‘The measure of my dreams’: Rainy Night in Soho lives on, almost 40 years after its release
One of Shane McGowan’s best-loved songs has been covered by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lisa O’Neill, Nick Cave and more
An Irish Diary
An Irish Diary
A mixed schoolbag: Noel Costello on turbulent classroom days and being taught by John McGahern
Teacher-come-celebrated writer was light on homework, which was fine by his pupils
The night a ‘sputnik’ crash-landed in rural Wexford
A garda arrived immediately to cordon off a crater in the field, then the Army was called in
‘A breakthrough in the case of my stolen Dublin Bike and the subsequent €150 fine’
I am no wiser as to where the bicycle spent its long, lost weekend
A daisy with a doctorate? Frank McNally on the enrolment of ragwort in the rewilded lawns of Trinity College
Who knows how ragwort will evolve with the benefit of a few years in university? It might lose the latter part of its name, Jacobaea vulgaris, for a start
Ballet Go Backwards – Frank McNally on Patrick Kavanagh’s short-lived career as a dance librettist
This strange incident came about because of another surprising phenomenon little remembered today
A rose by any other name: Fionnuala Ward on a garden visitor with a life of its own
Sometime later, to the delight of my neighbour, it popped up on her side of the wall
A close shave: Colm Keena on the trials and tribulations of a summer job in St James’s hospital
This quickly became the cause of some anxiety, not for me, but for the poor patients
Barns ignoble – Frank McNally on Tom Waits’s barn obsession (and why Macbeth is innocent)
Tom Waits seems to have moved the scene to 20th century America
Long Day’s Journey Into Night – Frank McNally on a heady month for Monaghan GAA supporters, 40 years ago
My namesake and anti-Treaty grandfather may have been among the Monaghan supporters scarred for life
Murder most vulgar: Frank McNally on an infamous case of the 1820s
He was in no doubt about where the blame for such bad taste lay
Boyne Companions – Frank McNally on why the road from Dublin to Slane lies mainly on a plain (allegedly)
The loveliness of the setting is matched by that of the village of Slane itself
A life’s work reviving the Irish language - Oliver O’Hanlon on Liam Ó Briain
The playwright Seán O’Casey was the first person that Ó Briain spoke Irish with
Make more of the Moores: An Irish village’s connection to the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The most prolific actor was Owen Moore who made an estimated 279 movies
Learnings from Tom Lehrer: Brendan Balfe on tracking down and interviewing one of his favourite performers
Tom believed the material was the important thing, not his personal appearances
Hot Wheels - Frank McNally on the mystery of why anyone would steal a Dublin Bike
I was nevertheless baffled at the turn of events
Belfast Bride - Frank McNally on the Irish wife of man who dropped US atomic bomb on Nagasaki
Beahan had mixed feelings in later years about his involvement in the missions
Special Guest Appearance – Frank McNally on a famous banshee visitation of the 19th century
Although a great storyteller, the author was not the most reliable of narrators
‘Such a cruel sight’: A visit to Hiroshima lives long in the memory
Eighty years ago this month the first atomic bomb was dropped in Japan
John Mulqueen on Ireland’s influential role in fighting anti-Semitism and Franco’s fascists
Ireland’s brigadistas were not welcomed home as heroes
Rites and Wrongs: Examining the rise and fall of the ‘Portiuncula Indulgence’
What started out as the Pardon of Assisi required a visit to Italy, but now Westmeath will suffice
Odds and Ends - Frank McNally on the vagaries of Galway Race Week
It was as if I’d asked if his house had a late bar, or a chauffeured limousine service
Forever young: Revisiting the ground-breaking musical documentary The Last Waltz 50 years later
Bob Dylan was a guru even for the flotillas of soutaned clerics who mingled with us cool chicks
Ireland’s boy wonder who took the Lions tour of South Africa by storm in 1955
Tony O'Reilly was top scorer on that tour with 15 tries
‘In Venice, I woke up, unable to catch my breath, I knew I needed help’
I woke up, unable to catch my breath, I knew I needed help
Regaled by admirers, reviled by critics: A glimpse inside the André Rieu musical extravaganza
Sometimes dubbed the McDonald’s of Mozart, by age five he could already play the violin
Jung at Heart – Frank McNally on the Irish legacies of a Swiss psychologist
He suggested among other insults that Ulysses could be as easily read backwards as forwards
Baked into a Corner – Frank McNally on the demise of a Dublin landmark
Brian O’Nolan frequented the pub in his younger days
What unhygienic object do teams always need someone to clean up? – Frank McNally’s guide to the GAA cliche
Which undesirable qualities relating to the time-space continuum featured in that challenge by the corner back? It was late and high
Hot Tickets – Frank McNally on watching a steamy Molière and how Barry Lyndon became a TikTok hit
A Misanthrope features a choreographed sex scene that for technical difficulty (9.9) and artistic merit (10.0) would rival any gymnastics routine
Rory McIlroy and his alma mater’s key role in the formation of Irish education
Robert Sullivan had a great influence on teachers and teaching practices throughout Ireland
Remembering Ballinspittle and the moving statue
On one feast day alone, it was reckoned more than 15,000 people came to the grotto
‘They would not venture out that day’: Why Galway fishermen dread foxes
Before the captain had a chance to revisit the island, he went down in a shipwreck
Behind Enemy Lines - Frank McNally on a little piece of Cork that is forever Tipperary
Although a first-class cricketer in his prime, he was probably never much of a hurling fan
July Jeopardy - Frank McNally on this month’s ominous reputation
Men were at risk of attacks by rabid dogs and the wantonness of women, according to ancient philosophers
Publican Cause - Frank McNally on the Spanish celebrity of Paddy O’Connell
Soon afterwards, the Dubliner – born close to what is now Croke Park - was captaining Manchester United
Live Aid spurred me into becoming a GOAL volunteer on the ground in Africa
Despite the appalling heat and mosquitos, Khartoum had a certain other worldly charm
The unsung Irishman behind Live Aid. Not Bono, not Bob, but Paddy
Co Down man Paddy Coulter briefed reporter who broadcast original Ethiopian famine story
Spanish Steps – Frank McNally on a sweaty tour of Alicante and Valencia
The visit turned out to be anything but quick
Culture Clash of the Ash – Frank McNally on watching the hurling in Barcelona
I sought asylum in the nearest Irish pub
Surreal-Life Experience - Frank McNally on Salvador Dali, cosmogonic ecstasy, and the far-right government of Perpignan
Somehow, the doors of perception failed to open for me
My French trip had no shortage of Beckett-style waiting, with Marseille Airport at 2.30am about as lively as Knock
You wouldn’t start from Marseille to get to Spain
Never employ a cat. They are ‘unreliable, capricious and liable to absenteeism’
People were outraged at harnessing cats to do the work of humans
My search for the perfect pain au chocolat is over. It was in the most obvious of places
It was, of course, the French who came up with the notion of a breakfast dessert
Where would rock and roll be today without Henry Mount Charles?
Thin Lizzy, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones were among the many bands who played at Slane
As a Labrador swam by me out to sea his owner said ‘I hope he doesn’t meet a seal’. I later learned why
He seems to have an irrepressible urge to shepherd his owner back to shore
De Valera’s acrimonious relationship with US President Roosevelt’s man in Dublin during Second World War
Gray had no sympathy for Ireland’s neutral stance
The lost millionaire – the mystery of Glenveagh Castle’s missing owner.
An inquest was later held in Falcarragh, the first of its kind in Ireland without a body presen
Erik Satie: The eccentric 20th century French composer who coined the idea of ambient or background music
If his topics were strange, then his life in Paris was unconventional in the extreme
Alison Healy: On discovering what the rebels ate during the Easter Rising
But Mrs Callender was not a woman to scare easily
Poor Mouth, Rich Reputation – Frank McNally on fellow Flannorak and pioneering publican, Mick Gleeson
He bought the pub for a mere £58,000
A Hill to Die On - Frank McNally on celebrating the summer solstice at Tara
Some had been there since dawn, or earlier
Manhattan Transfer – Frank McNally on Skin-the-Goat Fitzharris in New York
Although in his late 60s by then, he was back in the job market
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices