Sunday Miscellany

Marvelling at the enchantment of travellers from southern Africa to a Donegal garden See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Losing Leonard, a labrador non-pareil See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brawling, carousing and sapient pigs at the famous Dublin festival through the centuries See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One family's very personal ties to the very origins of Irish national broadcasting See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relocating to Japan, where the weather, the language and the way of life mean major re-adjustments See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Automatic responses when nature strikes, even in the most unforgiving of places See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A retiring school principal clears out his office See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A school spelling bee, and the moral dilemma posed by the prize of a green iced lolly See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Memories of school in London at the outbreak of war, and the day the author and her classmates were evacuate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A schoolboy business venture involving homemade lemonade, and the painful consequences of its success See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reflections on parenthood and the passage of time, as a daughter is about to begin secondary school See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His children beginning school marks a new beginning for Seamus Heaney See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A chance encounter with an old schoolmaster, and an unexpected musical request See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Considering the fickleness of memory, and why seemingly insignificant moments can remain with us for a lifetime See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On life in a lodging house called Kilkenny House in Dublin – an All-Ireland mecca See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A childhood summer on the family farm, and a scene perceived from a hiding place in the long grass See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The closure of the Grafton Gallery evokes memories of the artists, writers and characters of Dublin’s bohemian life See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recalling childhood memories of family life, and understanding why a father was “always looking backwards” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An appreciation of the writer and academic Seán Ó Tuama, and his contribution to Irish-language literary criticism See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A glorious serenade to the power of song See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mother's knowledge and love of music passed on through the Pye record player See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Early musical experimentation that ranged wildly before finally settling at the organ in a Limerick cinema See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Choral competitiveness in a small Welsh village, with a legend-in-waiting amongst the performers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The eternally patient piano teacher striving to teach less-than enthusiastic pupils...and one less-than-competent sight reader See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The transportive powers of Count John McCormack stretch across generations - and oceans See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.