Fluther’s Theses – Frank McNally on the curious evolution of a drunken adjectiveIreland’s countless euphemismsFri Oct 14 2022 - 19:00
Kentucky Fried Irish – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of one of America’s greatest small newspapersThe Kentucky Irish American animated US journalism for 70 yearsThu Oct 13 2022 - 19:00
To Russia with love – Frank McNally on the Irish heritage of the ‘father of Russian journalism’Pyotr Vyazemsky had the questionable fortune of outliving most of his contemporariesWed Oct 12 2022 - 19:00
Warped Logic – Frank McNally on how a great Polish philosopher spent his final years in IrelandCentral to Lukasiewicz’s thought was the idea of breaking with Aristotle’s bivalent logicTue Oct 11 2022 - 19:00
Cycle of life and death: Frank McNally on an unlikely Flann O’Brien tribute and a tale of two TurnersBrian O’Nolan’s remains have resided in Deansgrange Cemetery since his death in 1966Fri Oct 07 2022 - 19:10
Poison Ivy: Frank McNally on how the deaths of two English monarchs caused legal issues for Joyce‘Vulgar expressions’ in Ivy Day in the Committee Room made publishers nervousThu Oct 06 2022 - 19:07
Rolling in the aisles – Frank McNally on how a ‘bad’ Irish habit conquered AmericaR-rolling was vital to perceptions of social standingWed Oct 05 2022 - 19:05
Metaphorical Manouevres – Frank McNally on Patrick Kavanagh’s all-conquering army of poetsA prize worth fighting forTue Oct 04 2022 - 19:00
In search of lost time - Frank McNally on horology, folk-music, and the campaign to ban ‘iconic’Time for actionFri Sept 30 2022 - 19:00
Through a Glass, Berkeley – Frank McNally on eccentric English pronunciationsWhat’s in a name?Thu Sept 29 2022 - 10:16
How Ireland got Fluthered – Frank McNally on Seán O’Casey’s real and fictional Fluther GoodA day in courtTue Sept 27 2022 - 19:10
Imperfect Recall – Frank McNally on the sad story of a half-remembered neighbourA man we’ll call JoeFri Sept 23 2022 - 19:10
The Height of Vulgarity – Frank McNally on San Francisco’s Nob Hill James Flood, the king of the castleThu Sept 22 2022 - 19:14
Joint Project - Frank McNally on the great Limerick-born engineer MM O’ShaughnessyAs chief engineer in San Francisco at the start of the last century he designed much of that city’s infrastructureWed Sept 21 2022 - 19:00
Quaking in their boots - Frank McNally on one of the world’s most precarious football stadiumsA “tectonic time-bomb”Tue Sept 20 2022 - 19:01
Whistle, stop! Frank McNally on the downside of a great American traditionTrain of thoughtFri Sept 16 2022 - 19:01
Milking It - Frank McNally on the ups and downs of diary farmingIn one way, diary farmers have it worse than dairy onesFri Sept 16 2022 - 14:16
Cross Lines - Frank McNally on a royal wrong number that led to a libel case“Sandringham here. May I speak to Her Royal Highness?”Tue Sept 13 2022 - 19:01
By royal disappointment - Frank McNally on an Irish clergyman who picked the wrong sermon for a change of English monarchThe seeds of Thomas Sheridan’s downfallFri Sept 09 2022 - 19:01
Line mismanagement - Frank McNally on the stresses of trying to catch a Dublin taxi in the rainJoin the queueThu Sept 08 2022 - 19:00
Shelf-raising flour - Frank McNally on a literary facelift for an old Dublin flour millSpeaking volumesWed Sept 07 2022 - 19:00
Shifting Sands - Frank McNally on the dramatic real-life plot twist of Erskine ChildersA personal transformation that even a good spy novelist might struggle to make credibleTue Sept 06 2022 - 19:01
Mobbed – Frank McNally on the image and reality of the Sicilian MafiaA martyred duoFri Sept 02 2022 - 19:10
Port in a Storm – Frank McNally on the strange story of the Sicilian EmmetsA striking resemblanceThu Sept 01 2022 - 19:10
Dead Central Sicily - Frank McNally on the Capuchin Catacombs of PalermoTales from the cryptWed Aug 31 2022 - 19:01
Tyred and Emotional - Frank McNally on the ups and downs of driving in SicilyAn offer I couldn’t refuseTue Aug 30 2022 - 19:15
Madonna è mobile – Frank McNally on a Sicilian tale of two MadonnasMiraculous sightingsFri Aug 19 2022 - 19:01
No Flowers, Please - Frank McNally on the etymological ambush of Beal na BláthDisputes over placenamesThu Aug 18 2022 - 19:01
Frank McNally on the Dublin-born newspaper mogul, Lord Northcliffe, who died 100 years agoThe most successful newspaper publisher of his timeWed Aug 17 2022 - 19:01
Fan Fiction - Frank McNally on football’s fondness for the ‘unbelievable’The thesaurus of incredulityTue Aug 16 2022 - 19:02
Take me to chapel - Frank McNally on why traditional Catholics never went to churchA crucial distinctionFri Aug 12 2022 - 20:01
Out With a Bang - Frank McNally on the cult of the newspaper “knock-down”A time-honoured ritualThu Aug 11 2022 - 19:01
Rough Justice - Frank McNally on the unlikely romance between Eoin O’Duffy and Micheal MacLiammóirThe odd coupleWed Aug 10 2022 - 19:20
Put Out by Putin - Frank McNally on the perils of undiplomatic language It may be time for an audit of all body-based metaphorsTue Aug 09 2022 - 19:01
A quarter of two halves: Frank McNally on tourism, homelessness and Emily in ParisPilgrims pose for selfies around the area featured in the hit TV seriesFri Aug 05 2022 - 19:36
Was Gustav Holst German or English? Frank McNally on ethnic confusionEnglish composer grew up within the furlongs of the famous Cheltenham racecourseThu Aug 04 2022 - 19:34
The Life of Oreille: Frank McNally on a famous French anthropologist with a very Irish nameThe ‘missionary-ethnographer’ amassed a huge collection of artefacts and documentsWed Aug 03 2022 - 19:32
Cultic Mist: Frank McNally on the weirdness of watching Irish sport in ParisGAA in such circumstances seems to imply almost religious devotionTue Aug 02 2022 - 19:20
Holed Up – Frank McNally on escaping the apocalypse in West CorkSwiss role in cold war “funk hole”Thu Jul 14 2022 - 19:01
Revolutionaries and inmates: Frank McNally on the Irish and the storming of the BastilleA Dubliner among the prisoners defied the law of probabilityWed Jul 13 2022 - 19:01
Who’s bringing the horse to France? A history of Ireland in 100 questions Riddle me thisTue Jul 12 2022 - 19:01
And the Beatrices Go On - Frank McNally on the dark-haired beauties of Joyce, Dante, and Patrick KavanaghMane attractionFri Jul 08 2022 - 19:01
Sailing into the sunset - Frank McNally on Shelley’s last voyagePoet met his untimely death aged 29, 200 years agoThu Jul 07 2022 - 19:01
Noises Off - Frank McNally on opera, snoring, and vintage tractorsThose chimes so sweetly stealingWed Jul 06 2022 - 19:01
Dogs of War (continued) - Frank McNally on the other four-legged “Convict 224″A pedigree chumThu Jun 30 2022 - 19:02
Stone Mad: Frank McNally on the mysterious Irish tradition of wall bitingIs it only a Meath thing?Wed Jun 29 2022 - 19:01
