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
An Irishman's DiaryAMID all the attempts to interpret Stephen Ireland, I have yet to see anyone broach a possibility that, to me, seems ever more…Thu Mar 10 2011 - 00:00
Serious issue settled as scientists reveal that Guinness in Ireland tastes best by farA SERIOUS science journal has dared to go where no science journal has gone before by tackling a question that has long vexed…Wed Mar 09 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIF you’ve ever thumped a TV set, or unplugged a computer (just to annoy it), or had a heated conversation with that woman in …Wed Mar 09 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryAS it seeks to make the most in this country of Wednesday’s heroics in Bangalore, Cricket Ireland could do worse than publicise…Fri Mar 04 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI’VE complained before here about the fall from fashion of the name Francis and its various derivatives as an option for parents…Thu Mar 03 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryASSUMING Fine Gael and Labour do form what will be effectively a national government, the new Dáil opposition will be proportionally…Wed Mar 02 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTODAY is Johnny Cash’s birthday. Were he still with us, he’d be 79Sat Feb 26 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryREADERS of a certain age will remember a poem we did at school called The Listeners by Walter de la MareFri Feb 25 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT’S A measure of the GAA’s greatness that a man such as George Sigerson is now best known for presenting a cup to a Gaelic football…Thu Feb 24 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryMY THANKS to reader Brendan Connolly who, responding to the Diary’s mystification (February 19th) about “coulogeous” – as in …Wed Feb 23 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryALTHOUGH Irish elections often teeter on the brink of self-parody, the wonder is that this country has never gone all the way…Sat Feb 19 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryLIKE eagle-eyed reader John O’Hagan, I at first welcomed the news – as reported in our Page 2 digest on Wednesday – that “an …Fri Feb 18 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryBOTH OF Dublin’s Luas lines are colour-coded: the trams that run to Sandyford and beyond being called “Green”, while those travelling…Thu Feb 17 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI FINALLY got around to reading that Vanity Fair article about Ireland over the weekend, and a chastening experience it wasWed Feb 16 2011 - 00:00
Irish firepower proves unequal to force majeure of Les BleusIT’S CUSTOMARY to describe the mass movement of rugby supporters in military terms, usually involving the word “invasion”. But…Mon Feb 14 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI SUGGESTED yesterday that, except for a plaque on the house he grew up in (and a passing mention in Finnegans Wake ), the pioneering…Fri Feb 11 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryWITH THE country’s prospects looking ever more bleak, it seems ominous that the National Concert Hall should have chosen the …Thu Feb 10 2011 - 00:00
