An Irishman's DiaryAT NOON TODAY, as on the first Wednesday of every month, sirens will ring out all over FranceWed Sept 07 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI SPENT a pleasant hour in Paris recently in the company of a 240-year-old dictionarySat Aug 27 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE TIME has surely come for all self-respecting newspapers, like this one, to consider a ban on the word “iconic”Fri Aug 26 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI KNEW I was having a bad day in the Phoenix Park 10-mile race last Saturday when, a couple of miles from the finish, I was passed…Thu Aug 25 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE part of Monaghan I grew up in and the city of Paris have little in common, it’s trueWed Aug 24 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryPARIS IS half-deserted in August. I say half-deserted, because tourists are here in vast numbersSat Aug 20 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryFLORIAN, a gregarious young Swiss student on my French course in Paris, mentioned the other day that he was going to a party …Fri Aug 19 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI WATCHED last weekend’s Ireland-France rugby match in one of Paris’s Irish pubs – the Coolin in St Germain – and it was a somewhat…Thu Aug 18 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT HAD somehow escaped me until recently that Red Bull, the vile-tasting but popular “energy drink”, is an Austrian product. …Wed Aug 17 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE ROW over Monasterboice and its inadequate signage reminds me of one of Co Louth’s less celebrated ecclesiastical attractions…Sat Jul 23 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryA NUMBER of people have taken the trouble to point out that the unnamed “rocky outcrop” overlooking Athens, whereon my credit…Fri Jul 22 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN A self-deprecating photograph for this newspaper, Brian O’Nolan once posed alongside a road sign that read “Dublin Diversion…Thu Jul 21 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAS THEY seek a new name to suit drastically reduced circumstances, I wonder if the Soldiers of Destiny could do worse that staying…Sat Jul 16 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN ITS always-entertaining Booking the Cooks feature, The Ticket supplement had an interview recently with the keyboard player…Fri Jul 15 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryYOU don’t have to be an economist visiting crisis-gripped Athens for the “D-word” to loom largeThu Jul 14 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI don’t pretend to understand the finer points of the Greek crisisWed Jul 13 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI COULD blame end-of-season fatigue for my spectacular own goal – pointed out by Paul Delaney and other readers – yesterday, …Sat Jul 02 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT’S ONLY right that a Scotsman should be leading Liverpool Football Club’s latest revivalFri Jul 01 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN SLIGO recently, I made the short but steep climb of Knocknarea Mountain, whose rounded hulk lies west of the town near Strandhill…Thu Jun 30 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryHAS anybody seen a Dublin “lock-hard” man lately, or is it possible that this long-threatened species of Irish wildlife has finally…Wed Jun 29 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAS THE DUST settles on the Herbert Park Heron Horror, we can today report happier news from the world of natureFri Jun 24 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryVISITING Stockholm in 1923, WB Yeats remarked that the city’s Royal Palace – a magnificent structure and one of the largest of…Thu Jun 23 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWE’VE TOUCHED here before on the potential misfortune of being saddled with the Irish forename “Sonabha”Wed Jun 22 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryENGLISH-BORN but later a Bishop of both Ossory and Meath, Richard Pococke (1704-1765) was once described as “the dullest man …Sat Jun 18 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryA PRESS RELEASE just arrived from the Trim Haymaking Festival – which, incorporating the “Scurlogstown Olympiad”, takes place…Fri Jun 17 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN A week when a much-admired public man was laid to rest, it’s somewhat sobering to open my copy of Methuen’s Poems for Every…Thu Jun 16 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAS THE father of a female Irish dancer, I have for several years now tried to turn a blind eye to the use of artificial performance…Wed Jun 15 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG the portraits in the National Gallery is one of Thomas Moore by a Dublin-born artist called Martin Archer-Shee (1769-1850…Fri Jun 10 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryDOES anybody else share my amazement at the sheer numbers of Irish people who think they have what it takes to be President? …Thu Jun 09 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryEVERY schoolchild knows that Douglas Hyde was Ireland’s first PresidentWed Jun 08 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE LAST word on “mullocker” (maybe) goes to readers Tomás Ó Maonaile and Dan CollinsSat Jun 04 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryA DUBLINER now living near the borders of New Hampshire and Massachusetts has e-mailed me about the eerie experience this week…Fri Jun 03 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTRUNDLING around the back roads of Dunboyne the other night in a five-mile road race, I found myself marvelling at the strange…Thu Jun 02 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryNOT TO denigrate those people who were rewarded by the Lord Mayor of Dublin for having “made a difference to the city” (Home …Wed Jun 01 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI WAS speculating earlier in the week (Irishman’s Diary, May 25th) about the origins of the word “mullocker”Sat May 28 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG the latest exhibits at the National Museum in Collins Barracks are the remains of an old soldier named Dickie BirdFri May 27 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG Bob Dylan’s many achievements in a life that has now lasted 70 years and a day is that he has become by far the most quoted…Thu May 26 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN A Cardiff bar on Saturday, I noticed a picture of the first team ever to represent Wales in a rugby internationalWed May 25 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI’M not sure if he was among those commemorated at Islandbridge yesterday, because among other things – officially at least – …Thu May 19 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTONIGHT’S Europa League Final in Dublin may be meaningless to most locals, but I for one will feel a special connection to the…Wed May 18 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryNOW THAT the countdown to the centenary has begun, maybe it’s time for another attempt to clear up one of the last remaining …Sat May 14 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI DON’T know if anyone in Donegal ever threatens to issue a “Glenswilly Decree” these daysFri May 13 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE POPULARITY of the British royal visit took a dramatic upturn, in our house at least, with the news that it would force the…Thu May 12 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWELL MIGHT Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin’s long-running GAA results round-up on RTÉ be compared with the BBC’s nightly Shipping Forecast…Wed May 11 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT’S A tribute to the skill of a former Irish Times jazz critic that the ballad Monto , made famous by The Dubliners among others…Sat May 07 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT doesn’t delay the expiration of copyright (Front page report, yesterday), which derives from the date of Peader Kearney’s …Fri May 06 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE CAT had just polished off yet another shop-bought meal at my expense, albeit the cheap Lidl stuff she seems to prefer over…Thu May 05 2011 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE PHRASE “Catch-22” turns 50 this year and is still going strongWed May 04 2011 - 01:00
