Winning words
Thanks, Frank McNally, for memories of entering The Irish Times’ weekly writing competition
Frank McNally
The mystery of flying ships in ancient Meath that ended up in a Texas newspaper
Perhaps the strangest twist in the tale’s evolution is the one by which it turned up in 1890s Texas
‘Die roaring’: What we can learn from the demise of Doran’s bull and Orwell’s elephant
Orwell’s account was partly corroborated by a police colleague of the time
Double trouble: Frank McNally on the dramatic effect of saying the same thing twice
An ordinary person might ask you to ‘cease’ doing something. A lawyer will require you to ‘cease and desist’, and then you’re in trouble
Frank McNally on the lasting legacy of George Boole, a celebrity victim of the Irish climate
He walked the three miles from home to university during a downpour, and then delivered a lecture in drenched clothes
Voices from the Grave: The mixed paternal legacy of ‘Irish tenor’ Jeff Buckley
The other big influence, on the last two members of the family at least, was the absence of a loving father figure
Frank McNally’s diaries bring back tales of Kerry speech
A reader recalls the charming quirks of Kerry speech and the variations that make Irish English unique
Shakespeare’s dialect is alive and well in south Derry
We have good raisin to curse the divil in my native area
A history of Ireland, as told through the medium of... rain
It has rained in Ireland every day of 2026 so far. From Samuel Beckett to Flann O’Brien, the country’s literary heritage is awash with the stuff
Books of revelation: Frank McNally on a surprise twist in the Drumcondra book skip saga
In sharing a photograph of the redbrick terrace, I unearthed a hitherto unknown family connection
Pucking for peace: Frank McNally joins the Irish Friends of Canada on a trip to watch ice hockey in Belfast
There was no violence at the ice hockey on Sunday, I’m happy to report
Turbulent priest: Frank McNally on fascism, real and fictional, in 1930s America
Born in Canada of poor Irish emigrants, Fr Coughlin began broadcasting sermons to counter the anti-Catholicism then rife in the US
Frank McNally on 19th century engineering project that linked Tipperary with ‘civilisation’
Fr Edmond Walsh was a late vocation, having previously worked as a carter
Craicing the Case – Frank McNally on the origins of a cultural and linguistic phenomenon
I also lamented that the compunction to do things for the craic was not yet recognised as a defence in Irish courts
Fields of Gold – Frank McNally on the rise and fall of a colourful Monaghan family
Theirs was an old English surname, derived from proximity to cornfields or work as a harvester
What’s another year? Frank McNally on the rise of a new tautology
Words that were doing a perfectly good job are suddenly deemed to need prefixes
Faithful departure: Frank McNally on a belated first visit to Knock Airport, 40 years on
I had to marvel briefly at its location, on a hilltop bog halfway between Charlestown and nowhere
Frank McNally: A History of Ireland in a Hundred Hyperboles
A catalogue of 100 colourful expressions, myths, legends and sayings
Lips Sealed - Frank McNally on a mysterious facial feature, the philtrum
Now it’s just a vestige of evolution, with no apparent function.
Not Making Hay by Frank McNally: A witty memoir on his journey from Monaghan to media
The Irish Times columnist reflects on farming roots, newsroom dramas, and the cost of nostalgia
Frank McNally: My life as a civil servant in 1980s Dublin
Frank McNally on the Department of Social Welfare in Not Making Hay – The Life and Deadlines of a ‘Diary’ Farmer
Irish Times diarist’s new memoir gives the everyday grind ‘new lease of life’
Frank McNally’s new book, Not Making Hay, launched by presidential candidate Heather Humphreys
Skipping pages – Frank McNally on trawling through the discarded library of a lifetime
A full-blown bibliophile, the deceased was said to have had up to 100,000 volumes
A day trip to Electric Picnic does not go as planned
If you go down to the woods: Frank McNally on a long, dark night of no soul in Stradbally
‘A breakthrough in the case of my stolen Dublin Bike and the subsequent €150 fine’
I am no wiser as to where the bicycle spent its long, lost weekend
Murder most vulgar: Frank McNally on an infamous case of the 1820s
He was in no doubt about where the blame for such bad taste lay
Letters to the Editor, April 18th: On biological sex ruling, Easter rituals, the Grace report and wind farms
‘Sometimes the law takes a while to catch up’
Decayed Centenary - Frank McNally on the history of Irish brain rot
A rather uninspired choice as Oxford University Press word of the year? Maybe not
The Eyes Have It - Frank McNally on the feast day of St Lucy
The name Lucy shares its origins with the word lux, Latin for light, so it’s no coincidence her feast day coincides with the darkest time of the year
No Bloom at the Inn – Frank McNally on the delayed debut of a new (and old) Dublin pub
I just hope the ghost of Burton’s most famous non-customer has not entered an objection
Skeleton service - Frank McNally on why horses’ heads (and the occasional saint) used to be buried under buildings
The foundation sacrifice
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