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The Secret Relationship Hidden From an Entire Irish Village
I grew up in a village so small that if you bought cough sweets in the shop, three people would ask your mother if you were coming down with something before you…
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He Loved Me Until I Said Yes
I met him on a wet Thursday outside The Cobblestone in Smithfield, both of us standing under the same narrow strip of shelter, pretending the rain was not coming in sideways. He…
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The Love I Never Had Hurt More Than the Love I Lost
I used to think heartbreak had to be loud. Doors closing, boxes packed, someone crying in a kitchen while the kettle boiled for no reason. When my five-year relationship with Aoife ended,…
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The Night We Almost Destroyed Our Marriages
It happened on a wet Friday in Dublin, the sort of evening when the buses hiss at the kerb and everyone in the pub looks relieved to be indoors. My husband, Mark,…
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I Fell for My Boss During a Business Trip to Belfast
I used to think falling for someone happened in grand, obvious ways. Music swelling, rain at the right moment, some clear sign that life had turned a corner. In reality, I fell…
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The Stranger I Met on the Luas Became My Biggest Addiction
I met him on the Luas on a wet Tuesday evening, the kind of Dublin rain that does not fall so much as hang in the air and wait for you to…
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We Shared a Hotel Room but Never Crossed the Line
I met Cian on a wet Thursday outside Heuston Station, both of us pretending we weren’t completely lost. We were there for the same work conference, the kind with name badges, lukewarm…
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My Ex Invited Me to Her Wedding in Cork
The invitation arrived on a wet Tuesday in Portobello, the kind of rain that makes the canal look tired. I had just come home from work, shoes soaked, bag full of groceries…
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She Left Ireland Without Telling Me She Was Pregnant
I met Clara on a wet Thursday outside Whelan’s, both of us pretending we weren’t waiting for the same taxi. She had a green coat, a cigarette she never lit, and a…
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The Girl I Met at Electric Picnic Changed My Life Forever
I met Niamh at Electric Picnic in 2018, in the kind of rain that makes everyone look equal. Hair stuck to faces, glitter sliding down cheeks, shoes ruined beyond repair. I was…