Remembering Ireland's Nuala Considine — the world’s most prolific crossword compiler

National Crossword Day on Thursday, December 21, marks the publication of the first crossword in 1913 and gives us the perfect excuse to remember the Irishwoman who could compile a cryptic crossword in an hour

The world's most prolific crossword setter was compiling clues right up to six weeks before her death. Picture: Carole Cullen

HERE’S a clue for you ahead of National Crossword Day on 21 December: Why did the Japanese go to the bar? Give up? (7)

It comes from the cryptic pen of Nuala Considine who, in a career that spanned seven decades, was credited with being the world’s most prolific setter of crosswords when she died, aged 89, in 2018.