Out and proud – Frank McNally on the many Irishtowns of IrelandA telling vestige of the island’s historyThu Mar 16 2023 - 19:01
Nangle of attack – Frank McNally on the BBC boycott, famous donkeys, and the Ides of MarchSurnames and destinyTue Mar 14 2023 - 19:30
Standing Orders – Frank McNally on ovation inflation at the theatreOnly a few dissidents sit and applaud politelyFri Mar 10 2023 - 19:01
Mountain Rescue – Frank McNally on a great Irish escape in wartime EuropeA daring journey in the PyreneesThu Mar 09 2023 - 19:32
Hot bots and parking lots – Frank McNally on the ups and downs of technologyThe chatbot signed off wishing me “an awesome rest of your day!”Wed Mar 08 2023 - 19:00
Commemorating Kate Kennedy - Frank McNally on a belated memorial to a great American educator from MeathKennedy became the first woman to run for state office in CaliforniaTue Mar 07 2023 - 19:15
Public House Premier – Frank McNally on the phenomenon of Tipperary publicans in DublinPublic house pre-eminenceFri Mar 03 2023 - 18:59
Cyclists on the footpath – Frank McNally on a permanently hostile debateThe debate over road and footpath use here is a permanently hostile oneThu Mar 02 2023 - 18:59
The Ole Shooting Match – Frank McNally on how Ireland helped launch one of America’s most controversial organisations, the NRAThe story begins with an epochal event 150 years ago this summerWed Mar 01 2023 - 18:59
Monkey Business – Frank McNally on Enrico Caruso’s indecency trial, as immortalised by James JoyceFamed tenor protested his innocenceFri Feb 24 2023 - 19:28
Calming America – Frank McNally on how the Ronald Reagan shooting made a celebrity of an Irish-American doctor Dennis S O’Leary became an unexpected celebrityThu Feb 23 2023 - 19:00
Stage Frights – Frank McNally on ‘Gentleman Johnny’ Burgoyne, GB Shaw, and Broadway’s biggest flopBurgoyne displayed a comic talent for which some admirers believed posterity might forgive his military recordWed Feb 22 2023 - 16:59
Saved – Frank McNally on a former church that houses the Internet ArchiveThe challenge of archiving the entire internet is an ever-more complex thingTue Feb 21 2023 - 19:00
Tip of the iceberg: Frank McNally on generous taxi-drivers and guilt-trip gratuitiesOn the long trail of the ‘wicked dollar’ tipping systemFri Feb 17 2023 - 19:17
Saints and Sinners – Frank McNally on the Holy Joes and hell-raisers of Notre Dame The quality of the college’s sports facilities do not suggest a reliance on miraclesThu Feb 16 2023 - 19:00
Catholics Cornered – Frank McNally on how a university in Indiana became the ‘Fighting Irish’The fame of Notre Dame and its sports teamsWed Feb 15 2023 - 19:44
Brew-ha-ha – Frank McNally on loopers, lexicography, and fermented hayLooper is one of those words that usually needs a qualifierTue Feb 14 2023 - 19:00
Bridge Over Troubled Porter – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of the ‘loop-liner’Courts would hear that the “loop-line trade” attracted the worst kinds of drinkerFri Feb 10 2023 - 19:00
First among prequels – Frank McNally on Irish cinema’s original MacDonagh and a subplot involving Flann O’BrienMacDonagh’s 1922 comedy Cruiskeen Lawn inaugurated the cinematic career of the multitalented Fay SargentThu Feb 09 2023 - 19:00
Turbulent priest – Frank McNally on Fr Clarence Duffy and a religious rebellion in 1970s CavanPriest came out of semi-retirement to lead a rebellion by parishionersWed Feb 08 2023 - 19:00
Ring of Truth – Frank McNally on Graham Greene and the Bells of ShandonStill ringing bellsFri Feb 03 2023 - 19:00
The Plot Thins – Frank McNally on France’s latest contribution to civilisation: the short-story dispenserThe concept is best suited to urban commuters: captive but fleeting readershipsThu Feb 02 2023 - 19:00
Old flames – Frank McNally on the traditions and lore of Candlemas“If Candlemas be bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in one year”Wed Feb 01 2023 - 19:00
A step in your spring – Frank McNally on vernal Februarians, St Brigid’s Fire, and the origins of Bridewell prisons Whenever it starts, spring is a season of the mindWed Feb 01 2023 - 11:23
Orange Disorder – Frank McNally on easy peelers, mob violence, and the birth of serendipityOh my darling clementinesFri Jan 27 2023 - 19:00
Banjaxed by Banshees – Frank McNally on Achill Island tourism, weird wineries, and a Tyrone ghost story "Banshee strives to produce some of the best damn pinot noir in Sonoma County"Thu Jan 26 2023 - 19:47
Road less travelled – Frank McNally on Percy French and the real-life PetravoreFrench’s song portrays the men of Petravore as badly smitten with the beautiful Eileen ÓgWed Jan 25 2023 - 19:40
Time, Gentleman – Frank McNally on the famous clocks of DublinSome once-celebrated Dublin clocks now survive only in literatureTue Jan 24 2023 - 19:30
The Four Proud Unpronounceables of Ireland – Frank McNally on Britain’s struggles with Aoife, Niamh, Saoirse, and SiobhánAnglo-Irish cultural misunderstandingsFri Jan 20 2023 - 19:15
Champion the Wonder Word – Frank McNally on the murky origins and global popularity of the word ‘shenanigans’“The Great Match Against Time”Thu Jan 19 2023 - 19:30
Twilight of the Gods – Frank McNally on Meath sunsets, Russian Vine, and the dangers of visiting fairy fortsSunset may be the best time to see Irish landscapesWed Jan 18 2023 - 19:00
Run for the Hills - Frank McNally on a modern re-enactment of Dublin Castle’s great escapeThe Art O’Neill ChallengeTue Jan 17 2023 - 19:30
Let us bray – Frank McNally on the Feast of the AssThe relative esteem in which asses are heldFri Jan 13 2023 - 19:35
Slaves to the truth – Frank McNally on learning history in the novels of Patrick O’BrianHaunting the seasThu Jan 12 2023 - 19:30
London Crawling – Frank McNally on Hamilton, the British rail strike, and the importance of looking rightA visit to Paddington StationWed Jan 11 2023 - 19:00
Philo and the Paycock – Frank McNally on a Thin Lizzy commemoration’s rise and fallThe annual commemoration of Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott has turned 36, the age at which he diedTue Jan 10 2023 - 19:00
Frank McNally: What has the EU ever done for us?Before cheap flights were ushered in by deregulation Paris and Prague were about as accessible for most Irish people as space is nowFri Dec 30 2022 - 12:52
Present Imperfect – Frank McNally on Vincent van Gogh, O Henry, and the Three Wise MenYou really shouldn’t haveFri Dec 23 2022 - 19:30
Sale Incomplete – Frank McNally on why Evelyn Waugh decided against a move to Ireland“No native capable of doing the simplest job properly”Thu Dec 22 2022 - 19:26
Frank McNally on the ripples of Argentina’s famous win and the scheduling perils of extra timeThe perils of extra timeWed Dec 21 2022 - 22:13
On a peak, mid-winter – Frank McNally gets a new angle on the winter solstice at NewgrangeSunlight on the solstice morningTue Dec 20 2022 - 19:30
Emigrant’s Content – Frank McNally on the joys of coming home at ChristmasNever had I felt so welcomeFri Dec 16 2022 - 19:15
Mar Dhea - Frank McNally on the unusual prevalence of rock stars called John Maher“Yep, rhymes with car or Mars bar”Thu Dec 15 2022 - 20:30
Back to Black - Frank McNally on The Stranglers’ unsuspected Irish heritageYou couldn’t throw a stone in any direction in Monaghan without a high risk of hitting a DuffyWed Dec 14 2022 - 19:00
Mining for Mischief – Frank McNally on the curious connection between goblins and cobaltIn their elementFri Dec 09 2022 - 19:00
Mute Point - Frank McNally on an etymological spot of ‘bother’A mental befuddlement caused by excessive noiseThu Dec 08 2022 - 20:08
A Broth of a Word – Frank McNally on the possible Mayo origins of LollapaloozaThe word became a war-cry of the Boston Red SoxWed Dec 07 2022 - 19:30
Frank McNally: The slovenly rise of ‘goblin mode’The surprising endurance in the 21st century of European folk superstitionsTue Dec 06 2022 - 19:01
Origin Unknown – Frank McNally on the pitfalls of asking people where they are ‘from’The urge to find out where people are from, exactly, has long been a cornerstone of Irish conversationFri Dec 02 2022 - 19:00
Stamped Out (and In) – Frank McNally on the Irish-American poet and postmistress Louise Imogen Guiney, who survived a boycott“Pure of heart, brilliant of mind”Thu Dec 01 2022 - 19:15
