Jane Clifton: Éire odyssey

James Joyce’s Ulysses induces adoration and confusion in equal measure.

Jane Clifton: Call me Leo

The new Pope, albeit surely unintentionally, ticks all the boxes of an internet sensation.

Jane Clifton: Say what?

Pronunciation is the latest battleground of the culture wars.

Jane Clifton: If taniwha trouble you, be glad we don’t have Irish fairies

A new book offers practical advice on navigating the world of fairies.

Jane Clifton: The fallen tree that grew a national argument

Felling of the Sycamore Gap tree generates outrage, and possible prison sentences.

Jane Clifton: Citizenship-for-investment all the rage but now facing a legal slap down

The EU has ruled Malta's system of citizenship in exchange for investment is illegal.

Jane Clifton: I Am Farticus - the TV ads declaring war on dignity

Advertising for lavatory paper and laxatives has gone down the toilet.

Jane Clifton: Golfer Rory McIlroy caught in a custody battle

Champion golfer’s appeal easily crosses the Irish divide.

Jane Clifton: The politics of grass is a new turf war

The widening divide between lawn purists and those who want nature to take its course.

Jane Clifton: Trouble comes in threes

Updating emergency preparedness advice, the EU newly urges residents to prepare for attack

Jane Clifton: Your dog might just be the key to living longer

New research could be the longevity breakthrough no one expected.

Jane Clifton: When your quiet corner of the world is shot to pieces

Towns - and countries - made famous by a TV series or film can be a mixed blessing.

Jane Clifton: I have seen the future of road-traffic management

Forget about orange cones and get ready to welcome a more organic alternative.

Jane Clifton: Eurovision might be the ultimate foreign policy test for Trump and Putin

Politics meets pop in the venerable annual song contest.

Jane Clifton: Scotland’s peculiar perverse cat problem

Europe’s growing practice of reintroducing fauna strikes wild issues.

Jane Clifton: Should we really be washing our clothes less? France says yes

The science and practicalities behind low-wash are compelling.

Jane Clifton: Environmental and economic toll of cruise ships is a floating crisis

More and more ports are banning massive cruise ships.

Jane Clifton: How an evangelical Christian Protestant has divided Ireland

The figure keeping Ireland’s most famous modern-day vigil is unlikely to warm the cockles.

Jane Clifton: Not everyone is in want of a Jane Austen experience

Pride, prejudice and promenades: Austen's year of celebration but are we at peak Jane?

Jane Clifton: It’s beginning to seem a lot like Scrooge had a point

Now another Christmas is over, it's safe to ask tough questions about the annual festival.

Jane Clifton: A short goodbye to listicles

The auction of crime writer Raymond Chandler's old listicle sparks some genuine surprise.

Jane Clifton: Brits want royals to talk more about social issues and less about personal lives

Brexit, Royals and the Jaguar rebrand expose UK contradictions.

Jane Clifton: Fighter Conor McGregor’s celebrated machismo is beginning to tarnish

The downfall of a former "scallywag with a heart of gold".

Jane Clifton: Who’s winning the word war as France polices words and Britain cautions kids?

From Dictionnaire to Cautions, France and Britain fight battles to police words.

Jane Clifton: The US election and when stardust turns to ashes

It seems perverse that Taylor Swift couldn’t outgun a septuagenarian convicted felon.

Jane Clifton: Is fun at the UK’s historic sites worth the cost?

The National Trust’s new vision for heritage site sparks debate and division.

Jane Clifton: Loo and behold - language class barriers are taking a break

Being able to determine one’s class by the words one uses may be on its way out.

Jane Clifton: The weight of reality as a new chapter in obesity treatment opens

Economists are generally keener on weight-loss drugs than doctors.

The horrendous rigmarole required to buy tickets for Oasis comeback

Can you legislate to force a business to have an adequate IT system?

Jane Clifton: Shock and awe at Eurovision

Viewers were pounded with such an onslaught of garishness as to cause outrage outage.

Jane Clifton: High fashion ditches pants, profits soar (but please, wear underwear)

Celebrities might be able to get away with underwear as outwear; us mere mortals cannot.