Arts and Culture

London Film Festival
'Driving Home For Christmas' singer Chris Rea dies at 74
His famous song 'Driving Home For Christmas' was first released in 1986

Mon, 22 Dec, 2025

'I can't get no sleep': Sister Bliss of Faithless on 30 years of Insomnia 
'I can't get no sleep': Sister Bliss of Faithless on 30 years of Insomnia 
As the classic dance tune marks 30 years, the surviving member of Faithless looks back on those heady days, and laments the loss of her music partner Maxi Jazz 

Sun, 21 Dec, 2025

Church at night with lights in the windows under the moonlight
Silent Night: A Christmas ghost story, by Billy O'Callaghan
A beautifully unsettling Christmas ghost story where faith, memory and silence blur in the frost-bitten dark of Cork

Sun, 21 Dec, 2025

8 TV shows worth catching up on over Christmas
8 TV shows worth catching up on over Christmas
Here’s what’s worth a watch this Christmas.

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Book review: Honest coming of age memoir
Book review: Honest coming of age memoir
The book is written in a careful, compelling, conversational style accessible to its intended teenage audience, and copies ought to sit in every secondary school library in the country

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Book review: Secrets emerge from the past
Book review: Secrets emerge from the past
A family mystery is at the heart of this emotional rollercoaster from journalist Ann O'Loughlin

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Book review: Erudite, witty, and illuminating read from one of Ireland’s great thinkers
Book review: Erudite, witty, and illuminating read from one of Ireland’s great thinkers
In his introduction to this collection, Liam Hannaway notes that 'Talking Heads' is a 'bracing read, as one would expect from a poet who is always pushing boundaries'

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Dublin Street Traders
Book review: Dublin’s street traders come alive, alive-O
Susan Marie Martin’s fascinating new book charts the resilience and determination of generations of street traders

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Lucy Steeds
Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Lucy Steeds
'The Artist' is quite brilliant, a gloriously written atmospheric debut exploring creativity

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Film Reviews: Fire and Ash — colonialism, genocide and environmental catastrophe
Film Reviews: Fire and Ash — colonialism, genocide and environmental catastrophe
Cameron delivers a jaw-dropping CGI spectacle once more

Fri, 19 Dec, 2025

Children’s book reviews: New colours for classic tales and letting go of the ghosts of the past
Children’s book reviews: New colours for classic tales and letting go of the ghosts of the past
A magnetic bond with the unknown and an engrossing guide into Ireland’s animals succeed in finding their way into the second of Pet O’Connell’s Children’s books Christmas round up

Fri, 19 Dec, 2025

Children’s book reviews: Enchanting Christmas tales filled with mystery and legend
Children’s book reviews: Enchanting Christmas tales filled with mystery and legend
In the first of her Children’s books Christmas round up, Pet O’Connell explores a murder mystery, the grace of a talented ‘Ice Dancer’, and delves deep into the Irish legends of folklore

Fri, 19 Dec, 2025

Martin Compston: Line of Duty to new series The Revenge Club 
Martin Compston: Line of Duty to new series The Revenge Club 
The Scottish actor tells Esther McCarthy how he's looking forward to getting back in gear for 'Line of Duty'. But first he's been enjoying himself on a quirky new revenge drama 

Thu, 18 Dec, 2025

ABBA Perform At Wembley Arena
Tom Dunne: Scoff if you want, but I'm still enjoying my own Abba voyage
A recent trip to the Abba hologram show in London renewed my enthusiasm for Sweden's fab four 

Thu, 18 Dec, 2025

After All to Happy Busman: The Frank and Walters in five great songs
After All to Happy Busman: The Frank and Walters in five great songs
In advance of their gig at Cork City Hall, Frank and Walters' singer Paul Lenihan tells us the stories behind five of the band's classic tunes 

Wed, 17 Dec, 2025

Stuart Bailie: 'The wanker who started Blur versus Oasis'
Stuart Bailie: 'The wanker who started Blur versus Oasis'
The Northern Irish journalist's new book compiles some of his best pieces from the likes of NME and Record Mirror during the glory days of the music press 

Tue, 16 Dec, 2025

My highlights of 2025: Eamon Carr, Stefanie Preissner, Kevin Barry, and others pick their favourites
My highlights of 2025: Eamon Carr, Stefanie Preissner, Kevin Barry, and others pick their favourites
Musicians, singers, actors, writers, and presenters choose their 2025 highlights

Tue, 16 Dec, 2025

Full lineup for new series of Dancing with the Stars revealed
Full lineup for new series of Dancing with the Stars revealed
Dancing with the Stars will air on Sunday, 4 January on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player

Tue, 16 Dec, 2025

Podcast Corner: The 10 best Irish shows of 2025
Podcast Corner: The 10 best Irish shows of 2025
Irish audiences had an eclectic mix of podcast highlights to choose from this year. Here's our selection of the best of them 

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025

Will Sharpe: Hitting the right note in the new Amadeus series 
Will Sharpe: Hitting the right note in the new Amadeus series 
A new five-part series dramatises the life of the great composer 

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025

Latest Banksy Mural Covered And Guarded By Security At The Royal Courts Of Justice
Banksy, big deals, and basic incomes: 10 talking points in the visual arts world in 2025
One Irish artist sold a painting for over $1.5m 

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025

Culture That Made Me: Miriam O’Callaghan selects her touchstones from the world of arts and entertainment 
Culture That Made Me: Miriam O’Callaghan selects her touchstones from the world of arts and entertainment 
Vietnam War films and formative years working on This Is Your Life feature among Miriam O'Callaghan's selections

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025

'I adore her': Paul Mescal on his chemistry with Jessie Buckley in Oscar-tipped 'Hamnet'
'I adore her': Paul Mescal on his chemistry with Jessie Buckley in Oscar-tipped 'Hamnet'
Both actors attended the Irish premiere of Hamnet in Dublin

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025

'She’s bolder, stronger, and more adventurous': Lily Collins on taking Emily In Paris to Italy
'She’s bolder, stronger, and more adventurous': Lily Collins on taking Emily In Paris to Italy
Season five of Emily In Paris has the show's protagonist going on an adventure to Rome and Venice 

Sun, 14 Dec, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Consultant in paediatrics Suzanne Crowe
Beginner’s pluck: Consultant in paediatrics Suzanne Crowe
This wonderful memoir charts Suzanne’s path to medicine — her training, her doubts, and her highlights with numerous poignant stories of the children in her care

Sat, 13 Dec, 2025

Book review: Joyful tale of self-discovery
Book review: Joyful tale of self-discovery
'Is That You, Beth Cherry?' is a heart-warming, relatable, and gentle story about self-discovery and finding one’s place in the world

Sat, 13 Dec, 2025

Book review: ‘The shapeshifter’s daughter’, like its protagonists, struggles with identity
Book review: ‘The shapeshifter’s daughter’, like its protagonists, struggles with identity
In attempting to explore mythology, familial trauma, terminal illness, and uplifting romance all at once, the novel's deeper themes are underdeveloped

Sat, 13 Dec, 2025

International Booker Prize 2025 Award Ceremony in London
Book review: Forever shackled by November 18
'On the Calculation of Volume' adopts and transforms the convention that its main character must constantly live the same stretch of time

Sat, 13 Dec, 2025

TV review: Surfing doc New Wave has the kind of optimism we need for 2026
TV review: Surfing doc New Wave has the kind of optimism we need for 2026
"The one thing I learned from New Wave is the amount of dedication you need to ride a wave at all. These Groms are up at 5.30am to get the right conditions."

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

Books of the year: 2025’s best offerings that highlight political strife, pain, and injustice
Books of the year: 2025’s best offerings that highlight political strife, pain, and injustice
JP O’Malley reveals his picks for books that tell true stories of those who lived in difficult and challenging times, both in the present day and the past

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

Kings of Leon announce summer show at Limerick's Thomond Park
Kings of Leon announce summer show at Limerick's Thomond Park
Tickets for King of Leon's Thomond gig are on sale now

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

Cork teenager set to represent Ireland in Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Cork teenager set to represent Ireland in Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Lottie O’Driscoll Murray will take to the Junior Eurovision stage in Georgia on Saturday

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

Heather Clark by Beowulf Sheehan
Books of the year: Four brilliant page-turners you’ll want to give to friends
Sue Leonard selects her best books of the year, featuring inter-generational guilt, a harrowing depiction of coercive control, and no shortage of wonderful prose

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

Five For Your Radar: Beth Orton, Ella McCay, Merchy Christmas... 
Five For Your Radar: Beth Orton, Ella McCay, Merchy Christmas... 
A merch market and a gig in St Luke's are among the events worth checking out in the coming days 

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

Film reviews: Goodbye June is a superb ensemble effort
Film reviews: Goodbye June is a superb ensemble effort
"While Kate Winslet shines as the eldest sister striving to hold her fracturing family together, it’s as the director of an ambitious and accomplished debut outing that she truly delivers."

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

Netflix's "Goodbye June" New York Screening
Toni Collette on new film Goodbye June, and how she learned to do a Cork accent 
Australian star Toni Collette has strong links to Ireland, writes Esther McCarthy

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Talking Heads, Paul Weller, Paul McCartney... the 10 best music books of the year 
Talking Heads, Paul Weller, Paul McCartney... the 10 best music books of the year 
As well as musicians' memoirs, there are also interesting insights on issues such as the rise of Spotify and Berlin's club culture

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Tom Dunne: Carsie Blanton keeps the flame burning for protest songs 
Tom Dunne: Carsie Blanton keeps the flame burning for protest songs 
The American singer will soon make a welcome return to Ireland 

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

‘My fear isn’t past — it’s present’: Aida Austin on life with her daughter’s intractable epilepsy
‘My fear isn’t past — it’s present’: Aida Austin on life with her daughter’s intractable epilepsy
In Seized, West Cork writer Aida Austin shares a deeply moving memoir about her daughter Iona’s lifelong epilepsy, exploring fear, love and the resilience of family life

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

Rock legend Patti Smith set to play for the first time in Limerick
Rock legend Patti Smith set to play for the first time in Limerick
The King John’s Castle gig is her “most intimate show” 

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

Costa Book Awards 2015
'Confessions of a Shopaholic' novelist Sophie Kinsella dies aged 55
The ‘queen of romantic comedy’ has died 18 months after announcing her brain cancer diagnosis

Wed, 10 Dec, 2025

The 30 best Cork books of 2025: Fiction, history, memoirs, and more....
The 30 best Cork books of 2025: Fiction, history, memoirs, and more....
It's been another bumper year for Cork-related books and titles written by Leeside-born authors. Marjorie Brennan selects the best of them across the genres 

Tue, 09 Dec, 2025

Kneecap confirmed as first headliner for All Together Now next summer
Kneecap confirmed as first headliner for All Together Now next summer
The seventh chapter of the popular festival will return to the grounds of Curraghmore Estate in Waterford from July 30 to August 2

Tue, 09 Dec, 2025

Console wars and a Cork shoot-em-up: 10 talking points from video games in 2025 
Console wars and a Cork shoot-em-up: 10 talking points from video games in 2025 
Ronan Jennings rounds up some of the most notable stories and moments this year in the world of video games  

Tue, 09 Dec, 2025

The Wolfe Tones end retirement for two more gigs, citing ‘constant’ fan requests
The Wolfe Tones end retirement for two more gigs, citing ‘constant’ fan requests
The legendary Irish balladeers said what was to be a final farewell to their fans in Thomond Park earlier this year.

Tue, 09 Dec, 2025

Podcast Corner: Joe Rogan reigns supreme in 2025 with chart-topping show   
Podcast Corner: Joe Rogan reigns supreme in 2025 with chart-topping show   
US podcaster Joe Rogan may polarise opinion but he's still attracting huge audiences internationally. In Ireland, the 2 Johnnies topped the Spotify chart 

Tue, 09 Dec, 2025

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