Wish you were in Carlow as Pink Floyd star David Gilmour debuts new song

It isn’t every day that a member of one of the most celebrated rock acts of all time takes time out to give a public masterclass in the genesis of song-writing for a ticket price of less than €20.

The Festival of Writing & Ideas hosted at Borris House, Co Carlow, now in its fourth year, has continued to draw some of the world’s most celebrated thinkers but this year it managed to secure Pink Floyd guitarist and songwriter David Gilmour, who decided to share the stage with his wife, novelist Polly Samson.

Gilmour, to the surprise of the music world, also used the small setting to reveal that his next solo album, due in September to coincide with his first solo tour in a decade, will be called Rattle That Lock.