Bernard O'Shea: Add a blackboard to your house and wipe your stress away

Discover how a little bit of paint and a lot of scribbling can spark creativity, reduce stress, and maybe even transport you back to those blackboard days of Irish grammar.

Bernard O'Shea. Photograph Moya Nolan

With the kids returning to school, our house has been a whirlwind of sharpened pencils, shiny new lunch boxes, and the inevitable last-minute scramble to find missing water bottles. 

Amid the chaos, I found myself cleaning my middle fella’s glasses. “You have to be able to see the blackboard,” Tadhg replied “What’s a blackboard?”. It got me thinking: when did I last see or use a blackboard? Those chalky, dusty boards that once held the key to undecipherable Irish grammar. I still have nightmares about “rachaidh mé” and “chuaigh mé”