MASS MARKETFICTION

JOHN HARRINGTON was an impressionable child the first time he saw John Doyle.

THE sports autobiography follows a generally predictable arc — promise, achievement, graceful decline — so it’s good to come across a book that breaks out of that strait-jacket.

FOR Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith the day began early at the National Ploughing Championships in Athy, Co Kildare, yesterday. He was on site before 8am for a Newstalk interview with Ivan Yates, himself a former agriculture minister.