Frank McNally: A heart-stopping epitaph on the grave of a little-known teenager
A stone in Rome’s ‘Protestant Cemetery’ commemorates Rosa Bathurst, who drowned in 1824, aged 16
‘That’s the wrong Ireland’: The eternal quest to find a pub showing Czechia v Ireland in Rome
After finding myself lost in translation, it didn’t help that every available TV was showing Italy v Northern Ireland
Plaques broad and narrow – Frank McNally on Dublin street honours big, small and missing
City keen to celebrate citizens and even daft causes, but one omission needs correcting
Born-again poet – Frank McNally on the confused centenary of Frank O’Hara
New Yorker had two ‘birthdays’, one of which was to spare his parents’ blushes
Pidgeon homed – Frank McNally on the repatriation of an Old IRA man from 1970s London
Souvenirs from traditional military salute for veteran at Glasnevin risked an awkward explanation or two
The Irish airman who survived one of the most dangerous jobs of the second World War
O’Dwyer and his colleagues were on the front line of an intelligence war
The mystery of flying ships in ancient Meath that ended up in a Texas newspaper
Perhaps the strangest twist in the tale’s evolution is the one by which it turned up in 1890s Texas
High-level hyperbolics: Frank McNally on the Irish approach to bigging things up
Be it song lyrics about a beautiful place or the fight to rebuild a public toilet, use of language is always key
I was thankful I had filed away the obscure detail of who finished second to Ronnie Delany in 1956
Not that The Irish Times team needed any help crossing the finish line first to claim victory in the annual Dublin Rape Crisis Centre corporate quiz night
‘Die roaring’: What we can learn from the demise of Doran’s bull and Orwell’s elephant
Orwell’s account was partly corroborated by a police colleague of the time
Double trouble: Frank McNally on the dramatic effect of saying the same thing twice
An ordinary person might ask you to ‘cease’ doing something. A lawyer will require you to ‘cease and desist’, and then you’re in trouble
Frank McNally on a posthumous anthology from a ‘reluctant businessman’ and literary wit
Intrepid investigation reveals Frank O’Dowd and I did indeed cross paths
The long and melodious trail from a sweet English barmaid to a former Irish finance minister
The long and colourful path from a sweet English barmaid to a former Irish finance minister
Frank McNally on the lasting legacy of George Boole, a celebrity victim of the Irish climate
He walked the three miles from home to university during a downpour, and then delivered a lecture in drenched clothes
‘You have mocked God,’ Enoch Burke tells judge after jailing of his mother and sister
Judge notes we live in a democracy, not a ‘theocracy governed by the Burke family’