Marita Conlon-McKenna: ‘I write what I see and what I feel. I can sense things. I always have’
Our senses lead a pathway to what’s going on in a story, says the bestselling author
Oscar Wilde
Rare photo of Oscar Wilde bought by ‘hardcore collector’ at auction for €6,000
Auctioneer says rare image of the Dublin author and playwright was a ‘lucky find’ by the seller
The Gate’s assured Ideal Husband remains fittingly haunted by the circumstances of its creation
Matthew Malone and Caitríona Ennis star in Marc Atkinson Borrull’s revival of Oscar Wilde’s most political work
Oscar: saol déthoiseach
Baineann saothair liteartha Wilde níos mó le seomraí suite galánta Shasana ná le saol na hÉireann, cé gur Gael bródúil ba ea é.
Event guide: Roy Keane and Roddy Doyle, An Ideal Husband and other best things to see in Ireland this week
May 2nd-8th, 2026: The best movies, music, art and more coming your way this week
Cultural exchange: Frank McNally on the mutual benefits of being an occasional tour guide
I suggested my guests look up Raglan Road on a well-known Swedish institution
Oscar Wilde, Paris and the afterlife of a scandal that never quite ended
The beautiful youth Wilde blamed for his downfall ended up a ‘stooped old man’ in Hove
Oscar Wilde death bed photo sells for about 100 times its guide price
The image was taken on the day Wilde died
Books, books and more books: Oscar Wilde and Brendan Kennelly memorabilia up for grabs
Annual sale at Trinity College Dublin to include books owned by the late poet and professor of modern literature
After Oscar: the Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland – A dramatic and engaging narrative
Book by playwright’s grandson relates how public shame over Wilde’s downfall shadowed his family into the mid-20th century
‘Very progressive’ Ireland celebrated as bust of Oscar Wilde is unveiled in Paris
Few people wanted to be seen with Irish playwright in his final days, actor Simon Callow says - but 125 years on, he is honoured
Oscar Wilde’s forgotten friend who nurtured him back from prison life on the French Riviera
Despite editor Frank Harris’s reputation as a rogue, the Irish literary light trusted him, as he approached his death 125 years ago
Event guide: CMAT, Ash and the other best things to see in Ireland in the week ahead
November 29th-December 5th, 2025: The best music, theatre, art and more coming your way this week
John Singer Sargent: The American painter who became an honorary Frenchman
Sargent: Dazzling Paris, a sumptuous exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay, tells the story of the artist’s formative decade in Paris
Rest in Paris: fancy your chances of being buried beside Oscar Wilde or Jim Morrison?
Plus: the thing Catherine Connolly and Keir Starmer have in common; the ‘lion’ on the loose in Co Clare; and a big job opening at the EPA
Oscar Wilde’s British Library reading pass reissued 130 years after confiscation
Pass was taken from Irish playwright following his 1895 conviction for gross indecency
Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: ‘If you think the present is horrible then you should try living even 70 years ago’
Deary talks about his new book for adults, rebellion, the cushie present day, and ‘wanting to create something worthwhile’
Children’s fiction: New and reprinted titles from Mary Murphy, Raymond Briggs, Oscar Wilde and more
A fearless explorer arrives on Earth, postwar childhood tales and classics to bewitch a new generation
In Extremis review: Intriguing footnote from Oscar Wilde’s final days of freedom
Neil Bartlett’s play imagines Wilde’s meeting, just before his trial, with the society palmist Mrs Robinson
Let’s face it ‘reach for the stars’ is not a very Irish mantra
Many disabled artists would opt for the ‘humble’ option of requesting lesser or no payment for work. Reaching for the stars is too risky
Bookish breaks: Get inspired with these literary destinations, from Castletownshend to the French Riviera
To celebrate Bloomsday on June 16th, we explore spots that inspired famous writers to create their classics
Red into the record – Frank McNally on Peadar O’Donnell’s libel case against the Irish Rosary magazine
The trial had its origins in the ‘Red Scare’ general election of 1932
Author Lisa Harding: ‘I have never been scared to look at the dark side of life’
The novelist on her latest book, Wildelings; her penchant for unlikeable characters; and how her acting background is a boon to her writing
Charm offensive: The close personal encounters with charmers that leave us uneasy
We know charm is routinely weaponised in politics, business and personal relationships. Still, we’re not always immune to charming people, and maybe we don’t want to be
Twist by Colum McCann: Surprising and electric, a wired-up story of what it means to bend yourself into new shapes
A novel that rolls across continents on seas of emotion that find their form in glorious passages of writing
An Irishman at Oxford: It was an education in being an outsider. I felt alienated from the very start
The good, the bad and the ugly parts of studying English through Irish eyes at Oxford
Read this and weep: Books that made writers cry
John Boyne, Edel Coffey, Ferdia Lennon, Sarah Gilmartin and a dozen other authors and critics on books that had a profound emotional effect on them
A New York Times book critic spent five days in Dublin. Here’s how he got on
The city is a soulful playground for the kind of people who have spectacles on their nose and autumn in their hearts
Running commentary - Frank McNally on the statues of Dublin’s Merrion Square
The southern and western sides lack any statues – moving or otherwise
The Devil’s Spine Band: Arrows of the Golden Moon – Undeniably ambitious but ultimately disjointed
The album, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s trip to Colorado, features luminaries of the Irish independent scene
John Weldon: ‘Don’t buy her a diamond ring without her express input’
Highlights of the busiest week in the auction calendar include a lock of Oscar Wilde’s hair, a Harry Potter first edition, and a rare 007 Omega watch
The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book and the ones to catch before they end
The best music, art, literature and more coming your way between Saturday, October 14th, and Friday, October 20th
Capturing the ancients’ dazzling queer energy in image and story
When we consider the many and ongoing erasures of queer history, the baffling silences of the archives, it is deeply moving to see a world, far off from our own, with queerness flowing through its very fabric
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices