Remembering Davoren Hanna: the work of the young disabled poet gave a sense of his wonderment with the world
Gifted Dublin writer had enormous charm and a `rascally sense of humour'
An Irish Diary
An Irish Diary
‘The worst mob scene I ever witnessed’ - Alison Healy on the chaotic opening of the Shamrock Hotel in Houston
A Time magazine reporter said the party “combined the most exciting features of a subway rush, Halloween in a madhouse and a circus fire”
An Irish Diary: How James Bond maligned Shannon Airport duty free
Ian Fleming wrote that Bond took a glance at the ‘junk’ in the airport shops including the ‘Brass Leprechauns’
`Alas! I am very sorry to say/That ninety lives have been taken away' Frank McNally on the `famously bad' poet William McGonagall
A poet so bad, as the Book of Heroic Failures puts it, “he backed unwittingly into genius”.
Moore the Merrier - Frank McNally on the commemoration of a famous Irish garden party from 1902
Three hundred invited guests attended a party that seemed to capture the zeitgeist of a new Ireland
Ché sara, Sara – Frank McNally on a mysterious Irish beauty who turned Casanova’s head
It was a humble barmaid who made the deepest impression on the Italian adventurer
What’s with the name? – Frank McNally on O’Doul, O’Day, and other nominal oddities of Irish America
Some Irish American surnames can seem almost plausible while also making your ears hurt
Far away, so close – Fionnuala Ward on measuring distance
It seems that distance, like time, is entirely measurable and yet also oddly subjective
The Derry man who influenced George Washington and Alexander Hamilton - Brian Maye on Hercules Mulligan
Tailor’s catering for officers and men in the British army gave him an access he would use to help the cause of American independence
The BBC’s national question: Frank McNally on Edna O’Brien and ‘the North of Ireland’
Author’s 1979 TV appearance included an implicit history and geography lesson for British viewers
Dictionary on the Double – Frank McNally on the enduring literary life of Patrick Dinneen
Lexicographer was described by profiler as “in some ways, as mad as a March hare”
‘This wonderful horse seems to have been as remarkable in death as in life’ – Frank McNally on an unbeatable stallion
Eclipse was sufficiently revered that his death created a market for relics not unlike that of saints in medieval times
‘Ireland, more than other countries, ought to be a country of trees’
As chatelaine of Coole Park for decades, Lady Gregory nursed and nourished the demesne’s extensive woodlands
‘The whole position in Europe is one of uncertainty and of menace’ – John Mulqueen on Éamon de Valera’s foreign policy
The Government’s prioritisation of peaceful co-existence echoes the position adopted by de Valera in 1932 when he became acting president of the Council of the League of Nations
The ‘shipyard poet’ – Oliver O’Hanlon on playwright Thomas Carnduff
Born in Belfast’s Sandy Row, he was very proud of his Ulster roots but also proud to be Irish
Setting the Bar High – Frank McNally on pubs called The Irish Times (and more songs about newspapers)
An empire on which the sun never sets
Lexicographer at Large – Frank McNally on Dinneen’s Dictionary and the Dáil row about unparliamentary Irish
Myles na gCopaleen blamed Dinneen’s Dictionary for his decision to stop writing columns in Irish
For Whom the Bells Toll – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of “sound baths”
It’s another organised way to relax, like yoga but without the stretching
All fired up – Ita O’Kelly on keeping the homes fires burning
Looking back, I marvel at the sheer work of simply staying warm in an old house
‘A man of remarkable presence’: The physician and poet who gave his name to the Sigerson Cup
A physician, biologist, poet, author and cultural activist
The Real McCabe - Frank McNally on a great (and much-married) American newspaper columnist
He received the editorial equivalent of a 21-gun salute: “He was six columns ahead at his death”
Comic Stripped - Frank McNally on the cancellation of P.G. Wodehouse
His presumed crime was to make a series of broadcasts from Berlin in 1941
Signifying Nothing - Frank McNally on a new linguistic plague
A little bell had started to ring in my head every time he said ‘very significant’ again
Thrilling tales – Oliver O’Hanlon on novelist Katherine Thurston
Her best-selling novels dealt with various themes, including love, addiction, adultery and gambling
Leaning into love – Alison Healy on St Valentine and Dublin
A city with three Love Lanes, not to mention a Ring Street and a Bride Street
Assurance and zeal – Brian Maye on trade unionist Séamus Redmond
Redmond played a key role in the Marine Port and General Workers’ Union
Hardebeck Edition – Frank McNally on an Anglo-German musician who became the “blind bard of Belfast”
He travelled widely in the Gaeltacht areas of Ulster on a mission to save traditional airs from oblivion
Anti-social climber – Frank McNally on the pioneering cat burglar Robert Augustus Delaney
Handsome, charming, and well-dressed, Delaney was a popular figure in the West End of London
Digging Up History – Frank McNally on the McMahon, and other once-famous spades
You didn’t call a spade a spade – you called it a “McMahon”
In the name of the father – Frank McNally on the waning tradition of family nicknames
There was a ‘Boss’, a ‘Yankee’, ‘Pipes’, ‘Mick Miley’, ‘Wee Mick’, and ‘Slasher’, among others
Princess Margaret’s Galway island visit: ‘By the cut of you, you’re a lady. Will you take a drink?’
Éamon de Valera and Princess Margaret were in the same room of a cottage on Tawin Island - just not at the same time
Saoirse Ronan has died only six times, Liam Neeson 31
When it comes to the deaths, or near-deaths, of fictional characters, JR Ewing of Dallas fame must surely be one of the most memorable
Power ballad – Frank McNally on the case for an Irish ‘Wichita Lineman’
Has anyone ever composed a musical eulogy, country or otherwise, to Ireland’s electrical repair crews?
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