Sunday Miscellany

On the delights of taking charge of an allotment in Inchicore  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A life-expanding correspondence with a beloved children’s author See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"They flock like brittle songbirds, chorusing after her to this impressively-sized Asda..." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Mr Heaney was at his desk, solid as the Sugarloaf, still cheerful after a day of lectures..." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The kindly uncle who was instrumental in the restoration of  800-year old Ballintubber Abbey See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cross-border hands of friendship and getting to grips with Irish linguistic idiosyncracies See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rejection-guilt subsequently mollified by the eternal good grace of this world class poet and gentleman See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why there's something special to be found in almost all places of worship, whatever your faith, your beliefs, or none at all See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Post-war packages from Germany that make authorities nervous but were really literary treasures from the writer who made a home in Achill See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Centuries of refugees fleeing religious persecution and the Methodist who came to rest in Limerick's Golden Vale in 1765 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wondrous varieties of life that share the waters around Co Waterford  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Irish-German theatrical exchange - a reminder of the vital role of culture in national identity See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Autumn, a season that demands our gratitude and awe   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three friends on motorbikes, a torrential Irish summer and lifelong bonds secured along the Cork/Kerry coastline  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a remarkable friendship with the engineer of the Twin Towers, Leslie Robertson See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the much-maligned Irish domestic servants in the US in the late 19th century See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How a childhood friend's destiny became entwined with the Ground Zero site See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On an uncle's treasured gold watch and "the nicest man he ever met" See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Supporting an American couple on holiday in Ireland in their hour of tragedy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.