menu_open
Nuala Mccann

Nuala Mccann

The Irish News

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

The garden’s a misty wilderness – but at least the birds are happy

Last year’s hydrangea flowers are rich pickings for our birds. Sometimes laziness has its own reward. I closed the back door on the garden last...

20.04.2024 8

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Retirement is like a hot bath - it takes time to ease into it

This retirement gig is not quite going to plan. It’s not all fun and lie-ins and lazy brunches. It’s not all holidays. There is a certain...

14.04.2024 8

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

A love letter to the dying art of handwriting

Over Easter, I sat down to write a letter. My writing is appalling. Even with a new fountain pen, it still looks like our house spider has run wild...

07.04.2024 6

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

After the fast, the feast: Bring on the buns

As you read this, the desert of Lent comes to an end and gives way to the dessert of Easter. What a difference an ‘s’ makes. After the fast, the...

31.03.2024 4

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The swish of red velvet, the swell of music... I’m a picture girl at heart

Our boy has no time for going out to the cinema. He is a huge film buff and has introduced us to many little known, wonderful films. (Watching sex...

16.03.2024 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Cartoons of yesteryear still have power to enchant

Start singing “Andy Pandy’s coming to play” and a generation will join in with “la, la, la-la, la, la”. We are 60 now, but Andy in his blue...

09.03.2024 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Poems that nourish the soul and are signposts along the way of life

It seems like only yesterday that they were putting up beautiful poems on the Underground... and now the posters, cards and letters from the poets who...

02.03.2024 6

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The secret of living a long life? Channel your inner Edie

Edie Ceccarelli, who passed away on Thursday, had just celebrated her 116th birthday. The whole town of Willits, California, had turned out for the...

26.02.2024 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Misty mornings and small birds sing to your soul

Early 6am in our kitchen, and with a wave of the ice queen’s wand, she has gifted us this luminous white wintery light. It’s a misty morning and...

17.02.2024 7

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Dreams of cactus ice cream and rollerblades – here’s to the adventures that lie ahead

A kind boss and friend sent an old column of mine that he had come upon about a long-ago holiday in Nice. Our boy was about nine at the time. I...

10.02.2024 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The McBride sisters are gone, but the family heart beats on

My mother’s sister died last week. It felt like the end of an era. She had a long life – she was 98 – and she was the last of her family. There...

20.01.2024 6

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

I’m getting with the zeitgeist and going green this year

When it comes to saving the planet, I’m a little late to the party. That’s me in the corner wearing cheap, unsustainable sparkle and wielding a...

13.01.2024 7

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

I have key to unlock old memories - and my front door

We broke the front door for the new year. One of us – guilty, yer honour – played a key role in the disaster; we do not blame, or at least not in...

06.01.2024 9

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

I’ve taken out private health cover - and I hate myself for it

My friend and I are chatting on the phone. “So for £44 a month, you get cover for your hips, knees, cataracts and the Big C,” I tell her....

03.01.2024 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The true magic of Christmas is forgetting the faff

It’s the most magical time of the year… pass a pinch of salt. Still, there is a stage when Christmas turns magical because you can’t do any...

29.12.2023 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

I've learned to love this cantankerous body

Just a few more days and it will be solstice, says my dear friend and yoga teacher. Her room is a holy place. Take off your shoes, pad softly across...

19.12.2023 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

By the frost! We've decided not to curse for Christmas – Nuala McCann

WE are not cursing for Christmas.

08.12.2023 2

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

By the frost! We've decided not to curse for Christmas – Nuala McCann

WE are not cursing for Christmas.

08.12.2023 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The secret to a happy Christmas? Make a 'to don't' list – Nuala McCann

CHRISTMAS is coming and for once, I have kicked my inner Grinch out the door.

04.12.2023 8

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The secret to a happy Christmas? Make a 'to don't' list – Nuala McCann

CHRISTMAS is coming and for once, I have kicked my inner Grinch out the door.

01.12.2023 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

we are wintering now – Nuala McCann

WE are wintering now. The last wisps of autumn’s beauty linger on leafy avenues.

25.11.2023 7

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

It's time to hunker down: we are wintering now – Nuala McCann

WE are wintering now. The last wisps of autumn’s beauty linger on leafy avenues.

25.11.2023 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Hospital parking: staff should take 'bus or glider - how do you think the rest of us get to our work?' - Nuala McCann

LIKE Shakespeare’s stages of life, there are stages of love.

21.11.2023 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

I'm 'Angry, South Belfast' and I don't give a damn - Nuala McCann

LIKE Shakespeare’s stages of life, there are stages of love.

18.11.2023 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: Please son, please... protect us from the scammers

THE text came from a recruitment company in Belfast.

14.11.2023 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Please son, please... protect us from the scammers

THE text came from a recruitment company in Belfast.

11.11.2023 6

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Retirement has its magic – there's a book to read and a snooze to be had

MY brother meets me in the chapel at home.

04.11.2023 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: Retirement has its magic – there's a book to read and a snooze to be had

MY brother meets me in the chapel at home.

04.11.2023 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: Golden days and ghosts of younger selves

TIME is a wind tunnel that sweeps you up and carries you down back roads you walked in the long ago to meet the ghost of your younger self on a street...

29.10.2023 3

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Golden days and ghosts of younger selves

TIME is a wind tunnel that sweeps you up and carries you down back roads you walked in the long ago to meet the ghost of your younger self on a street...

28.10.2023 4

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

A crisp bed and a safe haven in life's storms

“Would you like a fresh bed?” I ask my grown-up son.

21.10.2023 9

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: A crisp bed and a safe haven in life's storms

Due to the technical or legal reasons, readability mode is not available for this article. Thank you for your kind understanding.

21.10.2023 6

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: I am a kicker of leaves and a lover of trees

Due to the technical or legal reasons, readability mode is not available for this article. Thank you for your kind understanding.

16.10.2023 5

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

I am a kicker of leaves and a lover of trees

“You left your iPad in the washing basket,” says my other half, waving Exhibit A and looking puzzled.

14.10.2023 7

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: The ghost ship of a monochrome world

Due to the technical or legal reasons, readability mode is not available for this article. Thank you for your kind understanding.

07.10.2023 7

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The comfort of warm fires and old friends

The first trip out, post-Covid, was to see our horses.

30.09.2023 6

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Covid showed I married a saint and gave birth to another

Like death and taxes, it’s inevitable.

19.09.2023 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: Covid showed I married a saint and gave birth to another

Like death and taxes, it’s inevitable.

19.09.2023 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The camino, said my brother, will teach you. It sure did

It was just the right temperature to walk: not too hot; no rain.

11.09.2023 7

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Nuala McCann: The camino, said my brother, will teach you. It sure did

It was just the right temperature to walk: not too hot; no rain.

11.09.2023 7

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

f3a3099a131de9ee97dc7b21a6077078