‘The housing situation is a monstrous injustice to a whole generation of people’

As his memoir hits the shops, former Irish Times environment editor Frank McDonald tells Elaine Prendeville about growing up gay in 1960s Ireland, long lunches with Charles Haughey and the decay of our politics

Frank McDonald: ‘I honestly don’t know how younger people survive in Dublin today’ Pic: Fergal Phillips

Ring a buzzer beside an unassuming door on a busy Temple Bar street, to be greeted by Frank McDonald. Take four flights of stairs, each improved by contemporary art, before stepping onto a roof terrace to find the man in question, sipping water while surveying the city.

The situation matters. Where and how McDonald lives, indeed the specific aspect from which he views the world, speaks to a long career as defender of ...