Old favourites An enduring puzzle down through the years LORNA KERNAN, crosswords editor
Derek Crozier speaking in Dublin in 1993 at a special event to mark 50 years of Crosaire crosswords.

Now in his 92nd year, Derek Crozier, the man behind Crosaire - the cryptic crossword - is among the oldest daily contributors to The Irish Times, having survived two world wars, Irish independence, de Valera, JFK and any number of editors, writers, correspondents and "stringers" that came and went over the years.

While celebrating Christmas Eve in 1942 in the Palace Bar, Derek Crozier met Bertie Smyllie and Alec Newman, then Editor and deputy editor of this newspaper, and the idea of supplying a cryptic crossword was born.

The first Crosaire was published on March 13th, 1943, and the format was simply one each week on Saturday, with wife Marjorie filling in the grids and him conjuring up the clues. This was in addition to his day job in Guinness. This situation didn't change until 1950, when a Wednesday Crosaire was added to the schedule. Two years earlier Crozier had quit his job with the brewery to farm tobacco in what is now Zimbabwe.

Tuesdays were added in 1955. However, it wasn't until 1982 that the Crosaire crossword appeared daily. Crozier also taught English between 1964 and 1990 at St George's College in Harare and stood (unsuccessfully) for the Rhodesian parliament in 1962.

Derek Crozier's brain nourishment has become an enduring Irish Times phenomenon spawning crossword heats, readers' forums and an appearance on The Late Late Show in 1993 to celebrate 50 years of Crosaire, plus regular features celebrating his professional longevity.

There are the loyal fans who often phone or e-mail weeks after a crossword was published to plead for understanding of a clue that is driving them to distraction. Clues like "Zee CID error may eke out who we're talking about (6,7)". A clue as old as the paper itself.

Chess Champion

J J Walsh's daily chess puzzle began as a weekly column in 1955 and became a daily feature in 1972 when the celebrated Fischer-Spassky games increased popular interest. It has appeared more than 11,000 times in the subsequent 37 years. According to British Chess magazine, it is one of longest continuous features of its kind in the world. Jim Walsh's chess-playing career included several appearances at the Hastings congress between 1950 and 1965 and three appearances for Ireland at Olympiads. He had another link with The Irish Times; until it closed in 1976 he worked in his father's pharmacy next door to the newspaper's old office in Westmoreland Street. KF

Bridge of time

George Ryan's bridge columns have been a feature of The Irish Times since 1970, when 12 people were interviewed for the job and a young Co Louth-born primary teacher won the day. "You don't get a lot of praise for the column, but if for some reason it does not appear, then you get loads of abuse, " he says. George Ryan's memoirs have been an Irish publishing phenomenon. No Time for Work sold 27,000 copies, and is being updated and reissued in 2009. KF

Words, Words, Words

Diarmaid O Muirithe's "The Words We Use" column is a conversation with readers about the origin of words which has continued for more than 18 years. The idea for the weekly column followed an Irish Times report on a battle over the origin of a word which had raged between O Muirithe, a UCD academic and broadcaster, and the compilers of the Oxford Dictionary, which he eventually won. "Some people send me queries, one woman aged 103 sent me an excellent line drawing of her cat," he says. KF

CWestern way

Michael Viney joined The Irish Times in 1962. An Englishman who took Irish citizenship, initially he wrote hard-hitting reports and features on matters of social concern. His examinations of divorce, poverty, domestic violence, juvenile crime and unemployment created an awareness which fed into the politics of the day. In time he became disenchanted with city life, moved to Mayo where he continues to contribute elegantly crafted pieces about living in rural Ireland in the Weekend supplement. KF

 
 
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