Walt Whitman

‘I would now identify as Irish rather than British. It was a very proud day when my Irish passport showed up’

Composer Stephen McNeff was born in Belfast, then grew up in south Wales. His Irishness has become increasingly important to his identity

Sage Bertie Ahern, wry Joe Duffy and stoned-sounding Irish Maga fan: Radio reactions to Trump’s US election win

Radio: Ciara Kelly hears differing takes on Trump victory while Kieran Cuddihy meets jubilant Maga fans in New York

Donald Clarke: The B&B paperback is dead

Up to the 1980s, every Irish B&B had bookshelves stuffed with books left by guests

Ruth Fitzmaurice: A man handed me a coin at the trolley bay. His small kindness moved me to tears

Disenchanted by news, we need a re-enchantment. Why not sing a new world into being?

Australia’s first national poet – An Irishman’s Diary on Bernard O’Dowd

Keith Duggan: How we could all do with a dose of that Italia 90 feeling just now

30 years ago it seemed like the whole of Ireland burst out on to the streets at the same time

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Rip Torn, Men in Black and Larry Sanders Show star, dies aged 88

Star was nominated for six Emmys for his role as Artie on The Larry Sanders Show

Walt’s Partner – a Limerick man beloved of Walt Whitman

Irishman's Diary: Born 200 years ago, Peter Doyle was poet's lifelong companion

The miracle of lilac: long-living, sweet-smelling and very easy to grow

Grow them as a shrub or small tree in a lawn, an informal hedge, or even trained against a high wall where their foliage will act as a foil for flowering plants

Mary Oliver, prize-winning poet, dies at 83

Her work, with its plain language, drew a wide following but divided critics

Thinking Anew – A message of hope for people everywhere

Lost in translation – An Irishman’s Diary on the hidden depths of Hiberno-English

Wellington Rd townhouse with links to Wilde, Yeats

The ghosts of Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats may well still be enjoying this elegant 286sq m property seeking €2.95m

Bob Dylan could tackle changing times in Nobel speech

This weekend, the literary giant will be celebrated at the Nobel prize-giving ceremony. He harnesses the power of language like nobody else