#EXTRACT
# extract - Thursday 14 November, 2019
Extract: Patrick McCabe revisits the Butcher Boy with his new book
The book sees Francie Brady return – this time as publisher of his own magazine, The Big Yaroo.
# extract - Wednesday 13 November, 2019
'Health and safety rules did not apply...': Life on the road touring - and cooking for - Stockton's Wing
In this extract from his book, musician and Ballymaloe-trained chef Mike Hanrahan recalls what life was like on the road – and shows us how to feed a hungry band (or family) with a cassoulet recipe.
# extract - Tuesday 12 November, 2019
Extract: From 'litir' to 'meisce'... A history of Ireland in 10 (or so) words
Ancient Irish texts teach us about how people saw the world back then, as the authors of a new book explain.
# extract - Saturday 9 November, 2019
Extract: 'Birds are vessels for a lasting happiness that can be hard to find in other avenues of life'
I’ve seen species from my bedroom window that I haven’t seen anywhere else, writes Conor W. O’Brien in an extract from his book.
# extract - Sunday 27 October, 2019
A Sunday Miscellany essay by Lisa McInerney: 'Setting the scene'
The essay is one of those featured in the new book, Miscellany 50.
# extract - Sunday 20 October, 2019
'Ponies, dogs and servants - she thought all of them should know their place': Life in a big house in 1960s Dublin
Gillies Macbain writes about one New Year’s night in the 1960s in an extract from his new memoir.
# extract - Saturday 28 September, 2019
Michael Palin in North Korea: 'I realise almost immediately that I have gone too far. Quite a long way too far'
Michael Palin writes about what it’s like to journey to the tightly-controlled North Korea – and the mistakes he makes while filming two huge statues of the Great Leaders in Pyongyang.
# extract - Thursday 26 September, 2019
Opinion: 'Are you criticising someone because they're mirroring something you don't like about yourself?'
In this extract from Ubuntu, the granddaughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu explains how we can learn to live without bias.
# extract - Saturday 27 July, 2019
'My great-aunt Chrissy left home at fourteen to go join a convent. That was in 1954'
Ian Maleney writes about family, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves.
# extract - Sunday 6 January, 2019
'Bright, brilliant, educated young women from South County Dublin... don’t end up with a gypsy boxer from Limerick'
Read an extract from the acclaimed ‘Fighter’ by Andy Lee with Niall Kelly.
# extract - Saturday 29 December, 2018
'Paul Merson once rang in the middle of the night because, while asleep, he’d poked himself in the eye'
Ex-Arsenal forward Alan Smith recalls memories of his time with the Gunners and the ultimately premature end to his career.
# extract - Thursday 27 December, 2018
'It must have been television gold for the watching millions. Was I ranting? Yes, I suppose I was'
In an extract from his autobiography, Kevin Keegan recalls the infamous interview he gave amid the dramatic end to the 1995-96 Premier League season.
# extract - Tuesday 25 December, 2018
'If I could do all that, I would hold a world record... I was 11 years and 333 days old'
Read our extract from William Hill Sports Book of the Year joint winner, ‘Boy in the Water’.
'Johnny – the biggest balls on the planet'
In this extract from ‘No Borders,’ various members of the Irish team recall the victory over France in the 2018 Six Nations opener.
# extract - Sunday 23 December, 2018
'He’s been shot, he’s been stabbed, he’s been crippled, and here he is defending a world championship after 15 months out'
This book extract takes a look at a remarkable moment in the life of Eamonn Magee.
# extract - Saturday 22 December, 2018
'Bright, brilliant, educated young women from South County Dublin... don’t end up with a gypsy boxer from Limerick'
Read an extract from the acclaimed ‘Fighter’ by Andy Lee with Niall Kelly.
# extract - Friday 21 December, 2018
'He is sick with the fear... Waiting for them to get to the part where they discover that €294,000 is missing'
Check out this extract from Tony 10, one of the year’s most acclaimed Irish sports books.
# extract - Thursday 20 December, 2018
'I promised her it wasn’t the end for me. Even if the surgery didn’t work and my career was over'
In this extract from his memoir, Lisburn native and former Newcastle footballer Paul Ferris recalls one of the darkest periods in his life.
# extract - Monday 17 December, 2018
The day child prodigy Tiger Woods appeared on national TV with legendary US actor Jimmy Stewart
An extract on the golf star’s early days explores his life as a sporting prodigy.
# extract - Sunday 25 November, 2018
An Irish science-fiction story predicted the plot of Back to the Future
Read an extract from a book of science fiction short stories written by Irish writers.
# extract - Friday 23 November, 2018
Extract: Don't fear the reaper - an immunologist on why we shouldn't be so afraid of death
Immunologist Luke O’Neill writes about how death fascinates us all, but once upon a time it was sometimes a tricky thing for a doctor to confirm.
# extract - Saturday 3 November, 2018
Book details Boston crime boss Whitey Bulger's relationship with his right-hand man from the Galway Gaeltacht
Whitey Bulger and right-hand-man Pat Nee from Connemarra were feared throughout Boston for their ruthlessness.
# extract - Saturday 6 October, 2018
Opinion: How to stay steady in turbulent world - without blaming others
It’s easy to let a topsy-turvy day get to you. But author Peter Bregman writes about a way to get centred and back in control.
# extract - Saturday 28 July, 2018
Irish Country music and dancehalls: 'The cause of the ruin of hundreds of young girls'
The Catholic Church campaigned against informal house dances and crossroads dances, seeing them as opportunities for immorality, writes Kevin Martin.
# extract - Sunday 15 July, 2018
Kindness: Change your life and make the world a kinder place
Can you get someone to stop talking without feeling and appearing rude? Yes. There are ways to do it kindly, writes Gill Hasson.
# extract - Sunday 8 July, 2018
The Free-Time Formula: 'Your 'priorities' are making you less productive'
We can truly only ever do one thing at a time, and in any given moment we only have one task that is at the top of the list, writes Jeff Sanders.
# extract - Sunday 1 July, 2018
How to have a great life: 'We rarely give thought to the legacy we’re creating'
It’s purpose, more than pounds in your pocket, that brings the greatest life satisfaction, writes Paul McGee.
# extract - Sunday 17 June, 2018
Tara Flynn: 'Dear fellow Feminazis. I write this from The Bunker'
“My fellow Feminazis, they are onto us. The only surprise is how long it has taken those of such Superior Intellect and Understanding to discover our takeover plans.”
# extract - Saturday 16 June, 2018
Success-oriented culture: 'Many people chase goals that are not theirs'
The problem of people being rich on paper and poor on life is an epidemic, writes Philip Kernan.
# extract - Sunday 27 May, 2018
Column: 'What is holding you back from getting the results you want?'
This is an edited extract from The Little Book of Results.
# extract - Sunday 15 April, 2018
'Our parish universe straddled two counties and two States. We forged an identity as borderers'
Darach MacDonald’s book Hard Border traces the roots of a century-old, hotly contested border that, after Brexit, will be the only land frontier between the UK and the EU.
# extract - Sunday 1 April, 2018
Eileen Paisley: 'I think there was a quietness and shyness about Martin. He was good company'
Jude Collins’ Martin McGuinness: The Man I Knew was released to commemorate the first anniversary of the passing of one of Ireland’s most iconic politicians. This is an extract of Eileen Paisley’s account of his friendship with her husband, Ian Paisley.
# extract - Monday 19 March, 2018
The Cattle Raid of Cooley is our national epic - and still has resonance for modern rural life
John Connell, author of The Cow Book, ruminates on how the extraordinary tale of the Táin still runs through the veins of Ireland.
# extract - Saturday 17 March, 2018
Irish in Nottingham: 'We created a little Gaeltacht by the games cabinet of an old English pub'
The following is an edited extract taken from The Irish Outlander, the new book by Scott De Buitléir.
# extract - Sunday 28 January, 2018
'People who brag about being busy will always be average. They'll never accomplish anything'
For those wanting to take ownership of their life, Isaiah Hankel’s new book, The Science of Intelligent Achievement, explores how to overcome distractions and over-commitment.
# extract - Monday 1 January, 2018
'I got a telephone call from Cork City who said they would look after me and help me get fit'
In an extract from his book, Liverpool legend Terry McDermott recalls his brief stint in the League of Ireland.
'Cantona lit the flame, but it was Keane who kept it burning for more than a decade'
In an extract from Jonathan Wilson’s new book on Man United. their great side of the 1990s is remembered.
'Absolute disbelief consumed us. How could this be happening to Cormac, of all people?'
This extract from a recent book on the late Cormac McAnallen recalls the harrowing circumstances in which he was discovered dead.
# extract - Sunday 31 December, 2017
'I like horses because they have never caused me pain'
In this extract from his book, retired Irish jockey Kieren Fallon describes his obsession with the sport.
# extract - Saturday 30 December, 2017
'He studied to become a Jesuit priest. Now he was one of the most famed people in racing'
In this extract from ‘Centaur,’ Declan Murphy recalls the first time he came across the legendary Barney Curley.