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What’s with the name? – Frank McNally on O’Doul, O’Day, and other nominal oddities of Irish America

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

Tue Mar 04 2025 - 18:58
Tributes paid to ‘Ireland’s greatest writer' Jennifer Johnston at public memorial she arranged

Tributes paid to ‘Ireland’s greatest writer' Jennifer Johnston at public memorial she arranged

Family, friends and literary luminaries read from Samuel Beckett and the Bible at event

Sat Mar 01 2025 - 19:12
The BBC’s national question: Frank McNally on Edna O’Brien and ‘the North of Ireland’

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

Fri Feb 28 2025 - 19:00
Dictionary on the Double – Frank McNally on the enduring literary life of Patrick Dinneen

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”

Thu Feb 27 2025 - 19:00
‘This wonderful horse seems to have been as remarkable in death as in life’ – Frank McNally on an unbeatable stallion

‘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

Thu Feb 27 2025 - 06:00
Setting the Bar High – Frank McNally on pubs called The Irish Times (and more songs about newspapers)

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

Fri Feb 21 2025 - 18:58
The Times they are a-name-checking – Frank McNally on songs about newspapers

The Times they are a-name-checking – Frank McNally on songs about newspapers

Sing all about it

Thu Feb 20 2025 - 18:59
Lexicographer at Large – Frank McNally on Dinneen’s Dictionary and the Dáil row about unparliamentary Irish

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

Wed Feb 19 2025 - 18:59
For Whom the Bells Toll – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of “sound baths”

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

Tue Feb 18 2025 - 18:58
The Real McCabe - Frank McNally on a great (and much-married) American newspaper columnist

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”

Fri Feb 14 2025 - 19:00
Comic Stripped - Frank McNally on the cancellation of P.G. Wodehouse

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

Thu Feb 13 2025 - 19:00
Signifying Nothing - Frank McNally on a new linguistic plague

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

Wed Feb 12 2025 - 19:00
Hardebeck Edition – Frank McNally on an Anglo-German musician who became the “blind bard of Belfast”

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

Fri Feb 07 2025 - 18:50
Anti-social climber – Frank McNally on the pioneering cat burglar Robert Augustus Delaney

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

Thu Feb 06 2025 - 18:58
Digging Up History – Frank McNally on the McMahon, and other once-famous spades

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”

Wed Feb 05 2025 - 18:59
In the name of the father – Frank McNally on the waning tradition of family nicknames

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

Tue Feb 04 2025 - 18:59
Power ballad – Frank McNally on the case for an Irish ‘Wichita Lineman’

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?

Fri Jan 31 2025 - 18:59
Austrians battle with Irish terrain and ‘local dialect’ in Storm Éowyn relief efforts

Austrians battle with Irish terrain and ‘local dialect’ in Storm Éowyn relief efforts

Austrian crew set out for Ireland on Monday at 5am in their own cars, travelled through the night, sharing driving duties, and arrived 1,900km and 27 hours later

Thu Jan 30 2025 - 19:13
Last Poll and Chorus – Frank McNally on the end of 400 years of Trinity College elections

Last Poll and Chorus – Frank McNally on the end of 400 years of Trinity College elections

Dublin University can claim to have elected Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy, or a bit of him

Wed Jan 29 2025 - 18:59
Hit (and miss) parade – Frank McNally on the mixed fortunes of a who’s who list from 40 years ago

Hit (and miss) parade – Frank McNally on the mixed fortunes of a who’s who list from 40 years ago

These lists always give hostages to fortune

Tue Jan 28 2025 - 18:59
Cardinal Red – Frank McNally on a cultural history of wind colour

Cardinal Red – Frank McNally on a cultural history of wind colour

The concept of a Dulux-style wind-colour catalogue was well established here and elsewhere

Fri Jan 24 2025 - 18:58
Poison Pen – Frank McNally on the late-blooming Violet Needham, children’s novelist extraordinaire

Poison Pen – Frank McNally on the late-blooming Violet Needham, children’s novelist extraordinaire

She had spent a long apprenticeship as a storyteller to nieces and nephews

Thu Jan 23 2025 - 18:58
Arsenic and Old Books – Frank McNally on a reader’s literary cry for help

Arsenic and Old Books – Frank McNally on a reader’s literary cry for help

An unusual problem

Tue Jan 21 2025 - 18:59
Pointed reference – Frank McNally on the importance of being salient

Pointed reference – Frank McNally on the importance of being salient

Peace explains why the term “Monaghan Salient” has fallen out of use

Fri Jan 17 2025 - 18:59
Sleeveen and Jackeen: A History of Ireland in 100 diminutives

Sleeveen and Jackeen: A History of Ireland in 100 diminutives

Number 70: Drisheen (stuffed small intestines of sheep, considered food in Cork)

Fri Jan 17 2025 - 11:27
(Southern) Cross Country – Frank McNally on Argentina’s 150-year-old Irish newspaper

(Southern) Cross Country – Frank McNally on Argentina’s 150-year-old Irish newspaper

The world’s longest-running Irish newspaper produced outside Ireland, and among the oldest of any kind in Argentina

Wed Jan 15 2025 - 18:59
Funny Peculiar – Frank McNally on the unhilarious St Hilary and the legal term named after him

Funny Peculiar – Frank McNally on the unhilarious St Hilary and the legal term named after him

The ancient Romans used to host Hilaria: public holidays marked by ceremonial rejoicing

Tue Jan 14 2025 - 18:59
House Private – Frank McNally on the apparent occupation of 15 Usher’s Island

House Private – Frank McNally on the apparent occupation of 15 Usher’s Island

The short manifesto in the window has more than twice as many full stops – five – as Molly Bloom’s entire soliloquy

Fri Jan 10 2025 - 18:59
Mapped Out – Frank McNally on a wealthy namesake’s mansion, destroyed in the Los Angeles fires

Mapped Out – Frank McNally on a wealthy namesake’s mansion, destroyed in the Los Angeles fires

The house was built in 1887 for the Armagh-born multimillionaire Andrew McNally

Thu Jan 09 2025 - 18:58
Sculptor Exculpated – Frank McNally on the forgotten Irish creator of one of England’s most infamous statues

Sculptor Exculpated – Frank McNally on the forgotten Irish creator of one of England’s most infamous statues

John Cassidy’s gravestone, in the Catholic section of Manchester’s Southern Cemetery, makes no mention of his Irish origins

Wed Jan 08 2025 - 18:58
Just a tweak, mid-winter – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of Christmas

Just a tweak, mid-winter – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of Christmas

They say mishaps come in threes so now I’m waiting for the next one, which is the worst part

Tue Jan 07 2025 - 18:48
Name Shame – Frank McNally on the continuing tragedy of the forename “Kevin” and a bad night for “Shamrock” in London

Name Shame – Frank McNally on the continuing tragedy of the forename “Kevin” and a bad night for “Shamrock” in London

A dramatic decline in a name’s prestige

Fri Dec 20 2024 - 18:58
Kiss of Death? – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of mistletoe

Kiss of Death? – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of mistletoe

The plant and its associated kissing custom continue to be rare here

Thu Dec 19 2024 - 18:59
O Holy Fright – Frank McNally on an ‘uplifting’ carol service

O Holy Fright – Frank McNally on an ‘uplifting’ carol service

The world premiere of David Stifter’s hymn, set to music by Ryan Molloy, was a triumph

Wed Dec 18 2024 - 18:58
Keeping it lit – Frank McNally on attending the global premiere of Gloomsday

Keeping it lit – Frank McNally on attending the global premiere of Gloomsday

The chronological aphelion of Bloomsday

Tue Dec 17 2024 - 18:58
Decayed Centenary - Frank McNally on the  history of Irish brain rot

Decayed Centenary - Frank McNally on the history of Irish brain rot

A rather uninspired choice as Oxford University Press word of the year? Maybe not

Fri Dec 13 2024 - 19:00
The Eyes Have It - Frank McNally on the feast day of St Lucy

The Eyes Have It - Frank McNally on the feast day of St Lucy

The name Lucy shares its origins with the word lux, Latin for light, so it’s no coincidence her feast day coincides with the darkest time of the year

Thu Dec 12 2024 - 19:00
No Bloom at the Inn – Frank McNally on the delayed debut of a new (and old) Dublin pub

No Bloom at the Inn – Frank McNally on the delayed debut of a new (and old) Dublin pub

I just hope the ghost of Burton’s most famous non-customer has not entered an objection

Wed Dec 11 2024 - 19:00
Leap in the dark — Frank McNally on the obscure origins of an Irish religious insult

Leap in the dark — Frank McNally on the obscure origins of an Irish religious insult

Religious ‘jumpers’ seem to have been largely associated with the far west of Ireland

Fri Dec 06 2024 - 18:57
Prose and Con — Frank McNally on the rise and fall of a famous local newspaper

Prose and Con — Frank McNally on the rise and fall of a famous local newspaper

In its brief existence, The Taxpayers’ News achieved the distinction of giving John B Keane his print debut

Thu Dec 05 2024 - 18:59
Souper imposed - Frank McNally on Famine insults and Flann O’Brien’s debt to Con Houlihan

Souper imposed - Frank McNally on Famine insults and Flann O’Brien’s debt to Con Houlihan

Under the influence

Wed Dec 04 2024 - 18:59
Pint of order – Frank McNally on getting to the ballot box

Pint of order – Frank McNally on getting to the ballot box

At 9.30pm, mid-pint – and mid-point too – I tore myself away to vote

Tue Dec 03 2024 - 18:59
For the birds — Frank McNally on folklorist and freedom fighter Ernie O’Malley

For the birds — Frank McNally on folklorist and freedom fighter Ernie O’Malley

An evocative writer

Fri Nov 29 2024 - 18:58
Swift justice – Frank McNally on the height of the Drapier’s Letters controversy

Swift justice – Frank McNally on the height of the Drapier’s Letters controversy

Jonathan Swift also fanned the flames with songs and poems written for a popular audience

Thu Nov 28 2024 - 18:58
Parallel projection – Frank McNally on watching Gladiator II and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat back-to-back

Parallel projection – Frank McNally on watching Gladiator II and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat back-to-back

Extreme violence and European imperialism

Wed Nov 27 2024 - 18:59
When hospitality begins at home – Frank McNally on having a great welcome for yourself

When hospitality begins at home – Frank McNally on having a great welcome for yourself

The great self-extended welcome seems relatively modern

Tue Nov 26 2024 - 18:58
Conflict of many colours – Frank McNally on a finely illustrated atlas of the Civil War

Conflict of many colours – Frank McNally on a finely illustrated atlas of the Civil War

On a colour-coded map, Kerry’s grim ratio of deaths is represented by a shade that looks like dried blood

Fri Nov 15 2024 - 18:59
Lunar quest – Frank McNally on moon missions, misinformed quiz questions, and mountweazels

Lunar quest – Frank McNally on moon missions, misinformed quiz questions, and mountweazels

Revenge of the anoraks

Thu Nov 14 2024 - 18:59
The Dromcollogher cinema fire disaster – Frank McNally on a fateful day in 1926

The Dromcollogher cinema fire disaster – Frank McNally on a fateful day in 1926

The death toll of 48 represented a tenth of the village’s population

Thu Nov 14 2024 - 10:18
A Head of its time  – Frank McNally on the bicentenary of Howth Road and more about wakes

A Head of its time – Frank McNally on the bicentenary of Howth Road and more about wakes

I now belatedly realise that the road starts in London

Fri Nov 08 2024 - 18:58
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