Saved – Frank McNally on a former church that houses the Internet ArchiveThe challenge of archiving the entire internet is an ever-more complex thingTue Feb 21 2023 - 19:00
Tip of the iceberg: Frank McNally on generous taxi-drivers and guilt-trip gratuitiesOn the long trail of the ‘wicked dollar’ tipping systemFri Feb 17 2023 - 19:17
Saints and Sinners – Frank McNally on the Holy Joes and hell-raisers of Notre Dame The quality of the college’s sports facilities do not suggest a reliance on miraclesThu Feb 16 2023 - 19:00
Catholics Cornered – Frank McNally on how a university in Indiana became the ‘Fighting Irish’The fame of Notre Dame and its sports teamsWed Feb 15 2023 - 19:44
Brew-ha-ha – Frank McNally on loopers, lexicography, and fermented hayLooper is one of those words that usually needs a qualifierTue Feb 14 2023 - 19:00
Bridge Over Troubled Porter – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of the ‘loop-liner’Courts would hear that the “loop-line trade” attracted the worst kinds of drinkerFri Feb 10 2023 - 19:00
First among prequels – Frank McNally on Irish cinema’s original MacDonagh and a subplot involving Flann O’BrienMacDonagh’s 1922 comedy Cruiskeen Lawn inaugurated the cinematic career of the multitalented Fay SargentThu Feb 09 2023 - 19:00
Turbulent priest – Frank McNally on Fr Clarence Duffy and a religious rebellion in 1970s CavanPriest came out of semi-retirement to lead a rebellion by parishionersWed Feb 08 2023 - 19:00
Ring of Truth – Frank McNally on Graham Greene and the Bells of ShandonStill ringing bellsFri Feb 03 2023 - 19:00
The Plot Thins – Frank McNally on France’s latest contribution to civilisation: the short-story dispenserThe concept is best suited to urban commuters: captive but fleeting readershipsThu Feb 02 2023 - 19:00
Old flames – Frank McNally on the traditions and lore of Candlemas“If Candlemas be bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in one year”Wed Feb 01 2023 - 19:00
A step in your spring – Frank McNally on vernal Februarians, St Brigid’s Fire, and the origins of Bridewell prisons Whenever it starts, spring is a season of the mindWed Feb 01 2023 - 11:23
Orange Disorder – Frank McNally on easy peelers, mob violence, and the birth of serendipityOh my darling clementinesFri Jan 27 2023 - 19:00
Banjaxed by Banshees – Frank McNally on Achill Island tourism, weird wineries, and a Tyrone ghost story "Banshee strives to produce some of the best damn pinot noir in Sonoma County"Thu Jan 26 2023 - 19:47
Road less travelled – Frank McNally on Percy French and the real-life PetravoreFrench’s song portrays the men of Petravore as badly smitten with the beautiful Eileen ÓgWed Jan 25 2023 - 19:40
Time, Gentleman – Frank McNally on the famous clocks of DublinSome once-celebrated Dublin clocks now survive only in literatureTue Jan 24 2023 - 19:30
The Four Proud Unpronounceables of Ireland – Frank McNally on Britain’s struggles with Aoife, Niamh, Saoirse, and SiobhánAnglo-Irish cultural misunderstandingsFri Jan 20 2023 - 19:15
Champion the Wonder Word – Frank McNally on the murky origins and global popularity of the word ‘shenanigans’“The Great Match Against Time”Thu Jan 19 2023 - 19:30
Twilight of the Gods – Frank McNally on Meath sunsets, Russian Vine, and the dangers of visiting fairy fortsSunset may be the best time to see Irish landscapesWed Jan 18 2023 - 19:00
Run for the Hills - Frank McNally on a modern re-enactment of Dublin Castle’s great escapeThe Art O’Neill ChallengeTue Jan 17 2023 - 19:30
Let us bray – Frank McNally on the Feast of the AssThe relative esteem in which asses are heldFri Jan 13 2023 - 19:35
Slaves to the truth – Frank McNally on learning history in the novels of Patrick O’BrianHaunting the seasThu Jan 12 2023 - 19:30
London Crawling – Frank McNally on Hamilton, the British rail strike, and the importance of looking rightA visit to Paddington StationWed Jan 11 2023 - 19:00
Philo and the Paycock – Frank McNally on a Thin Lizzy commemoration’s rise and fallThe annual commemoration of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott has turned 36, the age at which he diedTue Jan 10 2023 - 19:00
Frank McNally: What has the EU ever done for us?Before cheap flights were ushered in by deregulation Paris and Prague were about as accessible for most Irish people as space is nowFri Dec 30 2022 - 12:52
Present Imperfect – Frank McNally on Vincent van Gogh, O Henry, and the Three Wise MenYou really shouldn’t haveFri Dec 23 2022 - 19:30
Sale Incomplete – Frank McNally on why Evelyn Waugh decided against a move to Ireland“No native capable of doing the simplest job properly”Thu Dec 22 2022 - 19:26
Frank McNally on the ripples of Argentina’s famous win and the scheduling perils of extra timeThe perils of extra timeWed Dec 21 2022 - 22:13
On a peak, mid-winter – Frank McNally gets a new angle on the winter solstice at NewgrangeSunlight on the solstice morningTue Dec 20 2022 - 19:30
Emigrant’s Content – Frank McNally on the joys of coming home at ChristmasNever had I felt so welcomeFri Dec 16 2022 - 19:15
Mar Dhea - Frank McNally on the unusual prevalence of rock stars called John Maher“Yep, rhymes with car or Mars bar”Thu Dec 15 2022 - 20:30
Back to Black - Frank McNally on The Stranglers’ unsuspected Irish heritageYou couldn’t throw a stone in any direction in Monaghan without a high risk of hitting a DuffyWed Dec 14 2022 - 19:00
Mining for Mischief – Frank McNally on the curious connection between goblins and cobaltIn their elementFri Dec 09 2022 - 19:00
Mute Point - Frank McNally on an etymological spot of ‘bother’A mental befuddlement caused by excessive noiseThu Dec 08 2022 - 20:08
A Broth of a Word – Frank McNally on the possible Mayo origins of LollapaloozaThe word became a war-cry of the Boston Red SoxWed Dec 07 2022 - 19:30
Frank McNally: The slovenly rise of ‘goblin mode’The surprising endurance in the 21st century of European folk superstitionsTue Dec 06 2022 - 19:01
Origin Unknown – Frank McNally on the pitfalls of asking people where they are ‘from’The urge to find out where people are from, exactly, has long been a cornerstone of Irish conversationFri Dec 02 2022 - 19:00
Stamped Out (and In) – Frank McNally on the Irish-American poet and postmistress Louise Imogen Guiney, who survived a boycott“Pure of heart, brilliant of mind”Thu Dec 01 2022 - 19:15
Alcott boycott – Frank McNally on the Little Women author’s anti-Irish hiring policies‘Biddy must go’ among the statements that mean it might be time to consider cancelling the authorWed Nov 30 2022 - 19:30
Passing game – Frank McNally on ‘gaslighting’ as word of the year and why some old footballers never dieIn 2022, it seems, everyone is being gaslitTue Nov 29 2022 - 19:15
A to-do list for Ireland: Drain the Shannon, open peace talks with the seagulls and win a rugby World Cup quarter-finalOpen peace talks with the Dublin seagullsFri Nov 18 2022 - 19:00
Three Steps to Heaven - Frank McNally on an ancient Irish funeral customAn old custom but perhaps not unique to this part of the worldThu Nov 17 2022 - 19:00
Collision Course - Frank McNally on the transcontinental railroad’s Irish-Chinese ‘feud’Printing the legendWed Nov 16 2022 - 19:00
Shaking hands with history – Frank McNally on a childhood meeting with Erskine ChildersI shook the hand that shook the handTue Nov 15 2022 - 17:10
Mixing up the Republic - Frank McNally on the sad end of a Blasket heroAll but forgotten today, Brian Kelly’s life story is something of a Greek tragedyFri Nov 11 2022 - 19:30
Martinmas Martyrs - Frank McNally on an ominous legend of November 10thThere is a paradox in St Martin’s association with storms in WexfordWed Nov 09 2022 - 19:04
Duel Citizen – Frank McNally on Larry David and the Irish duelling code‘It is desirable to avoid all hot-headed proceedings’Tue Nov 08 2022 - 19:01
Moving swiftly on - Frank McNally on the rebranding of the Berkeley balcony collapse siteVisiting the site where six young Irish students died in 2015Fri Nov 04 2022 - 19:00
From Bad to Words - Frank McNally on ‘permacrisis’ as word of the yearNew noun sums up the ongoing political and economic debacles in BritainThu Nov 03 2022 - 19:00
Tenters Hooked - Frank McNally on a ground-breaking Dublin housing estate, now 100 years oldIn 1922, builders began turning a 22-acre site near the Liberties into a housing scheme for Dublin’s working classesWed Nov 02 2022 - 19:00
