My phobias: lifts, facial hair and MingbathsIf one is going to get stuck in a lift, a brand-new mental-health facility is probably the best place for it.Fri Mar 22 2013 - 06:00
Dardis Clarke is gone; Dublin has lost some of her soulFIFTYSOMETHING: The phone was ringing in the kitchen. It only rang six times. I belted down the stairs to get itFri Mar 08 2013 - 00:00
Marry a prince? I'll take the frog any dayFIFTYSOMETHING: Prince Harry has been voted the world’s most eligible bachelorFri Mar 01 2013 - 00:00
‘It’s not about the actor. It’s always about the work’Marie Mullen, a Druid founder and one of our greatest actors, will be presented with a special tribute award at this weekend’…Sat Feb 23 2013 - 00:00
How in God's name did we survive the 1970s?FIFTY SOMETHING: I was browsing through a selection of second-hand books at the weekendFri Feb 22 2013 - 00:00
Once upon a time in a conventFIFTY SOMETHING: I made my First Holy Communion on May 10th, 1970, around the time The Beatles were coming to the end of their…Fri Feb 15 2013 - 00:00
Beneath these grey roots there is no goldFiftysomething: There is a radio advertisement currently polluting the airspace that has got under my skin; actually, it’s damn…Fri Feb 08 2013 - 00:00
Sex and sexuality on the edge of bedlamFIFTY SOMETHING: I was in a bar in historic Salisbury, not far from heathen Stonehenge, a number of years agoFri Feb 01 2013 - 00:00
Wiping out the memory of kebabs I've knownI listened to David Bowie’s new single the other night while my reading glasses were steaming up over a pot of lentil soup (which…Fri Jan 25 2013 - 00:00
I miss a good, happy hangoverI’m not drinking alcohol Monday through Thursday. I drink on Friday, Saturday and SundayFri Jan 18 2013 - 00:00
Teenage music and smells like boom spiritFIFTY SOMETHING: I think it was a ram. If it wasn’t a ram, it was a curiously independent-minded sheepFri Jan 11 2013 - 00:00
The shocks of a January detoxJanuary, the snivelling old prankster, snuck in the back door when we weren’t lookingFri Jan 04 2013 - 00:00
It's far from three- in-a-bed we were rearedFiftysomething: I went to the theatre recently and saw a play about troilismFri Dec 28 2012 - 00:00
When I grow up, I'll do Christmas properlyFIFTYSOMETHING: Could any of us have predicted a world where you know it must be Christmas because the driver behind you has…Fri Dec 21 2012 - 00:00
Memory won't be weighed or measuredFiftysomething: I recently accompanied my octogenarian mother to a medical assessment, where she was asked to perform a memory…Fri Dec 14 2012 - 00:00
Speed-dating the taxman, finding love with the catFIFTYSOMETHING: I’m working on conquering my fear of officialdomFri Dec 07 2012 - 00:00
When a decade of your life becomes a party themeI blame the weather. The brittle, volatile autumn light you could snap with your fingers and crunch underfoot, has vanishedFri Nov 23 2012 - 00:00
Maybe the fridge magnets are right - live today as if it is your lastFIFTYSOMETHING: I met an old flame in a country churchyard the other dayFri Nov 16 2012 - 00:00
A postcard from NY as Frankenstorm takes ManhattanFIFTYSOMETHING: IN MUSTANG Sally’s on Seventh Avenue, New Yorkers queue for a table in wellington boots, the less well-heeled…Fri Nov 02 2012 - 00:00
Why I'm struggling to get into the Gathering grooveFIFTYSOMETHING: I’VE BEEN narrowly missing rear-ending nicer cars than mine, craning over the dash, trying to understand those…Fri Oct 26 2012 - 01:00
Beneath the sheets, and under the desk, of delecto domesticoFIFTYSOMETHING: I WAS UNDER the desk looking for my glasses when I found a magazine article about Cindy GallopFri Oct 12 2012 - 01:00
'Maybe I know the wrong people; I never get invited to weddings'FIFTYSOMETHING: I’M WORRIED about Will and KateFri Oct 05 2012 - 01:00
I celebrated my 50th this year. Well, I didn't actuallyFIFTYSOMETHING: CELEBRATED MY 50th birthday this year. Well, I didn’t actually, not like I plannedFri Sept 07 2012 - 01:00
Love on the rocksFICTION: The Shape of Her , Rowan Somerville, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 273pp. £12.99Sat Jul 10 2010 - 01:00
'The perfect work is always in the future, like a beautiful dream'THE SATURDAY INTERVIEW: Conor McPhersonSat Mar 13 2010 - 00:00
Passion and the playwrightMEMOIR: Must You Go?: My Life with Harold Pinter By Antonia Fraser, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 328pp. £20Sat Jan 30 2010 - 00:00
Passion and the playwrightMEMOIR: Must You Go?: My Life with Harold Pinter By Antonia Fraser, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 328pp. £20Sat Jan 30 2010 - 00:00
Shooting the sheriffTV REVIEW: The Sheriff and Me , RTÉ1, Sunday; Prime Time Investigates RTÉ1, Monday; The Frontline RTÉ1, Monday; Victoria and…Sat Dec 12 2009 - 00:00
Knaves and queensTV REVIEW: Battle of the Sexes , RTÉ1, Sunday; The Queen , Channel 4, Monday; The Frontline , RTÉ1, Monday; This Is..Sat Dec 05 2009 - 00:00
Redemptive journeysTV REVIEW: Away With the Faroes RTÉ2, Tuesday I’m A Celebrity..Sat Nov 21 2009 - 00:00
Well executed absurdityTV REVIEW : The Frontline RTÉ1, Monday; University Challenge BBC2, Monday; The Execution of Gary Glitter Channel 4, Monday; …Sat Nov 14 2009 - 00:00
Fighting in the streetsTV REVIEW: Ireland’s Crime Capitals: Gangland Limerick TV3, Thursday; Restaurant in Your Home BBC2, Monday; Cogar: Molly Keane…Sat Oct 31 2009 - 00:00
Bottom of the bowlTV REVIEW: Podge and Rodge’s Stickit Inn RTÉ2, Tuesday; Horizon: The Secret You BBC2, Tuesday; Age Eight and Wanting A Sex Change…Sat Oct 24 2009 - 01:00
The battle for survivalTV REVIEW: Life BBC1, Monday; One to One RTÉ1, Monday; Panorama : Why Hate Ryanair? BBC1, Monday; The Eleventh Hour RTÉ2, Wednesday…Sat Oct 17 2009 - 01:00
How we lost it allTV REVIEW: The Forgotten Irish TV3, Thursday Addicted to Money RTÉ1, Tuesday Rásaí na Gaillimhe TG4, Wednesday Ryan Confidential…Sat Oct 10 2009 - 01:00
Blood on the office floorTV REVIEW: The Apprentice TV3, Monday; The Frontline RTÉ1, Monday; One to One RTÉ1, Monday; Government information broadcast…Sat Sept 26 2009 - 01:00
Frugal familiesTV REVIEW: Living Lightly RTÉ1, Tuesday; At Your Service RTÉ1, Sunday; Little People, Big World TV3, Wednesday; Pure Mule…Sat Sept 12 2009 - 01:00
A big song and danceTV REVIEW: School Run TV3, Sunday Jamie’s American Road Trip Channel 4, Tuesday The Choir: Unsung Town BBC2 Tuesday Hidden History…Sat Sept 05 2009 - 01:00
The rise of the RosesTV REVIEW - Five Decades of Roses, RTÉ1, Monday, The Rose of Tralee, RTÉ1, Tuesday and Wednesday, The X Factor, UTV and TV3…Sat Aug 29 2009 - 01:00
A forgettable royal visitTV REVIEW: The Duchess on the Estate UTV, Tuesday Return to Mullaghmore RTÉ 1, Monday, Luke RTÉ1, Tuesday, Charity Lords of…Sat Aug 22 2009 - 01:00
Filling an empty spaceTV REVIEW: Xposé TV3, weekdays Total Xposure: The Final TV3, Tuesday Look of the Irish: Fergus Bourke: In His Own Words RTÉ1…Sat Aug 15 2009 - 01:00
Let's face the musicTV REVIEW: A Song for Dad RTÉ1, Tuesday The Trouble With Girls BBC2, Monday The Rutland RTÉ1, Tuesday Coast BBC2, TuesdaySat Aug 08 2009 - 01:00
On revolutions and revelationsTHE SATURDAY INTERVIEW: Possessed of a steely resolve bron of adversity and adventure, Fionnuala Flanagan has lived as vivid…Sat Jul 04 2009 - 01:00
The froth and the seriousTV REVIEW: Saturday Night With Miriam RTÉ1, Saturday Mistresses RTÉ1, Tuesday ER RTÉ1, Sunday Flight of the Conchords BBC4, …Sat Jun 27 2009 - 01:00
