Frank McNally
@frankie49.bsky.social
Chief writer of An Irish Diary, The Irish Times
Only Dolly could make a folk classic about enforced celibacy overseen by a homicidal mother sound this sexy. www.dailymotion.com/video/x345dqa
Dolly Parton -Silver Dagger (Live On The Late Show With David Letterman 2000) - video Dailymotion
Dolly Parton -Silver Dagger (Live On The Late Show With David Letterman 2000)
dailymotion.com
“Noting the presence nearby of grizzled veterans in 18th century military costume, one of the hen party organisers thought it would be hilarious if some of us pretended to be strippagrams, just long enough to mortify the bride.” www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-i...
Pier Pressure: Frank McNally on a night camping at General Humbert’s landing spot
An amphibious invasion boded ill after a foray to liberate some 1798 spirit
irishtimes.com
How Irish kindness in a war-ravaged French town inspired unknown writer Samuel Beckett
How Irish kindness in a war-ravaged French town inspired unknown writer Samuel Beckett
Short poem in The Irish Times was too obscure for some, but Beckett’s time in Saint-Lô warranted a verse with deep meaning
irishtimes.com
“Tommy worried that a younger generation of football players might ‘fall through the cracks’. Normally, that would be just a metaphor. In this case, the risk was a bit more literal.” www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-i...
Sinkholes, the unlikely link between Monaghan and Montparnasse
Magheracloone holds the only Irish deposits of gypsum, while the French capital was extensively mined to make plaster of Paris
irishtimes.com
“Worse, the nearest bus stop left me in that classic Irish locational paradox. Yes, I was now trying to get to somewhere from a place that fell into the category: ‘I wouldn’t start from here if I were you’.”
The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 2w agoMind the gap: Frank McNally on an unplanned trek through the Glen of the Downs
Soul Traders – Frank McNally on the battle to save a famous Dublin marketplace
Soul Traders – Frank McNally on the battle to save a famous Dublin marketplace
Location in the Liberties ‘approved as part of a wider community regeneration project intended to provide a permanent market and community space’
irishtimes.com
“Temperatures dropped. Birds stopped singing. Even the seagulls of Dublin briefly suspended their missions to steal chips off tourists and rip refuse sacks apart.”
The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 3w agoEven Dublin’s seagulls take a moment to pause with the solar eclipse over the capital
Joni Mitchell glamourised hitchhiking, but she clearly never tried it in Mullingar
Joni Mitchell glamourised hitchhiking, but she clearly never tried it in Mullingar
Closure was provided 41 years later when a driver from the Westmeath town got me to a screen showing the All-Ireland final
irishtimes.com
Glen Hansard wake: Musician rests in peace to backdrop of fiddles, flutes and songs
Glen Hansard wake: Musician rests in peace to backdrop of fiddles, flutes and songs
The Coolin, Spancil Hill, the Parting Glass, and Raglan Road among the many traditional tunes performed
irishtimes.com
Frank McNally: A history of the Mayo football famine in 75 moments
Frank McNally: A history of the Mayo football famine in 75 moments
Mayo’s 1952 All-Ireland win was followed by quiet years, rain and the county’s closest neighbours rubbing salt in the wound
irishtimes.com
“So I took the bridal suite (for better or worse), calculating that on the day Mayo finally won the All-Ireland, The Irish Times budget might stretch to such emergencies.” www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-i...
An Irish Diary - The Irish Times
Read the latest Irish Diary by Frank McNally & guests for personal reflections and Irish commentary on cultural, political, and social life. Brought to you by Ireland’s quality news brand, The Irish T...
irishtimes.com
On Croagh Patrick the three-leafed shamrock predicted Mayo’s winning margin Reek Sunday 2026: Mayo climb mountain in Croke Park as thousands of the county’s faithful ascend Croagh Patrick
On Croagh Patrick the three-leafed shamrock predicted Mayo’s winning margin
Reek Sunday 2026: Mayo climb mountain in Croke Park as thousands of the county’s faithful ascend Croagh Patrick
irishtimes.com
Frank McNally: Mayo’s Boheh Stone is a national monument, but it isn’t treated like one
Frank McNally: Mayo’s Boheh Stone is a national monument, but it isn’t treated like one
Addition of a step to help people onto the stone has hastened the demise of its 6,000-year-old carvings
irishtimes.com
“Were he alive today, Myles na gCopaleen might be subsidising his poorly paid literary work with a lucrative sideline in Irish pub consultancy, advising exporters on how to reproduce the authenticity of the originals.”
The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 2mo agoScuff and tumble: Frank McNally on the art of ageing pubs (also applicable to literature)
“The building was one of Riga’s best addresses once. But under its euphemistic nickname, the ”Corner House”, it later became a place nobody wanted to go: the local headquarters of the KGB.”
The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 2mo agoBaltic banter: Frank McNally on taking part in a ‘conversation festival’ in Latvia
Ale glorious St Kilian: me on beer evangelism, Canadian modesty, & spelling Cork with an ‘e’.
The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 2mo agoAle, St Kilian: Frank McNally on Irish beer evangelism, Canadian modesty and ‘Corke’
From Cillian to Kylian: the unlikely modern popularity of a seventh-century saint
From Cillian to Kylian: the unlikely modern popularity of a seventh-century saint
Mbappé bears standard French spelling of forename that has roots in modern-day Cavan
irishtimes.com
You’re Fired: If the US Declaration of Independence had been delivered by Donald Trump
You’re Fired: If the US Declaration of Independence had been delivered by Donald Trump
Unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of cryptocurrency
irishtimes.com
Irish blood, English heart trouble: Frank McNally on the pioneering writer Maureen Duffy
Irish blood, English heart trouble: Frank McNally on the pioneering writer Maureen Duffy
She wrote about lesbian women’s sexuality and the eroticism of Irish folklore, earning acclaim and a ban in Ireland
irishtimes.com
“Blessed are those who read a newspaper article before commenting on it, for they shall be called wise. Blessed are those who leave you a short explanatory voicemail message, for they shall be called back.”
The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 2mo agoBad beatitude: the Sermon on the Mount updated for the Gen Z faithful
Cross purposes – Frank McNally on a stressful collision of sport and literature in Kells
Cross purposes – Frank McNally on a stressful collision of sport and literature in Kells
Tailteann Games was held nearby in old times when, perhaps, Monaghan may have fared better than Louth
irishtimes.com
Very much looking forward to this at Hinterland Kells on Sunday, while also wondering if I could make the Monaghan-Louth game in Croke Park beforehand (throw-in 1.45pm). Anyone have the loan of a helicopter? mylesdungan.bsky.social
Castle martyrs – Frank McNally on unwelcome side effects of Ireland’s EU presidency
Castle martyrs – Frank McNally on unwelcome side effects of Ireland’s EU presidency
Security concerns at Dublin Castle are leading to drastic measures, but not for the first time
irishtimes.com
Very much looking forward to this at Hinterland Kells on Sunday, while also wondering if I could make the Monaghan-Louth game in Croke Park beforehand (throw-in 1.45pm). Anyone have the loan of a helicopter? mylesdungan.bsky.social