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Nuala Mccann

Nuala Mccann

The Irish News

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I loved my years in Dublin but it’s sad we’re still a people apart

A recent article featured interviews with students from Northern Ireland studying at universities in Dublin. “You’re not Irish. You’re not one...

22.06.2024 20

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Death of Michael Mosley reminds us we will never know the ‘almost’ moments in our own lives

He was a stranger on the television, but he felt so familiar. Since Michael Mosley went missing on that Greek island, we were with thousands of people...

15.06.2024 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

The camino was no picnic this year – just as well I didn’t go

I drove down to pick up my friend after her week on the camino. Her bus was due to pull in at the service station on the opposite side of the motorway...

09.06.2024 10

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Balmy days and birdsong? It must be exam season

Because the sun is butter yellow and the butter melting, because the weeds are sprouting lanky and threatening to lock us in like the sleeping...

01.06.2024 20

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

I’ll not follow the camino path this year – but I’m there in spirit

My friend is heading off on her second camino. We did the last one together. This time, I’m waving her off. “I’ll leave you to the pick-up...

26.05.2024 20

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Memories of life on the road and the kindness of strangers

When I came across Hilary Bradt, the 82-year-old hitchhiker, she made me smile. But she did not make me want to grab a piece of cardboard, scrawl a...

11.05.2024 20

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

Queue to see the Mona Lisa? Been there, done that, didn’t bother with the t-shirt

We are approaching the age of the retirement bucket list. What’s on yours? Sky-diving, paddling up the Orinoco, seeing Venice and dying… or is...

05.05.2024 30

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

There’s a wedding to plan for – and that stone won’t lose itself

We are planning for our beautiful niece’s wedding. She is the eldest grandchild; the adored first granddaughter of her granny. Ma was known to her...

27.04.2024 30

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

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 10

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 10

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 6

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 8

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 10

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 30

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 20

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 20

The Irish News

Nuala Mccann

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