Jim Gavin appeared to be less than pleased with aspects of the Croke Park pitch on Saturday evening but questions over the surface’s quality were met with some puzzlement by the hurling fraternity yesterday.

Befriending your ex’s new partner, while long taboo, is slowly becoming mainstream, writes Rita de Brún

Picture This, 3 Arena, Dublin

As Cork City prepare to host Waterford in the first Munster derby of the new season, club legend Derek Coughlan squares up to critics of the domestic game

Wild Youth have been widely tipped as the country’s next big thing. They tell Ed Power about their unashamed pop leanings and what they learnt from touring with Niall Horan.

Questions over how to fund the proposed events centre in Cork has left the project in limbo and the city still waiting for its first curtain call, writes Eoin English.

“The desire to make a big artistic statement is the thing that has always kept us going,” 1975 frontman Matty Healy told the Irish Examiner two years ago.

Badly Drawn Boy may never escape from his Bewilderbeast album, but he’ll also be playing new music on his Irish tour, writes Ed Power.

Picture this: A couple of thousand young women and men, in their late teens and early 20s, all crammed excitedly into a giant tent in search of romance, or at the very least, the shift.

Music Cork, the industry showcase, returns to the city for a second year. Top of the bill is Isaac Green, the esteemed A&R at Columbia who has worked with everyone from Arcade Fire to Calvin Harris, writes Ed Power.

Fans of Coldplay were ripped off by a Corkman on DoneDeal when he conned them into buying pairs of tickets at Christmas time that were never received.

An Garda Síochána was paid more than €1.1m to police 10 of the country’s biggest events last year — with Electric Picnic topping the charts, figures reveal.

Letterman and George Harrison featured in the Cork band’s history, but now they’re just happy to be back gigging again.

Simple Minds

From surprise comebacks to celebrity spats and unfortunate deaths, pop stars were never far from the headlines in 2017, writes Ed Power.

There was a twist recently in the Battle of the Gobs between Liam and Noel Gallagher as Liam’s solo record vaulted straight to number one in the UK, writes Ed Power.

“Oscar Romeo Four, India, Sierra Sierra, This is Echo India One, India Sierra Sierra. Over.”

“Oscar Romeo Four, India, Sierra Sierra, This is Echo India One, India Sierra Sierra. Over.”

Jim Gavin has stood over his criticism of the Croke Park pitch and insisted Gaelic games, not concerts, should be the GAA’s priority.

Marjorie Brennan shares the latest news from the world of entertainment

Martin jumped into the photo anyway - unbeknownst to the punters.

Here's your lunchtime news bulletin.

WHAT. A. LEGEND.

“When you get it right, it is profitable. Equally, over the years, we have had big losses.” 

Gardaí and MCD promotions have issued a warning before tonight's Coldplay gig at Croke Park.

Here's your lunchtime news bulletin.

GIG WISE: Coldplay is the biggie this weekend as Chris Martin and co perform at Croke Park tomorrow.

Some important information here,

Guy Garvey was proud of the way his home city of Manchester came together after the terrorist attack, writes Ed Power.

You could call this a breakthrough season for Austrian football, but it is a breakthrough with a catch, writes David Shonfield.

The brother of Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi has been released without charge by police.

One Concert....One Love.... One Manchester

Ariana Grande has visited young fans injured in the Manchester terror attack in hospital.

From Glasto to Spain, there are a flock of festivals that could tempt you overseas in the coming months, writes Ed Power

Erica Stoll may have got golf star Rory McIlroy to the tee on time but now she must rely on someone else to make sure he gets to his wedding on time.

They may rail against the Donegal jokes, but Little Hours are proud to be spoken of as their home county’s next big thing in the music world, writes Ed Power.

Concert promoter Denis Desmond said that MCD is aiming to sell 1.3m concert tickets this year.

Tickets are set to go on sale Friday, February 10 at 9am from usual outlets.

A new music industry conference is to be held in Cork this summer, with speakers to include the head of the record label behind Mumford & Sons and Florence and the Machine, along with the agents for bands like Muse and Coldplay.

Tickets for U2’s Joshua Tree 30th anniversary concert in Croke Park next July are appearing on resale websites at prices of more than €1,000 each, prompting fresh calls for anti-touting legislation.