An Irishman's DiaryFATHERHOOD is a life-long education, as I was reminded recently by yet another domestic emergency of a kind that, before it happened…Sat Feb 25 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryA running theme of the Taoiseach’s recent speeches, I notice, has been a comparison between the work of his Government and that…Fri Feb 24 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryFATED to live in what the Chinese call interesting times, the Limerick-born writer Kate O’Brien could never have been short of…Thu Feb 23 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT was only a line in his notebook, written late in life, and he may not have given the matter any real thoughtThu Feb 16 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI SPENT last weekend enjoying new work from two great showbusiness veterans: Leonard Cohen and Kermit the FrogWed Feb 15 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE COMMONWEALTH of Massachusetts has given us some famous political phrases in its time, none more so than a truism credited…Sat Feb 11 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryFOR A man given to melodrama, Charles Dickens could hardly have picked a better time to make his second trip to IrelandWed Feb 08 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryINTRIGUING as the invitation was, I couldn’t attend a book launch last Tuesday by the Governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan…Sat Feb 04 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryONE of the many pitfalls of cycling in Dublin is the unwanted intimacy your bike is forced to endure, when locked in a public…Fri Feb 03 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN LIGHT of the Fred Goodwin knighthood debacle, our more cautious Irish honours system – whereby we wait until people are dead…Thu Feb 02 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryNOT MANY people know that an Irishman painted the ceiling of the Sistine ChapelWed Feb 01 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryYET ANOTHER small premium on the peace process will be paid off tomorrow, when the long-defunct William Carleton Society holds…Sat Jan 28 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryHOW CIVILISED, as we were reminded on page 5 yesterday (“Jack B Yeats honoured on new €10 coin”), that the Olympic Games used…Fri Jan 27 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryYOU’LL HAVE heard the line about Sigmund Freud singling out the Irish as the only people for whom, as a rule, psychoanalysis …Wed Jan 25 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE POETIC place-names of Ireland have a wide variety of origins, as noted here recentlySat Jan 21 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN A PUB in my home town some years ago, I met a man I hadn’t seen in decades who, after the usual pleasantries, asked me if …Fri Jan 20 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryVISITING friends in Laois over the New Year, my family and I were given a tour of their farm, the highlight of which was feeding…Thu Jan 19 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT IS ONLY a matter of time, surely, before that purveyor of traffic information, AA Roadwatch, has its credit rating downgraded…Wed Jan 18 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI CAN understand why Anna and Katie and Alice were all among the top 10 girls’ names last year, as recorded by the Irish Times…Sat Jan 14 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryPHIL HOGAN’S determination “to finally draw a line under the electronic voting project” will be welcomed by all right-thinking…Fri Jan 13 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryWHEN buying our first house back in the early days of the C***ic T***r, my wife and I decided that one of the upgrades it needed…Thu Jan 12 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT USED TO BE SAID that Russia’s two greatest military figures were “General January” and “General February”Wed Jan 11 2012 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryFOR READERS of a certain age, Ruairí Quinn’s fears about the Leaving Cert becoming too predictable may have awakened memories…Sat Dec 24 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN HIS ATTEMPT to round the world in 80 days, as readers may recall, the fictional Phileas Fogg does not at first intend to visit…Fri Dec 23 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryFLICKING STATIONS on the car radio recently, I heard a piece of Christmas choral music that appeared to be titled “On Stephenses…Thu Dec 22 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI MUST admit it was rather cheering to read that story (page 8, World News, yesterday) about the butter shortage in NorwayWed Dec 21 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryABOUT 20 years ago in Paris, I was mooching around the bookshop Shakespeare & Co with my future wife when the elderly proprietor…Sat Dec 17 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIF MY Leaving Cert class had had a “boy most likely to succeed” award, it would probably have gone to Gary SheehanFri Dec 16 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI SEE IT’S 10 years today since the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after more than a decade of stabilisation workThu Dec 15 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryINTERESTING news for Irish exports this week with a survey suggesting that Jameson whiskey is now the second most shop-lifted…Sat Dec 10 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryOF ALL THE protests that greeted the Government’s short-lived cut of youth disability payments, few can have carried as much …Fri Dec 09 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryDRIVING ON the M50 yesterday, oppressed by both the gloomy December weather and the even gloomier Budget coverage, I saw sign…Wed Dec 07 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryWHEN THE ACTOR Rupert Everett said this week that Oscar Wilde had lived life “from the dress circle to the drains”, it was of…Sat Dec 03 2011 - 00:00
The inner lives of public playersSPORT: Four sportsmen all reveal a defining crisis, an event forcing them to look in the nirror without the light of success…Sat Dec 03 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI HOPE that kiss-proof screen around Oscar Wilde’s tomb fares better than another barrier, erected a few years ago in the same…Fri Dec 02 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE NAME of Hercules Brabazon Brabazon is not exactly calculated to attract sympathy from a modern audienceThu Dec 01 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT HAD somehow escaped me – until I read about those trees being removed to make way for it – that the new Luas line through …Wed Nov 30 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTRAVELLERS on Dublin’s Dart and Luas lines will have found themselves wrestling with some profound questions this week, the following…Sat Nov 26 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI HEARD an academic introduced on radio recently as “a junked professor”, and at first it seemed a bit harshFri Nov 25 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT might still be premature to say that poitín is becoming respectable, but I see Cooley Distillery has just added a version …Thu Nov 24 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryDOWN in darkest Tipperary last week to visit the in-laws, I had the interesting experience of attending a firewood auctionWed Nov 23 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHREE YEARS in to the debt crisis, a number of bewildered readers have pleaded for an updated plain man’s guide to the jargon…Sat Nov 19 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIn the aftermath of a certain football match this week, I got talking to a man called Gerry Kearns about what it means to be …Fri Nov 18 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryDURING a relaxed moment at Lansdowne Road on Tuesday – and on an unprecedented night in Irish football, they were all relaxed…Thu Nov 17 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT’S SAID that the great Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetimeWed Nov 16 2011 - 00:00
