Oscar Wilde
After Oscar: the Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland – A dramatic and engaging narrative
Book by playwright’s grandson relates how public shame over Wilde’s downfall shadowed his family into the mid-20th century
‘Very progressive’ Ireland celebrated as bust of Oscar Wilde is unveiled in Paris
Few people wanted to be seen with Irish playwright in his final days, actor Simon Callow says - but 125 years on, he is honoured
Oscar Wilde’s forgotten friend who nurtured him back from prison life on the French Riviera
Despite editor Frank Harris’s reputation as a rogue, the Irish literary light trusted him, as he approached his death 125 years ago
Event guide: CMAT, Ash and the other best things to see in Ireland in the week ahead
November 29th-December 5th, 2025: The best music, theatre, art and more coming your way this week
John Singer Sargent: The American painter who became an honorary Frenchman
Sargent: Dazzling Paris, a sumptuous exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay, tells the story of the artist’s formative decade in Paris
Rest in Paris: fancy your chances of being buried beside Oscar Wilde or Jim Morrison?
Plus: the thing Catherine Connolly and Keir Starmer have in common; the ‘lion’ on the loose in Co Clare; and a big job opening at the EPA
Oscar Wilde’s British Library reading pass reissued 130 years after confiscation
Pass was taken from Irish playwright following his 1895 conviction for gross indecency
Horrible Histories author Terry Deary: ‘If you think the present is horrible then you should try living even 70 years ago’
Deary talks about his new book for adults, rebellion, the cushie present day, and ‘wanting to create something worthwhile’
Children’s fiction: New and reprinted titles from Mary Murphy, Raymond Briggs, Oscar Wilde and more
A fearless explorer arrives on Earth, postwar childhood tales and classics to bewitch a new generation
In Extremis review: Intriguing footnote from Oscar Wilde’s final days of freedom
Neil Bartlett’s play imagines Wilde’s meeting, just before his trial, with the society palmist Mrs Robinson
Let’s face it ‘reach for the stars’ is not a very Irish mantra
Many disabled artists would opt for the ‘humble’ option of requesting lesser or no payment for work. Reaching for the stars is too risky
Bookish breaks: Get inspired with these literary destinations, from Castletownshend to the French Riviera
To celebrate Bloomsday on June 16th, we explore spots that inspired famous writers to create their classics
Red into the record – Frank McNally on Peadar O’Donnell’s libel case against the Irish Rosary magazine
The trial had its origins in the ‘Red Scare’ general election of 1932
Author Lisa Harding: ‘I have never been scared to look at the dark side of life’
The novelist on her latest book, Wildelings; her penchant for unlikeable characters; and how her acting background is a boon to her writing
Charm offensive: The close personal encounters with charmers that leave us uneasy
We know charm is routinely weaponised in politics, business and personal relationships. Still, we’re not always immune to charming people, and maybe we don’t want to be
Twist by Colum McCann: Surprising and electric, a wired-up story of what it means to bend yourself into new shapes
A novel that rolls across continents on seas of emotion that find their form in glorious passages of writing
An Irishman at Oxford: It was an education in being an outsider. I felt alienated from the very start
The good, the bad and the ugly parts of studying English through Irish eyes at Oxford
Read this and weep: Books that made writers cry
John Boyne, Edel Coffey, Ferdia Lennon, Sarah Gilmartin and a dozen other authors and critics on books that had a profound emotional effect on them
A New York Times book critic spent five days in Dublin. Here’s how he got on
The city is a soulful playground for the kind of people who have spectacles on their nose and autumn in their hearts
Running commentary - Frank McNally on the statues of Dublin’s Merrion Square
The southern and western sides lack any statues – moving or otherwise
The Devil’s Spine Band: Arrows of the Golden Moon – Undeniably ambitious but ultimately disjointed
The album, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s trip to Colorado, features luminaries of the Irish independent scene
John Weldon: ‘Don’t buy her a diamond ring without her express input’
Highlights of the busiest week in the auction calendar include a lock of Oscar Wilde’s hair, a Harry Potter first edition, and a rare 007 Omega watch
The Guide: The events to see, the shows to book and the ones to catch before they end
The best music, art, literature and more coming your way between Saturday, October 14th, and Friday, October 20th
Capturing the ancients’ dazzling queer energy in image and story
When we consider the many and ongoing erasures of queer history, the baffling silences of the archives, it is deeply moving to see a world, far off from our own, with queerness flowing through its very fabric
A secret gay history of UK espionage: ‘The skill-set of homosexuals and spies overlapped’
Huw Lemmey, a novelist and host of the Bad Gays podcast, has made the intriguing spy film Ungentle
A life of leisure: is it on the horizon and would we be able to handle it?
We should prioritise rest now, rather than waiting for an automated future that may never arrive
Would Oscar Wilde have survived in the #MeToo era?
Hugh Linehan: Wilde and Roman Polanski both took advantage of positions of power and privilege to sexually exploit young people
Grand: Becoming My Mother’s Daughter – A compelling search for identity
Noelle McCarthy’s debut memoir has plenty of tragic moments but is shot through with dark humour
German chancellor’s Oscar Wilde misquote looks like carelessness
Europe Letter: A citation by Olaf Scholz sounded more like something that would be shared on LinkedIn
Oscar Wilde’s false teeth were kept by a hotelier – but the family didn’t want them back
An Irishwoman’s diary: Oscar Wilde’s false teeth were kept by a hotelier who later tried to return them to the family – but they declined
When a ‘dungeon’ on Leeson Street cost £2 a week and swarmed with literary life
A new book explores Dublin’s literary past, an active part of living or working in the city
‘I admire anyone who keeps going in the face of adversity’
Mullingar crime writer has published a dozen novels and sold in excess of two million copies
The New Life by Tom Crewe: Vivid novel about 19th century homosexuality has a contemporary edge
Story loosely based on reality is both sensual and sensory, capturing 1890s London with the eye of a historian and a Jamesian knack for metaphor
Around Oscar Wilde’s kiss-covered tombstone, Paris’s celebrity cemetery is returning to nature
Père-Lachaise, whose tombs of artistic icons have made the city graveyard a tourist draw, has become a haven for wildlife, too, under a regreening scheme
John Lydon on The Sex Pistols, or ‘those unpleasant f**ks I used to work with’
The punk rock legend feels betrayed by his former bandmates and upcoming Disney+ series, Pistol
‘Would you like to visit my grave?’ The farmer planning a home burial
Martin Neary has permission to be buried on his own lands in Co Mayo when he dies
Gerald Barry: ‘I’ve had an energy in me that has not had an outlet’
The composer on sea bream, symbols, spies, Salome and his new Cello Concerto
A salt course: Learn how to season with the best of them
Some people don’t even have salt in their house. Are you one of them?
Finding Marcel Proust: Paris marks centenary of the writer’s death
An exhibition at the Musée Carnavalet places Proust in his Belle Époque milieu
The best circles – Paul Clements on the Ulster History Circle’s commemorative plaques
An Irishman’s Diary
Oscar Wilde’s former street named the most expensive in England
Average house price on Tite Street in Chelsea is £28.9m, says mortgage lender Halifax
100 independent Irish online shops for Christmas presents
There’s no excuse for not shopping locally this Christmas as ever more Irish retailers go online
Greek myths, fairy tales and now TikTok: our enduring love affair with horror
Halloween horror taps into cultural roots going back to ancient Greece via the Romantics
Going to college? Head to the open days in universities around the country
When are they on and what’s on offer? Key facts about 2021-2022 open days
Sean Moncrieff: People act like I chose this surname, just to be difficult or pretentious
In multi-cultural western societies, name-mangling has become infused with politics
October travel: From rewilding in Meath to going Wilde for afternoon tea
Plus: Take a Monaghan mini-break in gorgeous Glaslough or discover cultured Dublin
There’s a difference between shyness and social anxiety
Quiet people rest assured, brilliant conversationalists are a pain in the neck
End of the Line – Frank McNally on the dubious legacy of the last Earl of Clanrickarde
An Irishman’s Diary
Piccadilly Circus – Frank McNally on the colourful, coded history of a famous London address
An Irishman’s Diary
A cucumber sandwich with an Irish twist
Theses are far from traditional cucumber sandwiches, but are just as posh
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
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices