK I walked on Banna strand with an old friend. We were like twigs on a vast sheet of skyFri Apr 3 2009 - 01:00
Staring at the water, staring at the wallDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I WAS IN a nursing home on Friday; a clean building, with squeaky floors, and radiators humming with…Fri Mar 20 2009 - 00:00
Remembering the cruel things we did to foolish-looking frogsDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: ALL ACROSS WESTMEATH there are abandoned building sites, muddy trenches, half-made foundations, roofless…Fri Mar 13 2009 - 00:00
Picking out odd words instead of shouting at the radioDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I WAS LISTENING to the Tánaiste talking to Cathal Mac Coille on the radioFri Mar 6 2009 - 00:00
Peeling the onion of ideas inspired by a turtleDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I HAVE MOVED againFri Feb 27 2009 - 00:00
Nowhere to chuck out the bitter crusts of lost romanceDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: ONE NIGHT a young singer was strumming her guitar as we waited for pizzasFri Feb 13 2009 - 00:00
In the company of ghostsDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: LAST WEEK I was looking out at the rain and thinking of my granny, who died when I was nineFri Feb 6 2009 - 00:00
A flippant attempt to turn the tables on an angry leprechaunDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: A BIG MAN poked his finger in my arm at the ATM and said: “I have a bone to pluck with you, sir!” I …Fri Jan 30 2009 - 00:00
General reflections on barbers, psychiatrists and holy menDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: LAST WEEKEND I was at a ball in the Park Hotel organised by Showjumping IrelandFri Jan 16 2009 - 00:00
A toast to Joe, and some raddle on the cheeks in the fading lightMISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I LIKE TO celebrate New Year’s Eve in the afternoonFri Jan 2 2009 - 00:00
Caught up in the tears of rage and sorrow shed by outcastsDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I STAY IN most nights. I gaze at the world through the television screenFri Dec 12 2008 - 00:00
Baking buns to forget the dwindling pennies in my piggy bankDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: BEING EXCESSIVELY happy is a mixed blessingFri Dec 5 2008 - 00:00
Lessons from a chance meeting with a young woman in a cafeDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I WAS OUT early one morning, and I found a small cafe that still serves breakfast rolls to the early…Fri Nov 21 2008 - 00:00
Kind words from Bangalore, and a truck to pick up an iPodDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: LAST WEEK MY iPod just stopped workingFri Nov 7 2008 - 00:00
Crimes and misdemeanours on the city streetsDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I'M STILL a little nervous of the English police ever since a night in London years ago, when I could…Fri Oct 31 2008 - 00:00
Fame at last, of the only kind that matters to a Cavan manDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I MAY BE old and grey but I have finally made it, to the front page of the Anglo-Celt arts supplement…Fri Oct 24 2008 - 01:00
As the global financial crisis sinks all boats, Westmeath sails onDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: MY PARANOIA IS on the increase again. It hasn't been so bad since I lived in Co FermanaghFri Oct 17 2008 - 01:00
Letting the grass grow under the Lady's FingersDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I WAS ADMIRING an apple tree last week, with a farmer just south of MullingarFri Oct 3 2008 - 01:00
Life lessons learnt from pigs and horsesDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: LAST MONDAY morning, the sky was blue, so I abandoned the breakfast dishes on the kitchen table, the…Fri Sep 19 2008 - 01:00
When small talk about the spuds wasn't small potatoesDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I WAS ATTRACTED to the sound of bells as a boy, and to the smell of incense in the early mornings, when…Fri Sep 12 2008 - 01:00
A traditional tune to drive away the monsoon bluesDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: I WENT TO the Fleadh in Tullamore to round off the summerFri Sep 5 2008 - 01:00
Grim memories of Radovan Karadzic come back to haunt meDISPLACED IN MULLINGAR: MY HOLIDAY ENDED in the Ice House in Ballina; a big glass-windowed world overlooking the MoyFri Aug 1 2008 - 01:00