An Irishman's DiaryFLICKING channels the other night, I came across a rerun of a boxing match from 1993Wed Jan 26 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryMARY O’ROURKE has called on Fianna Fáil to draw up a “catechism” for election candidates (Home News, January 20th)Fri Jan 21 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI might not go so far as the Gospel of St Matthew (5:37) which, warning against the use of unnecessary oaths when speaking the…Thu Jan 20 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIF you ever take a short detour off Tsar Boris III Boulevard in Sofia, and if your grasp of Cyrillic script is good, you might…Wed Jan 19 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryAS any musically illiterate parent of music students will know, YouTube can be a vital educational resourceSat Jan 15 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI’M not so sure about James Joyce (Diary, January 8th and subsequent letters), but there seems to be a clearer moral case for…Fri Jan 14 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI was half-listening to a programme on RTÉ radio the other night – Off the Shelf with Andy O’Mahony – when a comment by one of…Thu Jan 13 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryEN ROUTE through the Tipperary village of Rearcross – virgin territory for me – last week, I stopped to visit its rather unusual…Wed Jan 12 2011 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT’S doubly apt that Tom Waits was born in December, because the surname Waits – and its variations – derives from an old musical…Fri Dec 24 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIF Joel Waldfogel is correct, the Three Wise Men were just the sort of people who should not have bought Christmas presents.Thu Dec 23 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG THE accidental casualties of the harsh winter has been a certain Guinness adWed Dec 22 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiarySPARE a thought for a group of people who are at their most vulnerable around this time of year but whose plight rarely attracts…Sat Dec 18 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHERE MUST have been great excitement in certain literary circles about a news item in Tuesday’s newspaper.Fri Dec 17 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE economist Paul Krugman was complaining the other day about “bad metaphors”, specifically, about the frequency with which …Wed Dec 15 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI SEE that in an early Christmas present for headline writers, the increasingly desperate Australian cricket team has resorted…Sat Dec 11 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryAMONG the events of New York’s coming “holiday season”, I see, is something called “Good Riddance Day”Fri Dec 10 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryEVEN in these dire times, the word “boycott” continues to be a source of national prideThu Dec 09 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE WEATHER of late has been a steep learning curve for many – and I’m not just talking about Dublin Airport Authority.Wed Dec 08 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryNOT THE least traumatic aspect of the cold spell is the bit, last thing every night, where I have to put the cat outSat Dec 04 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI heard a man on radio saying that, thanks to two major snow events in the same year, our extreme-weather driving skills have…Fri Dec 03 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryPHILIP MARLOWE claimed he could smell Los Angeles before he arrived thereThu Dec 02 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryREADERS may be familiar with Godwin’s Law of internet discussions: which states that as any online debate develops, the probability…Sat Nov 27 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiarySURELY the Germans are mocking us with that story (World News, yesterday) about “Anastasia”, a young woman who, according to …Fri Nov 26 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN church calendars, today’s date is devoted to what must surely be the only saint ever to have a type of firework named after…Thu Nov 25 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryI SEE THAT among the talks at this year’s Patrick Kavanagh Weekend, which starts tomorrow, is one by Peter McDonnell entitled…Wed Nov 24 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryJOE McBride (Letters, November 19th) submits that “if the best economists in our country, people such as David McWilliams and…Sat Nov 20 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE HISTORY of cultural relations between Ireland and Romania has long been dominated by the work of one man, who famously never…Fri Nov 19 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryWAITING for the grim news from Brussels on Tuesday night, I passed the time like many people watching the Munster-Australia rugby…Thu Nov 18 2010 - 00:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN HIS MEMOIR of the War of Independence, Ernie O’Malley recalled the time he spent as an IRA organiser, travelling around Ireland…Wed Nov 17 2010 - 00:00
In the eye of the TigerMEMOIR: The Dubliner Diaries By Trevor White, The Lilliput Press, 204pp. €9.99Sat Oct 30 2010 - 01:00
Time for Good Ireland to tell Bad Ireland to splitI’M NO economist, God knowsFri Sept 24 2010 - 01:00
Ireland's provisional DNAScientists have mapped the DNA of an Irish person – an anonymous male volunteer – for the first timeSat Sept 11 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE CASE of the “Moscow Murphys” reminds me of an interview John Le Carré gave once explaining the inspiration for his chief …Fri Jul 02 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryWHEN George Orwell wrote that modern sport was “war minus the shooting”, he did not apparently mean this as a complimentThu Jul 01 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI APOLOGISE in advance to tennis enthusiasts, whose sport I would not normally think of denigrating: if only because, most of…Sat Jun 26 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIN THE DEBATE about old media versus new, a subject you rarely hear discussed is the vast superiority of the former when it comes…Thu Jun 24 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryNEWS THAT the French fast-food chain Quick has distanced itself from the national football team – or at any rate pulled its ads…Wed Jun 23 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHAT Catherine Connelly lived to be almost 110 was remarkable in itselfSat Jun 19 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryIT USED TO BE SAID that stand-up comedy was “the new rock and roll”Fri Jun 18 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryOUT FOR A RUN in the Phoenix Park the other day, and passing Farmleigh, I noticed a sign advising the public that something called…Thu Jun 17 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryJAMES JOYCE was famously preoccupied with the possibility that Dublin might have to be rebuilt some day and that, in Ulysses , …Wed Jun 16 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE BANKING inquiries have rightly concentrated on local contributions to Ireland’s meltdown, rather than already well-advertised…Fri Jun 11 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryTHE MOST memorable piece of career advice I ever received was given to me in a railway station bar in Wagga Wagga, 21 years ago…Thu Jun 10 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryAS IF things weren’t bad enough already, I notice that my favourite potatoes have become very hard to find recently, at least…Wed Jun 09 2010 - 01:00
A suit that puts years on youResearchers at the Ford motor company are using ‘bondage techniques’ to find out the effects ageing has on driversTue Jun 01 2010 - 01:00
An Irishman's DiaryI SEE THAT the famous Gloucestershire cheese-rolling festival, due to have been held this coming Monday, has been cancelled because…Sat May 29 2010 - 01:00