Spanish Steps – Frank McNally on a sweaty tour of Alicante and Valencia
The visit turned out to be anything but quick
An Irish Diary
An Irish Diary
Culture Clash of the Ash – Frank McNally on watching the hurling in Barcelona
I sought asylum in the nearest Irish pub
Surreal-Life Experience - Frank McNally on Salvador Dali, cosmogonic ecstasy, and the far-right government of Perpignan
Somehow, the doors of perception failed to open for me
My French trip had no shortage of Beckett-style waiting, with Marseille Airport at 2.30am about as lively as Knock
You wouldn’t start from Marseille to get to Spain
Never employ a cat. They are ‘unreliable, capricious and liable to absenteeism’
People were outraged at harnessing cats to do the work of humans
My search for the perfect pain au chocolat is over. It was in the most obvious of places
It was, of course, the French who came up with the notion of a breakfast dessert
Where would rock and roll be today without Henry Mount Charles?
Thin Lizzy, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones were among the many bands who played at Slane
As a Labrador swam by me out to sea his owner said ‘I hope he doesn’t meet a seal’. I later learned why
He seems to have an irrepressible urge to shepherd his owner back to shore
De Valera’s acrimonious relationship with US President Roosevelt’s man in Dublin during Second World War
Gray had no sympathy for Ireland’s neutral stance
The lost millionaire – the mystery of Glenveagh Castle’s missing owner.
An inquest was later held in Falcarragh, the first of its kind in Ireland without a body presen
Erik Satie: The eccentric 20th century French composer who coined the idea of ambient or background music
If his topics were strange, then his life in Paris was unconventional in the extreme
Alison Healy: On discovering what the rebels ate during the Easter Rising
But Mrs Callender was not a woman to scare easily
Poor Mouth, Rich Reputation – Frank McNally on fellow Flannorak and pioneering publican, Mick Gleeson
He bought the pub for a mere £58,000
A Hill to Die On - Frank McNally on celebrating the summer solstice at Tara
Some had been there since dawn, or earlier
Manhattan Transfer – Frank McNally on Skin-the-Goat Fitzharris in New York
Although in his late 60s by then, he was back in the job market
Cathy Dillon: A reporter remembers the Air India Disaster of June 23rd, 1985
Amid the throng, I spied Nell McCafferty, small in stature but definitely not in personality
Paul Clements on Forrest Reid, a 20th century author who is coming back into vogue
The novelist developed lifelong friendships with illustrious figures in the literary world
Scotch Broth – Frank McNally on Michael Cusack’s frustrated hope for a pan-Celtic sports alliance
In fact, like others in the book, the character was a composite of different people
Voice from the Grave – Frank McNally on a debut poetry collection from Niall Montgomery, 38 years after his death.
A man of many talents he was not only an architect, but a newspaper columnist as well
Frank McNally on the Bloomsday fitness progamme (and why Virginia Woolf will never be as popular as Joyce)
As readers of Ulysses will know, Bloom had a bit of a belly
Ray Burke on a landmark pub in Oranmore, Galway that played host to many well-known artistes
The Thatch pub counted actor Mia Farrow and musicians Seamus Ennis and Planxty among its guests
Alison Healy on a woman who became one of the world’s first and most fearless aviators
Clara Adams helped to popularise air travel with the masses.
Resurrected Reverend – Frank McNally on the Irish priest who “did a Reggie Perrin”
Almost a century earlier, a Catholic priest from Sligo had resorted to the same thing
Passage from India – Frank McNally on a Delhi journalist and Joyce fanatic in Dublin for Bloomsday
The heat was already oppressive
Epistolics Anonymous – Frank McNally on a Joycean mystery wrapped in an enigma
He is now tramping around Dublin with two lawbooks under his oxter
Animal Farm – Frank McNally on how “Skin-the-Goat” Fitzharris was radicalised by the killing of a fox
This was bad news for the fox, but also for Fitzharris
Ray Burke on how the books of almost every Irish writer of note were banned in the last century
Brendan Behan used to quip that in Ireland he was “the leader of the banned”
Alison Healy on how a 19-year old woman tricked the world with a literary hoax
Newspaper lauded it as a great find, similar to the Pepys diaries
Joyce on Trial - Frank McNally on a landmark libel case of 1954
The BBC and the James Joyce libel connection
A Phrase that Passeth Understanding – Frank McNally on a rude biblical euphemism
I don’t recall ever hearing the last verb there mentioned at Mass
As the Crow Squeals - Frank McNally on a mysterious Irish rhetorical device
Men’s coats have gone mysteriously out of fashion in recent years
Only Our Taxis Run Free - Frank McNally on a funny thing that happened on the way to the Goldsmith Festival
Here – give me a tenner back out of that, I tried to insist. But still he refused
Colm Keena on why it’s not the lyrics, it’s the voice that casts the spell
Opera singer Maria Callas had a far from perfect voice, but it was captivating
An Irishwoman’s Diary: The earl who left Ireland behind when dreams of a hot-air balloon went up in smoke
Benjamin O’Neale Stratford hoped his creation would be airborne in time to help the Crimean War effort
Picture this: Frank McNally on the sophistication of French scammers
If this column can’t help him, he fears the quest is a “lost cause”.
Eager achiever: Frank McNally on introducing the beaver to Ireland
They are not only cute and cuddly, they are also good workers
Lives of O’Reilly – Frank McNally on a revelatory history of the north midlands
Book is a meticulously detailed labour of love
Fionnuala Ward on witnessing a racist incident on a bus
“But you have to say something,” she said, touching my arm.
Civil War was won using local knowledge and very good political and military leadership, new book argues
Details discovered in Winston Churchill’s gargantuan archive indicate scale of military aid to Pro-Treaty side
Film director Neil Jordan and the Éamon de Valera connection
“Did de Valera have a hand in Collins’s death?” he asks. “Probably not, but he could have prevented it".
Secluded residence – Frank McNally on the challenge of understanding (or even finding) Eileen Gray’s famous French villa
I suppose, as they say, you had to be there. And I haven’t been there yet, only very close
Hachikō the wonder dog - Frank McNally on the devoted pet’s nine-year vigil for his late master
Hidesaburō Ueno’s dog could not forget him and, thanks to the dog, neither could Japan
Áine Ryan on losing things, from cash and a car, to a child mislaid on a hillside ramble
To this day I wish I had held off calling the cops about my car having been stolen from right outside my house
John Ruskin and the extraordinary relationship with his `muse’: Brian Maye on the young Irish girl who caught the art historian and social reformer’s attention
Rose la Touche was a member of the banking family of Huguenot descent
McGrath hurrah - Frank McNally on the first Kentucky Derby, 150 years ago
‘The same horse always wins the Derby, no matter what name he bears. Always the winner is the ghost of the little red horse, Aristides, who answered his owner’s hat’
Disunited Irishmen - Frank McNally on the year Shankill Road protestants paid tribute in Bodenstown and were attacked by the IRA
First there were angry words. Then ‘blows were exchanged’
Red into the record – Frank McNally on Peadar O’Donnell’s libel case against the Irish Rosary magazine
The trial had its origins in the ‘Red Scare’ general election of 1932
Remembering the many talents of broadcaster, activist and historian Máire de Paor
Committed socialist and feminist lived through a time when attitudes to women in Irish society were decidedly narrow
The day Winston Churchill attacked Ireland over its neutrality
Even the then pro-British Irish Times admitted to an uneasy feeling that Winston Churchill had gone a little too far
She is one fertile bird: ‘Nothing Concepta does surprises me any more’
John Dolan’s goose Concepta has produced goslings on three separate occasions in the past year
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices