CultureKae Tempest among highlights at this year’s Other Voices festival Dingle event featured performances from BC Camplight, ØXN, CMAT and many moreBy Una Mullally●Sun Dec 3 2023 - 22:00
MusicFairytale of New York may finally reach the Christmas number one spot following death of Shane MacGowanThe Pogues’ festive classic was pipped to the UK top spot in 1987 by Pet Shop Boys, but is now in battle for pole position with Wham! and Mariah CareyBy Naomi Clarke, PA Entertainment Reporter●Sun Dec 3 2023 - 20:18
Subscriber OnlyThe best fiction in translation of 2023The last round-up of 2023 has books from Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy and Peru
Subscriber OnlyA subeditor’s craft: Unsung heroes upholding standards, giving grace to others’ words, going home in the darkIt was, and sometimes is still not, rarely acknowledged that it was the subs who had ultimate responsibility for what appeared on the printed page
CultureLeave Cilla Black alone! You’ve got a lorra, lorra nerveDonald Clarke: The TV presenter remains indelibly knitted into British culture. Young people know the name even if they’re not sure what she did
‘It’s hard to find an existing society better’ than this east coast Irish townIt’s not Dalkey. British anthropologist Daniel Miller calls it ‘Cuan’ but you know it by another nameBy Joe Humphreys
Fairytale of New York may finally reach the Christmas number one spot following death of Shane MacGowanThe Pogues’ festive classic was pipped to the UK top spot in 1987 by Pet Shop Boys, but is now in battle for pole position with Wham! and Mariah CareyBy Naomi Clarke, PA Entertainment Reporter
Shane McGowan and The Pogues moved Irish music, like most Irish people, from the countryside to the dirty cityMacGowan told the stories of people on the edges of society. He never shirked from their degradation, pain and humanity while also elevating their lives into something rich, beautiful and mythicBy Patrick Freyne
Max Greenwood: In the Quiet of the Evening – A beacon of reflective positivity By Éamon Sweeney
The Corrs: Best Of – A nostalgia-trip reminder that the Dundalk siblings sure knew their way around a pop song By Lauren Murphy
Cillian Vallely and David Doocey: The Yew & the Orchard – Fiddle and pipes in a dance that never lets up By Siobhán Long
Everything you ever wanted to know about Napoleon but were afraid to askThe former French emperor continues to fascinate because he is such a contrary character being neither wholly good or badBy Ronan McGreevy
Wim Wenders: We couldn’t continue living in a country without a past. We had to somehow face itEye surgery curtailed the German director’s appearances recently but he’s back on track with two films, Anselm and Perfect DaysBy Donald Clarke
I Dream in Photos: An intimate portrait of the Pulitzer-winning Irish photographer Cathal McNaughton By Tara Brady
Fallen Leaves: Never mind Christmas reissues. This is the crowd-pleaser of the season By Tara Brady
Eileen: A film that grabs you by the collar and drags you into a hedge as you stroll uneasily down a lonely path By Donald Clarke
A subeditor’s craft: Unsung heroes upholding standards, giving grace to others’ words, going home in the darkIt was, and sometimes is still not, rarely acknowledged that it was the subs who had ultimate responsibility for what appeared on the printed pageBy John Banville
The best fiction in translation of 2023The last round-up of 2023 has books from Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy and PeruBy Catherine Taylor
TV guide: 12 of the best new shows to watch, beginning tonightFrom Louis Theroux’s encounter with whistleblower Chelsea Manning to the uplifting story of ViagraBy Kevin Courtney
Is Doctor Who too whimsically British for Ireland?With the Doctor set to embark on his next thrilling trek through time and space, there Irish links to celebrateBy Ed Power
The Daily: After years in the make-it-stop camp, I’ve found myself growing fonder of Michael Barbaro’s voicePodcast review: This newspaper is alive and well and coming to an earbud near youBy Fiona McCann
Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+: 10 of the best new shows to watch in December and over ChristmasA John Lennon documentary narrated by Kiefer Sutherland and Reacher is back for a second seriesBy Kevin Courtney
Comedian Emma Doran: ‘Women get more abuse than men. It’s one of those awful things you just kind of accept’The Dubliner on giving up her ‘day job’, making a name for herself on social media, and her controversial matching pyjamas videoBy Ellen O’Donoghue
Cinderella: A spectacular addition to the Gaiety panto repertoireTheatre: Production will leave young audience members speculating about stage magic all the way homeBy Sara Keating
My grandmother Imogen Stuart: Wartime Berlin, a ‘crazy castle’ in Ireland and visits from Maud Gonne When Imogen moved to Ireland with Ian, they lived in the family home of Laragh, ‘this crazy castle which was so damp, so cold’By Keith Duggan
Self-Determination: A Global Perspective – An exhibition showing the art of nation buildingThe Irish Museum of Modern Art’s new exhibition is an absorbing reminder of the similarities that occupy people across the globeBy Gemma Tipton