Green Smoke – Frank McNally on the history of a nationalist tobacco shop, circa 1904
Its precious visitor books were rescued decades later from a barrow on Dublin’s quays
An Irish Diary
An Irish Diary
Dearly imparted: Frank McNally on Paddy the philanthropist, the BBC banning of Clannad, and Beckett’s womb with a view
Might Paddy Dear be persuaded to throw a few million our way, for the relief of distress in dear old Ireland?
Wilde Romantic Way: Frank McNally on the rise and fall of Oscar’s amorous father
Not all of William Wilde’s exploits are commemorated on a plaque
Running through the theory that a person’s name can determine what they do
Athletics really does seem to attract people whose names suggest they are destined for great things
Medicine bow: The rise and fall of Dr Achmet Borumborad, the ‘Turk’ who charmed Georgian Dublin
His ambitions, however, extended far beyond a modest medical practice
Frank McNally on a Dublin woman’s attempt to assassinate Mussolini, 100 years ago
It’s hard to say for sure what drove Violet Gibson
High on life – Frank McNally on Aldous Huxley, psychedelic drugs and why artists love depicting drapery
For the artist or mescaline taker alike, Huxley concluded, ‘draperies are living hieroglyphs’
Frank McNally: A heart-stopping epitaph on the grave of a little-known teenager
A stone in Rome’s ‘Protestant Cemetery’ commemorates Rosa Bathurst, who drowned in 1824, aged 16
‘That’s the wrong Ireland’: The eternal quest to find a pub showing Czechia v Ireland in Rome
After finding myself lost in translation, it didn’t help that every available TV was showing Italy v Northern Ireland
Hard lessons – John Mulqueen on how ministers fared at past teachers’ annual conferences
Each conference was a shooting gallery, with the minister the target
Mixed doubles: Áine Ryan on having a Doppelgänger in her hometown
Throughout the interaction, I scratched my head metaphorically and nervously concluded that I was losing it
No reservation: John Mulqueen on a Dublin restaurant that set the standard for fine dining
It was once dubbed one of Europe’s best by Vogue magazine
They fled the threat of violence and built new lives in Cork. A Jewish community was born
The city’s Jewish heritage has been brought back into focus by a new digital archive at Cork Public Museum
National lampoon: Felix Larkin on how cartoonists have skewered politicians for centuries
Napoleon Bonaparte was particular target of early satirical cartoonists
My nifty Honda 50 secured a greater rate of return than my pension contributions
Being young on a motorcycle is one of life’s great pleasures
Bad call – Fionnuala Ward on putting phones between ourselves and reality
If something is not captured on a device, has it actually happened?
Bay watch: The mythical island said to appear in the Atlantic Ocean once every seven years
Generations of Galway parents have told their children that Hy-Brazil is a paradise
‘You look nothing like a model girl’: 18th century letter-writing advice hasn’t aged well
If you thought that was bad, try advising a man who resents a woman’s fondness for a monkey
Plaques broad and narrow – Frank McNally on Dublin street honours big, small and missing
City keen to celebrate citizens and even daft causes, but one omission needs correcting
Born-again poet – Frank McNally on the confused centenary of Frank O’Hara
New Yorker had two ‘birthdays’, one of which was to spare his parents’ blushes
Pidgeon homed – Frank McNally on the repatriation of an Old IRA man from 1970s London
Souvenirs from traditional military salute for veteran at Glasnevin risked an awkward explanation or two
Write on: Eamon Maher on the legacy of novelist John McGahern, who died 20 years ago
The writer’s trajectory was not always a smooth one, but his star continues to rise
The road to Prague is paved with bad memories. I swore I would never do it again
I swore I would never do it again
The Irish airman who survived one of the most dangerous jobs of the second World War
O’Dwyer and his colleagues were on the front line of an intelligence war
The mystery of flying ships in ancient Meath that ended up in a Texas newspaper
Perhaps the strangest twist in the tale’s evolution is the one by which it turned up in 1890s Texas
High-level hyperbolics: Frank McNally on the Irish approach to bigging things up
Be it song lyrics about a beautiful place or the fight to rebuild a public toilet, use of language is always key
Railway rivalry: A race between two trains with an unexpected ending
Even while competing for valuable, and sometimes smelly work, old steam trains crews took pride in their job and skills
Brought to book: Colm Keena on the joys to be discovered by joining a public library
One read takes me back to a winter reporting stint in post-Soviet Romania
Cuckoo land: Alison Healy on a unique clock exhibition that’s coming to Waterford
David Boles has spent more than two decades writing the ultimate guide to the world of Irish horology
I was thankful I had filed away the obscure detail of who finished second to Ronnie Delany in 1956
Not that The Irish Times team needed any help crossing the finish line first to claim victory in the annual Dublin Rape Crisis Centre corporate quiz night
‘Die roaring’: What we can learn from the demise of Doran’s bull and Orwell’s elephant
Orwell’s account was partly corroborated by a police colleague of the time
Double trouble: Frank McNally on the dramatic effect of saying the same thing twice
An ordinary person might ask you to ‘cease’ doing something. A lawyer will require you to ‘cease and desist’, and then you’re in trouble
Frank McNally on a posthumous anthology from a ‘reluctant businessman’ and literary wit
Intrepid investigation reveals Frank O’Dowd and I did indeed cross paths
A cast of characters: Hamnet, Hamlet, William Shakespeare and James Joyce
I did what I could to connect the playwright with Ireland, but it was a stretch
The long and melodious trail from a sweet English barmaid to a former Irish finance minister
The long and colourful path from a sweet English barmaid to a former Irish finance minister
Frank McNally on the lasting legacy of George Boole, a celebrity victim of the Irish climate
He walked the three miles from home to university during a downpour, and then delivered a lecture in drenched clothes
Pipe dreams: Sylvia Thompson on how a music teacher played his way into the record books
Nonstop organ-playing feat spawned interschool music festival now celebrating its 50th anniversary
Voices from the Grave: The mixed paternal legacy of ‘Irish tenor’ Jeff Buckley
The other big influence, on the last two members of the family at least, was the absence of a loving father figure
Murphy’s law: A US Navy Seal, Iran and the Irish connection
Lieut Michael P Murphy came under intense fire and was mortally wounded in Afghanistan in 2005
When Pat Ingoldsby met Vivienne – a Dublin love story
She picked up one of his books and was surprised at how easy it was to read before putting it back down
Getting our oar in: Frank McNally on the perils of linguistic imperialism
Their eccentricity might be charming if it wasn’t for the assumption that everyone else speaks that way
Shakespeare’s dialect is alive and well in south Derry
We have good raisin to curse the divil in my native area
Ernie O’Malley’s century-old memoirs now read like a nature writer at war
In his memoirs, the former IRA organiser wrote in unique detail about the Irish landscape as he travelled the country
Haunted by Hamlet: The sad story of Ireland’s greatest Shakespearean scholar
When Belfast-born William John Lawrence died in penurious English exile at the start of the second World War, his manuscript on the origins of Hamlet was lost too
Why experts believe Shakespeare may have had an ‘Oirish’ accent
Linguistic detectives believe Shakespeare would have said ‘divil’ instead of ‘devil’ and would have drunk a cup of ‘tay’
My AI chatbot tried to gaslight me into thinking Pope Francis is still alive
What started out as a fun photo-editing endeavour quickly turned very confusing
‘O, the drenching grey weather’: Irish rain in 40 wonderful phrases
From October to April, the walls of Limerick glistened with the damp
A history of Ireland, as told through the medium of... rain
It has rained in Ireland every day of 2026 so far. From Samuel Beckett to Flann O’Brien, the country’s literary heritage is awash with the stuff
From daring raids to a sudden absence, where have all of Dublin’s pesky seagulls gone?
‘I have long been slightly paranoid about seagulls and would not be surprised if they’re running night drills for an all-out attack on the civilian population’
How a game of giant marbles on ice became an Olympic sport
All curling stones at the Winter Olympics originate from a once rat-infested, Christmas pudding-shaped rock off Scotland’s west coast
Conservation funding for Belfast’s historic Assembly Rooms marks a turning point
Once a hub of civic life and culture, the building has lain derelict for over 25 years
Watching the Winter Olympics, it’s nice to wonder what might have been
Could I have been a ski jumper? A bob-sleigher? A speed skater?
‘Home Rule in athletics’: Ray Burke on the GAA’s ‘ban on foreign games’
The ban survived the Civil War and was rarely challenged at conventions, enabling the GAA to avoid splits
Books of revelation: Frank McNally on a surprise twist in the Drumcondra book skip saga
In sharing a photograph of the redbrick terrace, I unearthed a hitherto unknown family connection
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