BOBernard O'Shea

1. Article · Oct 1, 2026 · Bernard O'Shea

   Bernard O’Shea: Skiing, bathrobes, oat milk: Things my culchie soul abhors (opens the original)

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   This has actually caused rows in our house. My wife (who, like me, has never gone skiing) wants to try it. The problem is she is terrified of heights. She once nearly broke off our engagement because I drove through the Conor Pass in west Kerry. I’ve tried to explain to her even the kiddie slopes are fairly high up, as are the mountain ranges where the snow falls. However, I don’t want to go because I feel like I’m falling, figuratively and physically, into the jaws of the upper-middle-class eli

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2. Article · Sep 10, 2026 · Bernard O'Shea

   Bernard O'Shea: My granny's three simple rules for life still work today (opens the original)

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   I was driving home last week and popped into my mother’s house in Laois. It’s a typical Irish rural house. It was built by my great-uncle 120 years ago. It was then a council house. The council gave you the bricks and mortar, and you built it. Every house on the road has had bits and pieces added onto it. You see the same pattern all over the country: Cottage, followed by an acre of land, followed by another cottage, and another acre of land. My grandfather was a gardener, and my mother alwa

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3. Article · Aug 27, 2026 · Bernard O'Shea

   Bernard O'Shea: Back-to-school time, but what does it mean for me? (opens the original)

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   I wouldn't say I’ve been counting down the hours until my three darling, wonderful and eh… at times overly boisterous children return to their scholarly activities, but I have been counting the days. We had a great summer. The days were sunny, long and warm, oh so warm. The paddling pool actually got a run-out this year — shorts worn not in hope but through necessity. Gallons of sunblock used and 99s eaten by the gallon. In fact, if I was asked: ‘How was your summer?’ I’d reply that

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4. Article · Aug 20, 2026 · Bernard O'Shea

   Bernard O'Shea: Potpourri, foot spas... whatever happened to all the things we 'had to have'? (opens the original)

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   Last week on Instagram, I posted a tongue-in-cheek reel announcing the death of potpourri. I hadn’t seen a dusty bowl of it in a house for at least 20 years. If I had a childhood fragrance, it would be stale potpourri in a chipped bowl (I’m thinking Tom Ford should definitely do it). So what happened to our dried-up purple friends? Who killed potpourri? Surely there is a true crime podcast there? It got me thinking. Things don’t officially go out of fashion. There are no public announcemen

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5. Article · Aug 13, 2026 · Bernard O'Shea

   Bernard O'Shea: Now that I have kids, here are five things I owe my parents an apology for (opens the original)

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   Saying 'I’m bored' 400 times a day during the summer holidays It wasn’t my parents’ fault that Ireland had a chronic unemployment problem in the 80s and early 90s. I eventually got a job on a nearby farm when I turned 13, but up until then I was a nightmare. There were no Xboxes or Nintendo Switches. I distinctly remember long summer days daydreaming that Alf, the lovable sitcom character, would descend from the heavens and be a distraction until September. Every time I would complain to

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