‘For a time I felt Ireland was a narrow, Catholic, little dump. I feel less angry now’

From the archive: What did returning emigrants make of Ireland in 1989?

The Times We Lived In: High jinks plus a little star at Donegal nativity play

Published: December 17th, 2001. Photograph by Brenda Fitzsimons

Palmyra before Isis: an Irish travel writer’s eyewitness account

Mary Russell visited the ruined Roman city of Palmyra a couple of times before the war. This is an edited extract from My Home is Your Home: A Journey Round Syria

Tin Jug Studio offers a novel way to finish your book

Living in the eye of Syria’s storm: My House in Damascus

Diana Dark’s account of her life in the ancient city glows with an understanding of and affection for its people

Irish personalities reveal moments that changed their lives in a new book

About 100 people attended the launch of ‘Life Is For Living’ book

Rubbing James Joyce’s relic

Don’t knock it – it’s part of Dublin’s history. But is the knocker on the door of No 7 Eccles Street, now in the James Joyce Centre, the real Joycean deal?

Music that’s good enough to moan along to

A new complaints choir is part of an international movement that is giving voice to our gripes