Karl McDonald

Dublin

Assistant News Editor at Irish Times

Aspiring Gael, failing chess learner, ex-expat. Move, if you move, like water. @irishtimes assistant news editor

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Articles

Overheard: Painter Francis Bacon’s childhood home on the market in Dublin for €1.6m

4 days ago | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

The war of words rages over the future of the Joyce-linked The Dead house on Usher’s Quay, but another remarkable Dublin dwelling is under the hammer unnoticed. Number 63 Baggot Street, in the heart of the city’s Georgian core, was the childhood home of the painter Francis Bacon. Over four storeys, a basement and a “turnkey” mews at the back, it’s 395sq m and comes with a weight-loss-oriented personal training business as a tenant.
State Papers: Five things we learned - from details of Boris Yeltsin’s Shannon no-show to blocking Mary Robinson’s UN role

Dec 26, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

Thousands of declassified documents are being released this week from the archives of Dublin, Belfast and London, bringing new insight into Irish events, politics and personalities of times past. Dublin’s archival material focuses mostly on documents which have turned 30 years old this year, centring the focus on 1994. Here are five things we learned from the State Papers1.
Government decides to keep 1p and 2p coins after one-day consultation

Dec 10, 2024 | derbyshiretimes.co.uk | Karl McDonald

by Karl McDonaldThe penny is "safe", according to 10 Downing Street, after public backlash brought a one-day consultation on its abolition to an end. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, had announced that the Treasury would look into whether 1p and 2p coins were still needed in an era of digital payment. In fact, well over half of copper coins are used only once before finding their way into the coin jar - or even in the bin.
Roddy Doyle to chair 2025 Booker Prize judging panel alongside Sarah Jessica Parker

Dec 9, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

Roddy Doyle will chair the judging panel for the 2025 Booker Prize, with actor Sarah Jessica Parker also on the panel. The Irish author will helm discussions of fiction written in English and published in the UK and Ireland between October 1st, 2024 and September 30th, 2025, with the winner to be announced next November. Working alongside the 1993 Booker Prize winner are Parker, authors Ayobami Adebayo and Kiley Reid, and critic Chris Power.
Overheard: Edna O’Brien talked about a book-burning of The Country Girls in rural Clare. But did it actually happen?

Aug 17, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

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Irish druid who once called Hitler a genius withdraws from Galway event

Aug 10, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

What better way to celebrate Irish heritage this summer than with a druid? Thus went the thinking of the Galway Civic Trust when it briefly promoted an event with “archdruid” Michael McGrath at the Hall of the Red Earl during Heritage Week, kicking off next week in Galway and elsewhere. Not only is McGrath the putative archdruid of Tara and Ireland, he is also a descendant of the Eyres of Eyre Square, bringing added local interest to his story.
RTÉ controversy was good news for Oireachtas TV’s viewing figures

Jul 5, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

As politicians wrestle with the future of RTÉ, the Oireachtas itself has become an unlikely provider of must-see TV. There won’t be many brand partnerships for the Houses of the Oireachtas, whose annual report revealed that its Instagram following limped up from 4,103 to 5,181, or one-63rd of a Doireann Garrihy. Nor has its app made particular waves, with an average of 165 monthly users, or roughly one-6,300,000th of a TikTok.
Bambie Thug impresses the scholars with Ogham messaging

May 11, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

A big week for Ogham on the international stage, showing up in a Coventry garden and also on Eurovision entrant Bambie Thug in Malmo, Sweden. How did the singer get on with their (banned) pro-Palestine messages and (tolerated) pro-witch messages daubed in make-up as part of their stage get-up? “10/10,” proclaims Katherine Forsyth, professor of Celtic Studies at the University of Glasgow.
How Israel shot down Iranian drones and missiles with limited damage

Apr 13, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

Israel has withstood an aerial bombardment by Iran relatively unscathed on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, according to reports. The New York Times quoted two Israeli officials who say that, in total, Iran launched 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles and 110 surface-to-surface missiles. Most of the launches were from Iran, though a small portion came from Iraq and Yemen, the officials reportedly said.
Simon Harris finds channelling Seamus Heaney is not so simple

Mar 30, 2024 | irishtimes.com | Karl McDonald

Will Simon Harris be a taoiseach in command of the detail? Possibly not. In his maiden leadership speech to Fine Gael last weekend, the presumptive premier quoted the “late, great poet” Seamus Heaney, as one does in such scenarios.

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