Don’t forget your shovel: a monument to Irish-American affection for the Old SodSeveral Irish-Americans conspired to fly a shovel across the Atlantic in 1957Fri Dec 13 2019 - 19:32
How an Irish term for sewage may have entered American cuisine‘Slumgullion’ has nothing to do with Slieve Gullion or any other mountainThu Dec 12 2019 - 19:00
Long year’s journey into Irish – facing the perils of Duolingo addictionThere is more gender fluidity in Irish lessons these days – John may have a boyfriendWed Dec 11 2019 - 20:00
‘Britishness with a bit of music’ – How a cynical travel writer saw Ireland in 1913The obscurity of Richard Bermann’s book is the result of catastrophically bad timingTue Dec 10 2019 - 19:00
O Come All Ye Pedants – Frank McNally on the language of Christmas carolsFairytale of New York is already inspiring folk etymologyFri Dec 06 2019 - 19:00
Brigid over troubled waters: confusions over Anglo-Irish literary identityFrank McNally: It is only fair to disavow a case of reverse-colonisationThu Dec 05 2019 - 19:52
Digging deep for Macra memories in RathminesFlatland central was not short of sons and daughters of the soilThu Dec 05 2019 - 16:46
The new black – Frank McNally on the unsuspected colour of the seasonWhatever about its name for the month, Irish is not short of words prefixed by ‘dubh’Tue Dec 03 2019 - 19:00
Ordinary Joe: Ireland rugby coach looks back on an extraordinary decadeBook review: Joe Schmidt’s autobiography reveals glimpses of the vulnerable human behind the manicured imageSat Nov 30 2019 - 06:00
Frank McNally on why Ireland has unsuspected soul-brothers in the BalkansSavouring the sweet sounds of Irish Stew on a bus in west CorkFri Nov 29 2019 - 19:00
A standing army of poets at Speakeasy session in SkibbereenFrank Connolly, Anton Floyd and Ian Bailey among the writers who spokeThu Nov 28 2019 - 19:00
Up the pole: The strange phenomenon of Stylites, ancient and modernKelly managed to sleep on his precarious pitches by hooking his fingers into holes in the flagpolesWed Nov 27 2019 - 20:00
Stir crazy: A mix of Christmas puddings, lewdly-shaped fruit and ShakespeareA convergence of food and faith must have inspired many a homily down the decadesSat Nov 23 2019 - 07:01
How St Cecilia inspired composers from Handel to Paul SimonAn Irishman’s Diary: The bonus of becoming C SharpThu Nov 21 2019 - 19:00
The normal scale: From normality to normalcy to normalnessAll the president’s words: How a US president pushed the boundariesWed Nov 20 2019 - 20:03
Kicking new life into the word 'shebeen' in its true home, South AfricaAn Irishman’s Diary: Siya Kolisi would have been well aware of historic importance of the shebeenTue Nov 19 2019 - 19:00
Sung, Drawn, and Quartered – Frank McNally on the perils of rebranding Grafton StreetFri Nov 15 2019 - 18:15
Diplomatic baggage – Frank McNally on a milestone in official relations between Germany and IrelandThu Nov 14 2019 - 09:23
An Irishman walks into a cinema – Frank McNally on watching Scorsese’s latest epicTue Nov 12 2019 - 18:15
A bird to look up to – Frank McNally on a lesser-spotted but gifted member of the crow family, the jayThu Nov 07 2019 - 18:30
Manhattan Transfer – Frank McNally on the surprise origins of a classic Irish drinking ballad, Finnegan’s WakeWed Nov 06 2019 - 14:42
Rising from The Dead? Frank McNally on the fate of No 15 Usher’s IslandIf No 15 were to be preserved and extended it could be a win-winFri Nov 01 2019 - 19:48
Tractor inventor Harry Ferguson quietly rolled out feminist and egalitarian viewsAn Irishman’s Diary: He laments ‘the terrible conditions now existing in Ireland’Thu Oct 31 2019 - 18:00
In search of the banshee and the elusive lennansheeAn Irishman’s Diary: ‘Leanhaun Shee’ is the Gaelic muse, giving inspiration to those she persecutesWed Oct 30 2019 - 18:00
Fortune told in a Tokyo temple, and a fortune lost on an Irish trainAn Irishman’s Diary: Written on a sheet of paper, the O-mikuji (sacred lot) can be bad or goodWed Oct 30 2019 - 01:24
Last Post – Frank McNally on St Crispin’s Day, English patriotism, and shoe-makingFri Oct 25 2019 - 00:01
Political Footpath – Frank McNally wonders why pedestrians and cyclists can’t just get along (on the same pavement if necessary)Tue Oct 22 2019 - 18:30
Fascinating Ida – Frank McNally on the continued story of Ida Wood, a rich recluse who hid her humble Irish originsThu Oct 17 2019 - 18:30
A Southern Belle, Unwrung – Frank McNally on the ‘magnificent hoax’ of Ida Mayfield WoodWed Oct 16 2019 - 18:30
Frank McNally on Jonathan Swift, Japanese Christians, and the bombing of NagasakiFri Oct 11 2019 - 18:30
Found in Translation – Frank McNally on echoes of James Joyce in Japan and a rediscovered ‘Ulysses in Irish’Thu Oct 10 2019 - 18:30
Seoul mates – Frank McNally on some surprising similarities between Ireland and KoreaFri Oct 04 2019 - 17:30
If only the World Cup was in Russia: Ireland could do with the coldThe performance never threatened to turn a restrained mid-morning pub session into a partyThu Oct 03 2019 - 19:36
Room at the Bottom – Frank McNally spends the weekend in a Japanese capsule hotelWed Oct 02 2019 - 17:50
Japan defeat turns into a lose-win situation for Irish fansGreen army joins home supporters’ celebrations – and learns how to cross the roadMon Sept 30 2019 - 01:00
Rugby World Cup: Hard to begrudge Japan moment in sunIrish supporters in good spirits despite defeat after friendliest of meetings off the fieldSat Sept 28 2019 - 15:57
Irish fans in Japan discover unexpected links with their hosts‘Fukuroi’ sounds like something Mick McCarthy might have said at another World CupSat Sept 28 2019 - 01:00
Irish fans outperform Scots as game turns into Irish sing-songOur ability to materialise on any foreign field must be in running for ninth wonder of worldSun Sept 22 2019 - 13:29
Planes, trains and an ageing car: Irish fans push the boat out to make World CupHong Kong airport becomes Limerick Junction of Asian air travel ahead of Scotland clashFri Sept 20 2019 - 19:38
Berlioz’s Siege of Ennis – Frank McNally on the French composer’s love of Ireland, Robert Emmet, and a Shakespearean actress from ClareWed Sept 18 2019 - 18:30
Bridge of Sighs – Frank McNally on the contrasting role of two Dubliners in an infamous battle of the second World WarTue Sept 17 2019 - 18:30
