"It’s absurdly late in life. I should have done it earlier. I just never got around to learning how to swim out of my depth."

"Greek symbols mean it’s tricky, someone is obsessed, they think of something and run to an obscure book and open it to the page, a hot woman is the only one who “gets them”, the jocks are stupid."

"I’m in my charity shop era now, and that era ends when the nursing home rings my next of kin to say I’m out of underpants and would they mind popping into Dunnes to pick up a few bits?"

"Our fascist types so far here have been nutters or incompetents or both. Often divided. But that won’t last. There will come someone who is smarter, funnier, more charismatic and reasonable. Some JD Vance with a warchest of money from abroad."

Colm O'Regan wanders around fascinated by the 2025 National Ploughing Championships in Screggan

I wonder who was the very first. Did they know they’d created a 100-year phrase? Every little throwaway, unremarkable little joke must have started somewhere

"Sometimes we are just sitting in the car outside our destination unwilling to go in because we crave one more minute. But look, we can’t just stay in this hospital car park forever. The child will miss her operation"

The Roman Patrick is a familiar blow-in, but Gerard - Gerdo in Cork - feels native, but it’s actually Norman.

I think the town at the end of one of the best greenways in the country, could have a place to have lunch

"The mountain feels blessed. Well, there is no litter. Gravity deters arseholes."