The Thin Air Podcast: A sort of Song Exploder for Irish acts, its second season has just concluded, with Danny Carroll, a musician in his own right, talking to Junior Brother, Girl Band, Just Mustard and Soak about one of the songs.

FOR fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes, every Masters of Tradition festival in Bantry, West Cork, is special, so how to celebrate its 10th anniversary?

HOW is it that Bertie Ahern manages to thrive on bad news? Last weekend’s flooding on the east coast brought misery to residents and frustration to commuters, but the Taoiseach, yet again, was a net gainer.