Séamas O’Reilly: The idea that one man might shoulder burden of spite for us all is heroic
I hereby resolve to complain more and at greater volume
My son’s new hobby is confounding me with ‘mystyrieyos’ riddles that he puts in writing
There is usually the nugget of something clever in them, albeit shielded behind layers of opacity
Séamas O’Reilly: It was probably people like my father who led to robots having jobs
My father had an iron will and refused to be fobbed off. In his honour, I too refuse to yield to the automated voices
My kids had little hope of recognising the figures at the Wax Museum. We struggled ourselves
Back in Dublin with my Londoner children, I tried out my old tour guide routine in the one place they begged us to visit
A Nation Once Again by Paul Howard: Funny and scabrous novel is a propulsive caper
How does a writer include so much detail, and so many sensitive issues, without making something everyone will hate?
Despite having 11 kids and 20 grandkids, my dad’s favourite children are his dogs
My father tires of me asking whether dogs should eat so much human food, and rejects any accusation he’s gone soft
‘I’ve lived away for a while, that’s all,’ I said, defending my weakened Derry accent
Newsreaders and Elon Musk aside, people generally don’t change accents on purpose
‘I couldn’t listen to it’: Brendan O’Connor frankness with Phil Coulter is an unmissable moment
Radio: The presenter has a deeply moving discussion with Phil Coulter, while Second Captains Saturday also dives deep
‘I don’t like you, I like Mummy,’ my daughter says with such vehemence that my son holds my hand
My daughter prefers her mother to me so much that to suggest anything else really would be laughable
Oliver Callan learns about keening: ‘They’d pull out hair, rip clothes, reveal their breasts’
Radio: Haunting radio on RTÉ, while Anton Savage’s guest warns against retinal burns and Claire Brock talks soft-launches
I have yet to be convinced that the current zeal for AI is anything more than a bubble
I have yet to be convinced that the current zeal for AI is anything more than a bubble
‘Do you remember,’ asked my brother on the family WhatsApp, ‘when Daddy bought an entire cow and put it in the freezer?’
Séamas O’Reilly: I’ve no need for ChatGPT to help me write - I’ve got the family WhatsApp
Séamas O’Reilly on best graphic novels of 2026 so far
Dogs on Dates, by Luke Healy; The Woodchipper, by Joe Ollman; Fault Lines, by Rob Cullen; Dear Historian, by Joff Winterheart; and Children of Light, by Jean Pleyers
I like the idea of being a Reading Champion – it implies that I myself have conquered the art
For the past school year, I’ve been spending two mornings each week helping four- and five-year-olds to read
I longed to be part of a gang of local kids, though nature did furnish me with 10 siblings
Modern birthday parties have a way of ruining the memory’s illusion of our own childhood celebrations