Sunday Miscellany

Pangur Bán and Audrey, a poem by the late Gordon Snell

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:49:01 +0000

‘Pen in hand, a monk sat, bored –

This translation had him floored…’

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Boys DO Cry, by Colin Regan

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:47:25 +0000

An emotional education in a Raphoe boarding school

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Ada Yeates & Sisters, by Antonia Hart

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:46:10 +0000

On a pioneering female-led family business of scriveners in 19th Century Dublin

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Our Way of Talking, by Denise Blake

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:44:46 +0000

On a few wee Donegal and Derry sayings

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A Patch of Earth, by Jessica Freed

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:44:01 +0000

On the delights of taking charge of an allotment in Inchicore

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Gordon Snell, Wizard, by Barry McCrea

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 10:42:33 +0000

A life-expanding correspondence with a beloved children’s author

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Niamh Attends to the Sick of the Supermarket, a poem by Mícheál McCann

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:41:15 +0000

"They flock like brittle songbirds, chorusing after her to this impressively-sized Asda..."

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One Time, a poem by AM Cousins

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:38:56 +0000

"Mr Heaney was at his desk, solid as the Sugarloaf, still cheerful after a day of lectures..."

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The Abbey That Refused to Die, by John Egan

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:37:23 +0000

The kindly uncle who was instrumental in the restoration of 800-year old Ballintubber Abbey

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Showers, Sobriety and Synonyms, by Bernadett Buda

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:34:42 +0000

Cross-border hands of friendship and getting to grips with Irish linguistic idiosyncracies

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A Fax from Seamus Heaney, by Denis Tuohy

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:28:32 +0000

Rejection-guilt subsequently mollified by the eternal good grace of this world class poet and gentleman

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Church Going, by Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:22:42 +0000

Why there's something special to be found in almost all places of worship, whatever your faith, your beliefs, or none at all

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Heinrich Böll, by John F Deane

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:25:12 +0000

Post-war packages from Germany that make authorities nervous but were really literary treasures from the writer who made a home in Achill

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The German Refugees of Limerick, by Jody Clarke

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:20:47 +0000

Centuries of refugees fleeing religious persecution and the Methodist who came to rest in Limerick's Golden Vale in 1765

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Swimming Out to Caves along the Copper Coast, by Breda Joyce

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:15:22 +0000

The wondrous varieties of life that share the waters around Co Waterford

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Soufflage at the Staatstheater, by Jim Culleton

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:11:16 +0000

An Irish-German theatrical exchange - a reminder of the vital role of culture in national identity

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Autumn and Harvest, by Grace Wells

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:04:23 +0000

Autumn, a season that demands our gratitude and awe

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We Close in October, by Georg Grote

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 11:01:08 +0000

Three friends on motorbikes, a torrential Irish summer and lifelong bonds secured along the Cork/Kerry coastline

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An Extraordinary Engineer, by Declan Phillips

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:33:25 +0000

On a remarkable friendship with the engineer of the Twin Towers, Leslie Robertson

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The Irish Brigids, by Máirín O’Malley

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:26:07 +0000

On the much-maligned Irish domestic servants in the US in the late 19th century

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The Mayor of the World Trade Centre, by Helen O’Rahilly

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:24:41 +0000

How a childhood friend's destiny became entwined with the Ground Zero site

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New York, New York, by Peter Cunningham

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:21:10 +0000

On an uncle's treasured gold watch and "the nicest man he ever met"

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Memories of 9/11, by Jim Nolan

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:19:45 +0000

Supporting an American couple on holiday in Ireland in their hour of tragedy

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Kindred Swallows, by Kathy Donaghy

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:36:57 +0000

Marvelling at the enchantment of travellers from southern Africa to a Donegal garden

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The Blue Bag in the Corner, by John MacKenna

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:34:26 +0000

Losing Leonard, a labrador non-pareil

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Donnybrook Fair, by Ann Marie Durkan

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:33:03 +0000

Brawling, carousing and sapient pigs at the famous Dublin festival through the centuries

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Radio Days, by Stephen Brennan

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:32:07 +0000

One family's very personal ties to the very origins of Irish national broadcasting

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Letter from Okinawa, by Michael Bradley

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:30:14 +0000

Relocating to Japan, where the weather, the language and the way of life mean major re-adjustments

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Bless You, by Molly Furey

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 11:25:46 +0000

Automatic responses when nature strikes, even in the most unforgiving of places

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School Principal, by Bryan Gallagher (from 1997)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:36:57 +0000

A retiring school principal clears out his office

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The Spelling Bee, by Nuala Hayes (from 1997)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:34:30 +0000

A school spelling bee, and the moral dilemma posed by the prize of a green iced lolly

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The Teacher Cried, by Kathleen Hardie (from 1997)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:32:02 +0000

Memories of school in London at the outbreak of war, and the day the author and her classmates were evacuate

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Schooldays, by Llewellyn Marcus Goodbody (from 1981)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:27:37 +0000

A schoolboy business venture involving homemade lemonade, and the painful consequences of its success

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The Force That Through The Green Fuse Drives the Flower, by Mary O’Donnell (from 2005)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:26:21 +0000

Reflections on parenthood and the passage of time, as a daughter is about to begin secondary school

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Marked Present, by Seamus Heaney (from 2008)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:24:45 +0000

His children beginning school marks a new beginning for Seamus Heaney

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The Master’s Request, by Shane Fagan (from 1998)

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 11:23:49 +0000

A chance encounter with an old schoolmaster, and an unexpected musical request

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Memory, by Seán Ó Faoláin (from 1975)

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:47:18 +0000

Considering the fickleness of memory, and why seemingly insignificant moments can remain with us for a lifetime

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The Hurler's Seat, by Cathy Power (from 2004)

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:44:52 +0000

On life in a lodging house called Kilkenny House in Dublin – an All-Ireland mecca

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A Field Called Love, by Catherine Donnelly (from 1993)

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:43:04 +0000

A childhood summer on the family farm, and a scene perceived from a hiding place in the long grass

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Grafton Gallery, by John Ryan (from 1971)

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:41:57 +0000

The closure of the Grafton Gallery evokes memories of the artists, writers and characters of Dublin’s bohemian life

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Ghosts, by Louise Delaney (from 1995)

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:39:25 +0000

Recalling childhood memories of family life, and understanding why a father was “always looking backwards”

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Remembering Seán Ó Tuama, by Eoghan Ó hAnluain (from 2006)

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:37:26 +0000

An appreciation of the writer and academic Seán Ó Tuama, and his contribution to Irish-language literary criticism

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I am a Song, by Joseph O’Connor (from a 2018 Miscellany Live at the University of Limerick)

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:10:16 +0000

A glorious serenade to the power of song

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The Black Box, by Olivia O’Leary (from 2021)

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:07:14 +0000

A mother's knowledge and love of music passed on through the Pye record player

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A Musical Formation, by Norman Metcalfe (from 1974)

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:02:32 +0000

Early musical experimentation that ranged wildly before finally settling at the organ in a Limerick cinema

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Luciano and Myself, by Lydia Carroll (from 1995)

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:01:10 +0000

Choral competitiveness in a small Welsh village, with a legend-in-waiting amongst the performers

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The Education of A Page-Turner, by Christopher Fitz-Simon (from 1984)

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 14:00:05 +0000

The eternally patient piano teacher striving to teach less-than enthusiastic pupils...and one less-than-competent sight reader

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The Power of Music, by Aideen O'Keefe (from 2003)

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 13:58:33 +0000

The transportive powers of Count John McCormack stretch across generations - and oceans

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What Are We Like?

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 13:49:00 +0000

Meditations on character from the Miscellany archive, with John Ryan, Bill Kelly, Catherine Marshall, Michael Harding, Val Mulkerns and Maria O'Rourke.

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Feasting Galore and Glen’s Gift

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:46:00 +0000

The mysteries of cricket, the joy of the Park Run, celebrations of writer Maura Laverty and musician Glen Hansard — and a tempting treat for a magpie, with John O'Donnell, AM Cousins, John Egan, Breda Joyce, Denis Tuohy, Jackie Lynam and Grace Wells.

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Kerry Dances and Moonlight in Mayo

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:18:00 +0000

From a mighty session in Dingle to Croagh Patrick to the Heinrich Böll cottage in Achill, an All-Ireland state of mind, with Séamus Moran, Grace Wells, John Lawler, Mary Lavery Carrig, Frank Shouldice and Geraldine Mitchell.

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Blind Dates and Hurling Dreams

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 13:03:00 +0000

Limerick and Galway All-Ireland hopes, a Ukrainian love story and the sweet pleasures of a day on the bog, with Antonia Gunko Karelina, Barry Houlihan, Anne Marie Kennedy, Mike MacDomhnaill, Ann Lane O’Connell, John Vincent Cunningham and Bob Kelly.

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