An Irishman's DiaryVISITING Stockholm in 1923, WB Yeats remarked that the city’s Royal Palace – a magnificent structure and one of the largest of…Thu Jun 23 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWE’VE TOUCHED here before on the potential misfortune of being saddled with the Irish forename “Sonabha”Wed Jun 22 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryENGLISH-BORN but later a Bishop of both Ossory and Meath, Richard Pococke (1704-1765) was once described as “the dullest man …Sat Jun 18 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryA PRESS RELEASE just arrived from the Trim Haymaking Festival – which, incorporating the “Scurlogstown Olympiad”, takes place…Fri Jun 17 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN A week when a much-admired public man was laid to rest, it’s somewhat sobering to open my copy of Methuen’s Poems for Every…Thu Jun 16 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAS THE father of a female Irish dancer, I have for several years now tried to turn a blind eye to the use of artificial performance…Wed Jun 15 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG the portraits in the National Gallery is one of Thomas Moore by a Dublin-born artist called Martin Archer-Shee (1769-1850…Fri Jun 10 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryDOES anybody else share my amazement at the sheer numbers of Irish people who think they have what it takes to be President? …Thu Jun 09 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryEVERY schoolchild knows that Douglas Hyde was Ireland’s first PresidentWed Jun 08 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE LAST word on “mullocker” (maybe) goes to readers Tomás Ó Maonaile and Dan CollinsSat Jun 04 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryA DUBLINER now living near the borders of New Hampshire and Massachusetts has e-mailed me about the eerie experience this week…Fri Jun 03 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTRUNDLING around the back roads of Dunboyne the other night in a five-mile road race, I found myself marvelling at the strange…Thu Jun 02 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryNOT TO denigrate those people who were rewarded by the Lord Mayor of Dublin for having “made a difference to the city” (Home …Wed Jun 01 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI WAS speculating earlier in the week (Irishman’s Diary, May 25th) about the origins of the word “mullocker”Sat May 28 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG the latest exhibits at the National Museum in Collins Barracks are the remains of an old soldier named Dickie BirdFri May 27 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG Bob Dylan’s many achievements in a life that has now lasted 70 years and a day is that he has become by far the most quoted…Thu May 26 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN A Cardiff bar on Saturday, I noticed a picture of the first team ever to represent Wales in a rugby internationalWed May 25 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI’M not sure if he was among those commemorated at Islandbridge yesterday, because among other things – officially at least – …Thu May 19 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTONIGHT’S Europa League Final in Dublin may be meaningless to most locals, but I for one will feel a special connection to the…Wed May 18 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryNOW THAT the countdown to the centenary has begun, maybe it’s time for another attempt to clear up one of the last remaining …Sat May 14 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI DON’T know if anyone in Donegal ever threatens to issue a “Glenswilly Decree” these daysFri May 13 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE POPULARITY of the British royal visit took a dramatic upturn, in our house at least, with the news that it would force the…Thu May 12 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWELL MIGHT Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin’s long-running GAA results round-up on RTÉ be compared with the BBC’s nightly Shipping Forecast…Wed May 11 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT’S A tribute to the skill of a former Irish Times jazz critic that the ballad Monto , made famous by The Dubliners among others…Sat May 07 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT doesn’t delay the expiration of copyright (Front page report, yesterday), which derives from the date of Peader Kearney’s …Fri May 06 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE CAT had just polished off yet another shop-bought meal at my expense, albeit the cheap Lidl stuff she seems to prefer over…Thu May 05 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE PHRASE “Catch-22” turns 50 this year and is still going strongWed May 04 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI MET a former colleague the other night who, bucking the national trend, has just emigrated to IrelandSat Apr 23 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN THE TOWN where I grew up there used to be a butcher named WoodsFri Apr 22 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWHENEVER the Irish Times lift breaks down these days, we get an e-mail from those nice people in the facilities department assuring…Wed Apr 20 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryKILLIAN FARRELL was only 15 when he first offered to produce and conduct a performance of Bach’s St John Passion for his local…Sat Apr 16 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI’M INDEBTED to Garrison Keillor’s almanac for the reminder that today marks the 209th anniversary of one of the most famous …Fri Apr 15 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG THE lots for sale at Whyte’s Dublin auction rooms this weekend, I see, is a letter from Brian O’NolanThu Apr 14 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWE’RE ALL encouraged to be ambassadors for Irish tourism these days and, when approached by visitors needing advice, most of …Wed Apr 13 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryCONFUSED READER Bernard McCartan has written to query a phrase that appeared elsewhere in this newspaper on ThursdaySat Apr 09 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAT LEAST one former employee of a certain great institution in Dublin 8 took grave offence to my reference in Wednesday’s diary…Fri Apr 08 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryREADERS may be familiar with the case of an artwork by Henri Matisse called Le Bateau (The Boat) : which in 1961, apparently, …Thu Apr 07 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI CAN’T remember now why Edna O’Brien thought August was a wicked month. But it can hardly have been the weatherWed Apr 06 2011 - 01:00
Spirited Mylesday gathering would make 'the brother' proudTHE IRISH literary calendar acquired a new holiday yesterday when an event to honour writer Brian O’Nolan – better known as Flann…Sat Apr 02 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWHEN I heard that something called an “international forge-in” was planned for Monaghan over a weekend in June, my first reaction…Sat Apr 02 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryMY THANKS to the many readers who have taken trouble to enlighten me about “hash weather”, which it turns out was not a short…Fri Apr 01 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN THE EMPIRE of Irish emigrants, on which the sun never sets, one of the more important outposts is a place called South Bend…Thu Mar 31 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryRE-READING Flann O’Brien’s The Hard Life recently, I noticed a word that might have been considered a misprint had the author…Wed Mar 30 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWHEN the New York Times published Elizabeth Taylor’s obituary this week, a note at the bottom of the article pointed out that…Sat Mar 26 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryA FEW YEARS AGO, some London publishers commissioned me to write an Irish edition for their series of travel booklets called …Fri Mar 25 2011 - 00:00
Love-struck dictionary users heartened by OED's new arrivalLIKE THE wheels of justice, the Oxford English Dictionary moves slowly but with great authority.Thu Mar 24 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE NEW Government is enjoying quite a honeymoon so far, with the Taoiseach’s triumphant visit to Washington, a string of Irish…Wed Mar 23 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT WAS the middle of Wednesday afternoon before I got around to reading that morning’s newspaperFri Mar 11 2011 - 00:00
