The three strands of Darren Hughes’ life come together to sustain the Monaghan midfielder; football, family, and farming as he shares a day in a way of life that is rapidly diminishing in rural Ireland.

In advance of the Crosstown Drift event, Eoghan O’Sullivan asked some of the participating authors about what makes Cork a special place for them.

It’s a fair bet there hasn’t been a man wielding a sword in the parish hall in Schull in a while — but sure enough, there was yesterday.

David Puttnam, Jim Sheridan, and Lenny Abrahamson will be among the guests at this year’s 10th Fastnet Film Festival which will feature more than 400 screenings.

They commemorated him in fine style, not near the stilly, greeny waters of the Grand Canal, but by his graveside, deep in the landscape he immortalised.

Frank Pig Says Hello and its sequel should make for fine viewing, writes Alan O’Riordan

It’s 2009, summer, and Ireland stands on the brink of catastrophic recession, or, as the very unreliable narrator of Ithaca puts it: it was ‘the summer after all the money disappeared’. 

Forget Shakespeare and “all the world’s a stage”. In Schull, the whole town is a flickering cinema screen.

A programme of readings, a feature of the West Cork Literary Festival since it began in the mid-90s, is to be dedicated to the memory of former Irish Examiner columnist Denise Hall.

As Corcadorca puts on Patrick McCabe’s play at Elizabeth Fort, Colette Sheridan goes behind the scenes to see the logistics of mounting a production at such a venue

Cork Midsummer Festival runs this weekend and next. Here are some of the early highlights:

As Corcadorca marks 25 years of great theatre in Cork, Pat Kiernan and Enda Walsh tell Alan O’Riordan about the early days, Disco Pigs and what’s happened since

The centenary of the Easter Rising has given us an abundance of commemorative

Cork Midsummer Festival returns for 2016 with the announcement of a 20% increase in funding from the Arts Council.

A large-scale outdoor theatre production staged in a fort by award-winning Corcadorca Theatre Company will be among the highlights of Cork City’s 1916 centenary commemorations.

Corcadorca’s new production of an Enda Walsh play is being staged in the building that housed one of Cork’s major financial institutions, writes Colette Sheridan

STARTING life in Balbriggan, Frankie moved to inner-city Dublin at 12. He mitched from school, and in his early 20s, working in nightclubs, saw Dublin’s underside.

STARTING life in Balbriggan, Frankie moved to inner-city Dublin at 12. He mitched from school, and in his early 20s, working in nightclubs, saw Dublin’s underside.

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Here’s a quick look at the latest music, gig, film and entertainment news.

The HSE South continues to pay taxis and couriers to transport blood samples, breast milk and human tissue even though a motorcycle charity has been lobbying for almost a year to provide the service free of charge.

From Nidge to Peaky Blinders, Ireland’s top casting directors discuss the secrets of their trade with Richard Fitzpatrick

FUNDING for the arts may be thin on the ground but there seems to be no end to the amount of theatre companies springing up in Cork, often working without anything approaching a budget or, if they’re lucky, getting one-off funding for projects.

Coach Ewen McKenzie knows Australia must take risks if they are to end New Zealand’s 17-game winning streak on Saturday, and hopes the surprise selection of Kurtley Beale at fly-half will provide the spark in their Rugby Championship clash in Sydney.

Construction Workers from the SIPTU and BATU trade unions will hold a protest outside the Department of Education this morning.

The head of the Garda Superintendents Association has admitted the force made mistakes but rejected any suggestion it was a corrupt organisation.

The General Secretary of the Garda Superintendents Association, Pat McCabe, has insisted their members did not know about illicit taping at Garda stations.

I always loved telling stories, even as a kid. That’s what acting and presenting is: telling stories.

Hello and Goodbye

Theatre - The Hanging Gardens, The Abbey, Dublin

NEVER mind the showbands — here’s Tommy Tiernan.

Tommy Barker is stone-mad about a pitch-perfect, quirky and quality city retreat

Live Music: Philip Chevron Testimonial, The Olympia, Dublin

Will Genia is talking tough ahead of today’s crunch second Test with the British and Irish Lions in Melbourne.

Rob Howley today laid bare the levels of bravery and desire that will be required when the British and Irish Lions go for Test series glory against Australia.

Australia coach Robbie Deans was disappointed by the presence of Kurtley Beale and James O'Connor in a fast-food restaurant in the early hours of the morning, but did not consider dropping them.

An eventful few hours in the Australia camp began with wing Digby Ioane being issued with an arrest warrant and ended with his injury-enforced withdrawal from the remainder of the Test series against the British and Irish Lions.

An eventful few hours in the Australia camp began with wing Digby Ioane being issued with an arrest warrant.

An arm injury sustained in the first-Test victory over Australia has placed Paul O’Connell’s Lions tour in jeopardy.

Paul O’Connell was undoubtedly a significant contributor to the Lions victory in the first Test in Brisbane, but perhaps the more crucial factor was the Munster-like weather that afflicted the so-called Sunshine State the day before the match.

Warren Gatland voiced his relief after Australia’s Kurtley Beale missed a penalty with the final kick of the game as the British and Irish Lions opened the Test series with victory in Brisbane.