The best Irish stories are often about death. My grandfather stole his own funeral
The history of Ireland – the hunger, the loss of the language – was so much closer than I knew. The change had been so fast from my grandfather’s life to mine
Weekend
Stories that appear in the Weekend section of The Irish Times print edition
BBC presenter Nuala McGovern: ‘You don’t want to get notions above your station’
The Dublin-born presenter of Woman’s Hour on missing the spontaneity of going out dancing, her strongest childhood memory, and her biggest career regret
Mental health experts on burnout, therapy and the ‘medicalisation of mild anxiety’ in Ireland
The Professionals is a series of articles in which people from one field share their views of Ireland today
Dublin firefighters in pictures: Ordinary people quietly putting things right
On a night with Dublin Fire Brigade, what stands out is the crews’ quiet control and confidence
For the birds: alternative showstopper dishes for the Thanksgiving or Christmas table
Those among us who are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving might also like to take note of these excellent options
Fine Gael’s ‘new generation’ who quit: ‘Many TDs don’t see it as a career any more’
The party’s brightest stars of the 2000s walked away from politics by the age of 51
Twenty years in an Israeli prison: ‘We will never accept being sent away. We’re not terrorists’
A Palestinian man released from Israel’s prison system is happy to be getting married, but ex-prisoners and their families tell of harsh conditions, inside and out
Diarmaid Ferriter: Departing Fine Gaelers leave a mixed legacy
Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohoe and Simon Coveney are gone but the question remains: what does Fine Gael stand for?
Megan Nolan: ‘How can you think it’s so terrifying in the US and not feel that way about the UK?’
The 35-year-old Waterford writer on writing, life in New York and America under Donald Trump
The stain on your fingers from the bleeding aphids will go after a few days
Éanna Ní Lamhna on the rarely seen great bittern, a very irritating caterpillar, and the beautiful green lacewing
The golden plover’s numbers in Ireland have dwindled to a few isolated strongholds
Ella McSweeney: Golden plovers have begun arriving from Iceland, home to a third of the world’s breeding population
To get things done, Ireland needs more engineers and fewer lawyers
A country run by engineers will build and accelerate into the future, while one run by lawyers will litigate and decelerate
What happened in Ireland’s World Cup playoff draw and what are our chances of qualifying?
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men need to win two more games to make it to the tournament in North America next summer
Black Friday is followed by Returns Tuesday. It’s bad for the planet
Some shoppers wait all year for Black Friday to make necessary purchases they would otherwise not be able to afford, but others are enticed to buy stuff they otherwise wouldn’t
Ireland’s Changing Suburbs: ‘Glanmire was a village when I moved here’
Across Ireland, once-rural towns and villages are being absorbed into cities
I’ll take the darkness of the city over the darkness of the countryside any night
The night silence of the country is thick and deep, not so much broken as amplified by the occasional call of an owl or fox
Bob Dylan’s special relationship with Ireland began in 1984
Even before he takes to the stage in Belfast next Wednesday, the question being asked is: will the 84-year-old ever be back?
In pictures: On The Edge of Europe in Kerry
Valerie O’Sullivan’s new book features more than 300 photographs covering all parts of the Kingdom
‘We want people living there’: How Dundrum in south Dublin became a housing battleground
South Dublin neighbourhood has seen an intensification of apartment block construction over the past two decades, despite some objections
Is it safe to take paracetamol during pregnancy or not?
Recent controversial comments by Donald Trump and others have – at best – overstated any links between paracetamol use and rising autism diagnoses
This red fungus has been rarely recorded in Ireland
Éanna Ní Lamhna on the red latticed stinkhorn, spotted snake millipedes and a possible rare Irish sighting of a funnelweb spider web
David McWilliams: What is behind the anti-Americanism on the Irish left?
The Irish-American bond, our enduring and rewarding friendship, is bigger than any politician
A damp, soggy shed is frustratingly impractical but it has attracted visitors: snails
My garden snails, Cornu aspersum, are still active and show no signs of hibernating anytime soon
When the Border was being drawn, my grandad tried to put Derry in the Free State
What if Derry city was included in the Irish Free State or Donegal included in Northern Ireland? Or if there was no Border at all?
Ireland’s Changing Suburbs: Fintan O’Toole on the transformation of Crumlin
Traditional suburbs such as Crumlin are now far beyond the means of the working-class families they were built to house
This year’s Booker winner David Szalay: ‘I really appreciate Roddy Doyle’s simple, practical advice’
Booker Prize winner David Szalay, who abandoned Flesh several times in the early stages, stresses the importance of risk when writing a novel
From Angela Merkel to Ed Sheeran: The remarkable portraits of public figures by Irish artist Colin Davidson
Colin Davidson has painted public figures from Angela Merkel to Brad Pitt but does not define himself as a portrait artist, much less a ‘celebrity’ painter
What’s not to like about curling up in front of a cosy fire? Fine-particle air pollution
Solid fuel use is one of the biggest sources of air pollution in Ireland, posing a serious public health challenge
There’s an art to deciding when to start Christmas shopping. For me it’s December 22nd
Many tasks extend to fill the time available but if you start work on Christmas months in advance, it will take months
‘In Ireland the level of incompetence is really frustrating’
The visual artist Corban Walker on his middle name, what makes him angry, and how work gives him joy
Tanita Tikaram: ‘The Beatles taught me to sing low’
The singer of Fijian and Malaysian descent penned her hit single, Twist in my Sobriety, when she was a ‘introverted, opinionated’ teenager
Meet the retirees whose hobby is watching Irish court trials: ‘It’s fascinating and costs nothing’
A group of retired people ‘from different backgrounds and walks of life’ have formed a club to watch proceedings in the Central Criminal Court
Fr Dermod McCarthy obituary: Former head of RTÉ religious programming who survived a brush with Archbishop McQuaid
Creator of Would You Believe series filmed what is believed to be the first televised programme about famine
Drones, cars and dogs running off the lead can tip the balance against shorebirds’ survival
Migratory waterbirds live on a knife-edge – the main causes of disturbance to them are people and their dogs
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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