An Irish Diary

An Irish Diary

An Irish Diary on Edward Despard: the Irish officer who served in the British army but was executed as a revolutionary

A campaign by Despard’s wife, Catherine, ensured his imprisonment became the subject of a three-week debate in the House of Commons

Remembering Davoren Hanna: the work of the young disabled poet gave a sense of his wonderment with the world

Gifted Dublin writer had enormous charm and a `rascally sense of humour'

‘The worst mob scene I ever witnessed’ - Alison Healy on the chaotic opening of the Shamrock Hotel in Houston

A Time magazine reporter said the party “combined the most exciting features of a subway rush, Halloween in a madhouse and a circus fire”

An Irish Diary: How James Bond maligned Shannon Airport duty free

Ian Fleming wrote that Bond took a glance at the ‘junk’ in the airport shops including the ‘Brass Leprechauns’

`Alas! I am very sorry to say/That ninety lives have been taken away' Frank McNally on the `famously bad' poet William McGonagall

A poet so bad, as the Book of Heroic Failures puts it, “he backed unwittingly into genius”.

Moore the Merrier - Frank McNally on the commemoration of a famous Irish garden party from 1902

Three hundred invited guests attended a party that seemed to capture the zeitgeist of a new Ireland

Ché sara, Sara – Frank McNally on a mysterious Irish beauty who turned Casanova’s head

It was a humble barmaid who made the deepest impression on the Italian adventurer

What’s with the name? – Frank McNally on O’Doul, O’Day, and other nominal oddities of Irish America

Some Irish American surnames can seem almost plausible while also making your ears hurt

Far away, so close – Fionnuala Ward on measuring distance

It seems that distance, like time, is entirely measurable and yet also oddly subjective

The Derry man who influenced George Washington and Alexander Hamilton - Brian Maye on Hercules Mulligan

Tailor’s catering for officers and men in the British army gave him an access he would use to help the cause of American independence

The BBC’s national question: Frank McNally on Edna O’Brien and ‘the North of Ireland’

Author’s 1979 TV appearance included an implicit history and geography lesson for British viewers

Dictionary on the Double – Frank McNally on the enduring literary life of Patrick Dinneen

Lexicographer was described by profiler as “in some ways, as mad as a March hare”

‘This wonderful horse seems to have been as remarkable in death as in life’ – Frank McNally on an unbeatable stallion

Eclipse was sufficiently revered that his death created a market for relics not unlike that of saints in medieval times

‘Ireland, more than other countries, ought to be a country of trees’

As chatelaine of Coole Park for decades, Lady Gregory nursed and nourished the demesne’s extensive woodlands

‘The whole position in Europe is one of uncertainty and of menace’ – John Mulqueen on Éamon de Valera’s foreign policy

The Government’s prioritisation of peaceful co-existence echoes the position adopted by de Valera in 1932 when he became acting president of the Council of the League of Nations

The ‘shipyard poet’ – Oliver O’Hanlon on playwright Thomas Carnduff

Born in Belfast’s Sandy Row, he was very proud of his Ulster roots but also proud to be Irish

Setting the Bar High – Frank McNally on pubs called The Irish Times (and more songs about newspapers)

An empire on which the sun never sets

The Times they are a-name-checking – Frank McNally on songs about newspapers

Sing all about it

Lexicographer at Large – Frank McNally on Dinneen’s Dictionary and the Dáil row about unparliamentary Irish

Myles na gCopaleen blamed Dinneen’s Dictionary for his decision to stop writing columns in Irish

For Whom the Bells Toll – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of “sound baths”

It’s another organised way to relax, like yoga but without the stretching

All fired up – Ita O’Kelly on keeping the homes fires burning

Looking back, I marvel at the sheer work of simply staying warm in an old house

‘A man of remarkable presence’: The physician and poet who gave his name to the Sigerson Cup

A physician, biologist, poet, author and cultural activist

The Real McCabe - Frank McNally on a great (and much-married) American newspaper columnist

He received the editorial equivalent of a 21-gun salute: “He was six columns ahead at his death”

Comic Stripped - Frank McNally on the cancellation of P.G. Wodehouse

His presumed crime was to make a series of broadcasts from Berlin in 1941

Signifying Nothing - Frank McNally on a new linguistic plague

A little bell had started to ring in my head every time he said ‘very significant’ again

Thrilling tales – Oliver O’Hanlon on novelist Katherine Thurston

Her best-selling novels dealt with various themes, including love, addiction, adultery and gambling

Leaning into love – Alison Healy on St Valentine and Dublin

A city with three Love Lanes, not to mention a Ring Street and a Bride Street

Assurance and zeal – Brian Maye on trade unionist Séamus Redmond

Redmond played a key role in the Marine Port and General Workers’ Union

Hardebeck Edition – Frank McNally on an Anglo-German musician who became the “blind bard of Belfast”

He travelled widely in the Gaeltacht areas of Ulster on a mission to save traditional airs from oblivion

Anti-social climber – Frank McNally on the pioneering cat burglar Robert Augustus Delaney

Handsome, charming, and well-dressed, Delaney was a popular figure in the West End of London

Digging Up History – Frank McNally on the McMahon, and other once-famous spades

You didn’t call a spade a spade – you called it a “McMahon”

In the name of the father – Frank McNally on the waning tradition of family nicknames

There was a ‘Boss’, a ‘Yankee’, ‘Pipes’, ‘Mick Miley’, ‘Wee Mick’, and ‘Slasher’, among others

Princess Margaret’s Galway island visit: ‘By the cut of you, you’re a lady. Will you take a drink?’

Éamon de Valera and Princess Margaret were in the same room of a cottage on Tawin Island - just not at the same time

Saoirse Ronan has died only six times, Liam Neeson 31

When it comes to the deaths, or near-deaths, of fictional characters, JR Ewing of Dallas fame must surely be one of the most memorable

Power ballad – Frank McNally on the case for an Irish ‘Wichita Lineman’

Has anyone ever composed a musical eulogy, country or otherwise, to Ireland’s electrical repair crews?

A Tale of Two Richards – Marc McMenamin on two oft-confused Limerick men

Richard Francis Hayes and Richard James Hayes

Last Poll and Chorus – Frank McNally on the end of 400 years of Trinity College elections

Dublin University can claim to have elected Jane Austen’s Mr Darcy, or a bit of him

Hit (and miss) parade – Frank McNally on the mixed fortunes of a who’s who list from 40 years ago

These lists always give hostages to fortune

Glad rags – Colm Keena on clothes and society

So many people in the wealthiest, most free, most democratic societies in human history opt to wear what is comparatively drab clothing

Nato and Irish neutrality – John Mulqueen on a vexed political issue

For some, neutrality became a sacred cow associated with high moral purpose

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